Gifts of Love - v4 by Kay Hooper & Lisa Kleypas

Author:Kay Hooper & Lisa Kleypas [Hooper, Kay & Kleypas, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-11-12T21:39:27.390000+00:00

Keeping her head down, Laura strode rapidly along the hallway, her only thought being to escape. A short distance away was the large music room, which also doubled as a ballroom. The crowd of guests indulged in light conversation and danced to the buoyant waltz being played by the orchestra. Oblivious to the music and laughter, Laura made her way through the entrance hall to the front door and slipped outside. The November air was damp as it bit through her brocaded satin gown. She shuddered in misery and wrapped her arms around her middle, staring out at the dimly lit street where lacquered broughams and liveried drivers waited for the guests to depart.

Drawing herself into the porch shadows of the fashionable six-story Beacon Street home, Laura wondered what she was going to do. It was obvious that Jason hated her. She could not face him anymore. She was a failure as a wife, as a woman. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she willed herself not to cry. Good Lord, what if someone saw her out here, weeping on the steps of her own home?

Suddenly she heard a cheerful whistle on the street. Anxiously she stared into the darkness. “H-hale?” she cried. “Hale, is that you?”

Her brother’s gentle laugh drifted to her. “Hmmm… why, yes, I believe it is. Have I crossed the line between fashionably late and too, too late?”

Laura gave a watery chuckle. “As always.”

“Ah, you’ll forgive me,” Hale said, and leaped up the stairs with his customary vigor. “Have you been waiting for me? Damn, you’re out here in that thin dress! How long—” He broke off as he took her face in his gloved hands and tilted it up.

Tears spilled from Laura’s eyes, and she gripped his wrists tightly. “I’m glad you’re here, Hale,” she choked out.

“Laura, sweetheart.” Alarmed, Hale pulled her head against the front of his wool coat. “My God, what’s the matter?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Oh, you can and you will. But not here.” He ruffled her hair, carelessly disarranging her coiled chignon. “We’ll go inside and have a talk.”

Laura shook her head. “People… people will see—”

“We’ll walk around the house and come in through the kitchen.” Hale shrugged out of his coat and draped it over her narrow shoulders. “It has something to do with Jason, doesn’t it?”

Her throat closed painfully, and she nodded. Without another word Hale put his arm around her waist and guided her down the steps, shielding her from the view of the drivers and passersby. By the time they reached the kitchen, which opened onto the backyard, Laura was shivering violently. The heat and light of the kitchen engulfed her, but they did not take away her numbness.

“Why, Mrs. Moran,” she heard the housekeeper’s voice exclaim.

Hale favored the older woman with an appealing smile. He had matured into a handsome and solidly built man with green eyes, rich brown hair, and a thick slash of a mustache. His openhearted manner charmed all women. “Mrs. Ramsey, I’m afraid my sister has the vapors,” he said.

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