Fortune Said: A Valentine Haberdashers Tale by Sue London

Author:Sue London [London, Sue]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Romance, Regency, Genre Fiction, Holidays
ISBN: 0991066340
Amazon: B00IBS2EHA
Goodreads: 20759022
Publisher: Graythorn Publishing
Published: 2014-02-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Whit stared at Miss Devonport, aghast at the terrible tragedies of her life that he had unwittingly revealed. And bothered that somehow he had pleased an inordinate number of people by simply continuing to live. She began to cry in earnest, the tears running down her face, and was twisting the fabric of her skirt between her fingers.

He was desperate to find something to console her. "I'll gladly share my cousin with you. I think he likes you better than he does me anyway."

She looked up at him with a furrowed brow. "Dibbs loves you. He was willing to risk his own life to ensure your care." She bit her lip and looked away. "My own cousins couldn't be bothered with me at all."

Excellent, he had misstepped with that statement as well. Perhaps he would be better off not saying anything at all.

When her eyes returned to his she was still anguished and tearful. "I loved my family, Mr. Whitman. I loved them very much and had to watch them all die. When I turned to my uncle and cousins for help they simply asked me why, at six and twenty, I still wasn't married. As though that were something I could control." Her wavering, tearful voice broke off in a sob. "I didn't just lose my family, I lost everything. I have nothing left. Nothing but what I'm willing to give of myself. So I was glad, very glad, to finally be able to nurse someone back to health from this horrid fever."

Whit felt desperate to comfort her. "You have slightly more than nothing, Miss Devonport. You have me. Certainly you know that I will never consider my debt to you repaid. My life is now yours to ask of what you wish." Rather than console her, his words seemed to make her sob harder still. He struggled to sit up further on the pillows. Her tears were breaking his heart and he might do something rash soon. "Tell me what I can do, Miss Devonport. What can I do to make your feel better?"

At that she looked at him as though he had asked if she kept zoo animals in her reticule. When she stood he thought that perhaps she was going to leave, then she flung herself onto the bed beside him and buried her face against his shoulder to weep in earnest. He'd never held a weeping woman and it was a bit unnerving, honestly. Her tiny frame shook with her sobs. He ran his hand over her back in what he hoped was a comforting caress. After a few moments, when his panic subsided, he was able to appreciate how perfect she felt in his arms. Delicate and warm. Her hair was indeed soft as mink and smelled like wildflowers. He felt like an ass appraising her finer qualities while she grieved, but it was impossible to ignore the intense attraction he had for her.

He held her and let her cry, wishing he was a good enough man for her.

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