Read Online Mistletoe Menage by Molly Ann Wishlade - Free Book Online Page B

the difference?” Guy
asked and Anne nodded.
    “My eyes—they shine now with
happiness and longing.”
    “Look closer.”
    Anne leaned forward, peered at
her likeness, and she gasped. “You!”
    “Yes.” Guy chuckled.
    “Your reflection is in my eyes.”
    I thought that whatever happens
in the future, Anne, at least we would always have this.
    Her stomach lurched at his words. The future. Without Guy it was bleak as a never-ending
winter, cold and damp as a moldy cellar. How would she manage when Guy walked
out of her life? She would be bereft, abandoned to nurse a broken heart that
longed for Guy and longed, even now, for Edward.
    Do not think of that now!
    “May I see the third one?”
    “Shortly, Anne. That one is extra special.”
    “Well, I shall wait then, but don’t
make me wait too long, Guy. I’ve missed you these last two weeks, and I am keen
to hold you once more.”
    Guy approached her, then sat at
her side and wrapped an arm around her. She leaned gratefully into his warmth
and breathed deeply of his fresh scent, at once like cold mountain air and
leather. She lifted her head, seeking a kiss, but he stopped her.
    “What is it?” Her heart lurched.
Did he not desire her any longer?
    “I want to ask you something,
Anne. And I ask that you are honest with me. Something has been on my mind of
late and I hope you will not mind me requesting clarification.”
    “What…what do you want to know?”
Anne could not think of anything that Guy might want to know that she hadn’t
already told him.
    “You spoke of your late husband
being a kind man but I know that yours was not a love match. What then…what led
you into marrying him?”
    Anne worried her lower lip. “Why
would you want to know this? Do you think me a fortune hunter? I was not, for I
had inherited wealth of my own. I did not marry him for that.” Her mouth had
dried up and she found swallowing difficult.
    “I didn’t think so, Anne. But why
did you marry him?”
    “I…I loved another. A man…Lord Moore. Edward Moore. He was…is…from a landed
family. We met and fell in love during my first visit to London as a debutante.
I was late to debut as I had been caring for my ailing father. When he passed, all
I wanted to do was hide away in the country but my father’s sister forced me to
accompany her to London for the season. My heart was not in it. But then…then I
met Edward and he made me feel so alive, so beautiful, so free. The loss of my
father had broken me apart but Edward started helping me put the pieces back
together. He made me feel that there was a life to be lived, joy to be had, and
love to lift my spirits. He made me believe in love. All I wanted was to be his wife but I knew it wouldn’t be easy. There
I was, daughter of a merchant, hoping to marry a man with a name that stretched
back centuries. I was hardly a suitable bride for a Lord.”
    “Oh Anne, if only you knew.”
    She stared at him for a moment,
confused at his words, yet keen to continue before she lost her courage.
    “Edward returned to his country
estate to speak with his father. He’d told me that his father was not a kindly
gentleman but promised that he would win him round. And if not, then we would
elope and marry anyway.”
    “And how did you feel about
that?” Guy asked.
    Anne shrugged. “It was so long
ago.”
    “Pray continue, Anne.”
    “I would have married him and
lived in the gutter if I could have been at his side. But then, during his
absence his father’s lawyer approached me. He told me that his client was
furious about Edward’s proposal and that I would never be allowed to marry him.
Then the lawyer told me…” Her throat tightened and she stifled a sob. “Then he
told me that if I did run away with Edward, his father would disinherit him and
he would have nothing. I could have lived with nothing but I couldn’t see
Edward doing it.”
    “But you had money of your own,”
Guy said, frowning at her.
    “Not the amount that