Lasting Love: A New Love Western Romance by Woods Emily

Author:Woods, Emily
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fairfield Publishing
Published: 2018-01-24T05:00:00+00:00

5

James did not have to look for Marigold very long. The image of her distraught face kept flashing through his mind, urging him on toward her. He worried about the state he would find her in.

He checked the dining room, the library, and the sitting room just off the foyer. They were all vacant.

He wandered through the manor toward the eastern wing when he realized she must have gone as far away as she could. Concern growing, he hurried on.

He pushed open the doors to the drawing room and found Marigold’s silhouette standing in front of the roaring fireplace. There was a white cloth in her hands, and she was diligently attempting to blot some of the red wine from the front of her pale dress.

“There you are,” James said, closing the door behind himself.

She looked up at the sound of his voice, and he saw her eyes were filled with tears.

He crossed the room quickly to her, and gently held her by the shoulders. “My darling …”

Her bottom lip quivered, and she continued her fruitless dabbing on her dress.

“It’s all right,” James said reassuringly. “It’s quite all right, my dear. There now, there’s no need to cry.”

She looked up into his face, her tears glittering in the firelight. “I have never been more humiliated in all my life. At my own engagement party … I manage to make a right mess of everything …”

Angrily, she tossed the napkin onto the sofa, having little success at pulling any of the wine from the dress.

She sniffed and frowned down at the pretty pink fabric. “I feel just awful. I am so terribly sorry about your sister’s dress.” More fresh tears spilled over her face. “I have absolutely no idea how I am to repay her for it; it is positively ruined. The dress probably cost more money than I have ever seen in my life.”

“Darling …” James said. “Come and sit. Come,” he urged, taking her hand in his and leading her to the sofa in front of the fire.

She begrudgingly agreed and allowed him to pull her down onto the velvet seat.

“These sorts of things happen, my love,” James said, brushing a loose curl behind her ear. “No one is going to think any less of you for something that was an accident.”

She hung her head. “Accident … if I hadn’t been so flustered, I could have paid better attention to my surroundings, couldn’t I?” She looked hesitantly up at James. “Is that poor man I ran into all right?”

“He’s just fine,” James said. “I think he feels it is his fault. He certainly could have been paying better attention than he was.”

Marigold shook her head. “It was not his fault any more than mine.” She sighed heavily, wiping her eyes with the back of her silken gloves. “Those people … they just caught me off guard. Those things they were saying … it was as if I was some sort of … heathen.”

“Heathen is a bit strong,” James replied, “But they certainly were not very courteous.

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