His Wicked Smile by Heather Hiestand

Author:Heather Hiestand [Hiestand, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781601832290
Publisher: eKensington
Published: 2014-04-30T14:00:00+00:00

Harry met Ann in the cloakroom at Hatbrook House as she was getting dressed to leave after the wedding meal the next day. The family was moving into the drawing room post-wedding celebration, but she and Gawain were going to Claridge’s. Fern would spend the night here in the nursery with the babies and even Harry had been invited to stay on through dinner.

“Congratulations,” Harry said, holding out his arms.

She smiled and gave him a one-armed hug.

“He really is precious,” Harry said, looking down at Noel. “I wish you hadn’t lost your first bairn.”

She nodded, then kissed Noel’s forehead. “It would have been lovely to have a part of Wells still around.”

“Yes. Say, that’s quite the necklace Redcake gave you. Interesting choice, given the one Wells died for.”

“I think Fern picked it out,” Ann said, touching the choker. “He didn’t mean any harm by it and it is lovely.”

“I agree. ’Tis. Proves the man has money, at any rate.”

“He wants to display his success like any man would.”

“You were more than an ornament to my brother.”

“I hope you realize how much Gawain has done by marrying me. He did not have to.”

“I suppose he’s honorable enough.”

Ann took a deep breath. “I didn’t realize you were aware that Wells had my necklace when he died. I had always assumed it was stolen then, but until Fern revealed her knowledge of it to Gawain I wasn’t sure.”

“He told me about it, Ann. I had some interest in the subject after all, since takin’ on another inn would give me more work.”

“I see.” Wells’s loyalty to Harry had come between them at times, as Wells had never shown any inclination to keep anything private from his brother. “Who else knew about it?”

“I don’t know. He told me in private. But I think it’s too bad you had to sell your mother’s things. What do you have left of her, after all?”

“Her knowledge,” Ann said promptly, keeping the information about her mother’s last gem to herself. “She never minded selling off her jewelry. I remember her pawning a turquoise ring to pay for doctor’s bills one year when Father and I were both sick. It didn’t seem to trouble her, so why should I mourn a necklace when it was buying my family prosperity?”

“I suppose she didn’t have happy memories of the life that brought her the jewelry, given she almost died on her husband’s funeral pyre.”

“Childless widows in India had a miserable life. Mother told me that many women in those days were happy to die, rather than to spend their lives in labor to their angry husbands’ families.”

Harry made a face.

“Her husband was much older than she though, and she’d fallen in love with my father, so of course she was happy not to die. But she wouldn’t have wanted to stay in the zenana either, in a meaningless existence. I’m glad this society allows remarriage of widows.”

Harry shook his head without indicating agreement or disagreement, and pulled a fluffy package from his pocket.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.