End of the Engagement by Meredith Acker

Author:Meredith Acker
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: fiction, romance, historical fiction, gilded age, love story, victorian, historical romance, regency, regency romance, romance 1860s

Thirty Years Later...

When the house was quiet and still, Harriet always found her gaze drifting to the jewelry box she kept in a dresser drawer.

She had another jewelry box, an intricately carved thing her niece Frances had given her as a gift, shortly after moving into the venerable old mansion Harriet had bought as soon as her finances allowed it. It was already too late; anyone she might have impressed with her address had long ago left the city.

“Old maids like us should have some pretty things to enjoy,” Francie had teased, and Harriet had teased her back, though inside she hoped her niece—still young and pretty, however old she thought herself—would not end up an old maid like her, still longing for the days of her youth, unable to tear her thoughts away from the past.

She had achieved her revenge in the way she’d vowed to herself that she would; she’d made her fortune, and become the kind of woman who held the power, respect, and—sometimes—fear of almost everyone she met in New York Society. But it was an empty achievement, in the end. She’d never seen William again after that day in his garden, and she had to assume that he and Lavinia had happily grown old together, perhaps raising several children along the way. She, however, was alone, except for Francie, who had already been an independent adult before she came to live with Harriet.

She felt like a child sneaking into her parents’ room as she slid the top dresser drawer open, wincing at every creak, and lifted the lid of the box, removing the trinket she still kept inside.

William’s ring was now tarnished, never having been polished over the past three decades. The fingers that held it were thinner, and beginning to wrinkle. Still, holding it, she felt like a young girl again, and briefly remembered simple joy.

It was not that she’d led an unhappy life. Harriet had had many triumphs, and many contented moments. But the simplicity of the emotion she’d experienced when William had first slipped the ring into her hand—that was gone forever, destroyed by his betrayal.

A sound downstairs had Harriet hastily returning the ring to its hiding place and slamming the drawer shut. She was just in time; moments later, Francie pounded up the stairs and knocked on Harriet’s bedroom door. She breathed deeply, trying to slow her heartbeat, and swung the door open. As always, the sight of her niece’s face made her feel both proud and sad.

“I brought the mail,” Francie said, handing a pile of envelopes to Harriet. “There’s one thick letter from a Chisolm. A relation?”

Harriet inspected it quizzically, and it was some moments before realization struck. “A cousin,” she said. “I haven’t seen Susanna often since she married and moved farther from the city. She had several children…”

She ripped open the letter, curious what could have caused such a thorough missive to come her way.

“Oh, my dear,” Harriet breathed as she read the letter. Francie shifted impatiently, but did not ask for details.

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