A Waltz in the Park by Deb Marlowe

Author:Deb Marlowe [Marlowe, Deb]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781508579793
Amazon: 1508579792
Barnesnoble: 1508579792
Goodreads: 24901869
Publisher: Createspace
Published: 2014-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Good heavens. Well, let that be a lesson to her. She’d poked the dragon and he’d kissed her back.

He’d done it to distract her, to shut her up, much in the same way that she’d used that story to dissuade the girl at the salon.

Which didn’t make it any less wonderfully devastating.

So many implications and consequences, that kiss, both close and far-reaching.

Most of them she’d deal with later, but for now she had to fight to see in front of her, to notice that Vauxhall showed to beautiful advantage in the light, with the tips of the trees bright with sun and the triumphal arches shining.

Trying to rally, she looked about. It was lovely, but so empty. Their footsteps echoed on the cobblestones. How wonderful it must look, cloaked in the magic of the night, and lit with the famous lanterns. Vickers appeared to be perfectly at ease now, damn him, but she struggled to remain calm as he pointed out to her the wonders of the art and the walks and the infamous Grove, with its supper boxes and orchestra hall.

Yet still she clung to him a bit when he led her to the top of the South Walk. There, partway down, a table sat in the shade of a tree. It had been laid with a sumptuous tea. Hestia Wright sat there. Spying them, she stood and beckoned them closer.

He let her go alone, for which Addy was grateful. On slightly unsteady feet, she approached until she was mere feet away from the stunningly beautiful woman.

Hestia Wright smiled kindly and covered the last bit of distance. “I can see why they’ve saddled you with that nickname.” She stepped close and ran a finger across her cheek. “You are the most beautiful combination of both of your parents, my dear.”

Belatedly, Addy curtsied. “I’ve heard about you all of my life,” she whispered.

“Have you?” Genuine surprise showed on Hestia’s lovely face. “Well, that does make things easier.”

Addy followed her to the table and sat where she indicated. She watched as the other woman unhurriedly prepared the tea.

“She always spoke of you. Even when I was little, she named you the one who made their happiness possible.” She took the cup Hestia handed her. “She explained it all, once I was old enough to understand.”

“She always was a courageous woman, your mother.” Hestia stopped stirring her tea. “I was very sorry to hear of her passing.”

“Thank you.” It came out a whisper. A near thing, but she didn’t cry. “She followed the news of you. She said it gave her a thrill to think of you leading such a grand, glittering life. And when you came back—when you opened Half Moon House—she was so proud. She felt like a part of your legacy.”

“She was a part of it,” Hestia said quietly. “I never forgot your mother, my dear. She was the first. I couldn’t help myself, could never recover all that I’d lost, but I could help her find happiness.

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