Strictly Forbidden by Shelley Bradley

Author:Shelley Bradley
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Shelley Bradley, LLC
Published: 2012-09-18T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Three days later, Kira accepted another invitation to the Taylor town house from Lady Madeline. She went more than half hoping she would encounter Gavin there, as she had before. She had not seen him since their last chance meeting in the Taylor’s foyer. They had not had any conversation about their upcoming marriage. Kira began to worry. While she believed Gavin was an honorable man, she would like things settled between them.

But what worried her more was the fact they had not received any sort of correspondence from James in nearly a week.

When Kira reached St. James Square, Lady Madeline received her with grace, as usual. She was one of the most beautiful women Kira had ever met, and the warmth of her smile seemed to light up a room. Lady Madeline seemed not at all affected by Kira’s Persian heritage. Kira wished more women could be like her, the kind to accept people based on their merits, not their blood.

Lady Madeline was truly blessed. She and her husband loved one another completely. That much was obvious. Kira wanted the same for Gavin and herself. Drat, she knew he was busy with the railroad, but they must talk soon.

“Please, sit,” Maddie instructed.

“Thank you.” Kira smiled politely, looking about the lovely room. Bright floral patterns on yellow backgrounds with soft pink and green accents abounded. This was clearly a woman’s domain, for it reflected femininity, elegance, and warmth at once. In fact, the room was very much like her hostess.

“Where are the children today?” Kira inquired politely.

“The girls are likely in the schoolroom, though with the weather as sunny as it is, how long four walls will contain them is anyone’s guess. Aimee and Molly have new kites.”

The brisk breeze lifting the leaves of the trees visible through the window made Kira nod. “Today would be a perfect day to fly them.”

“Indeed.” Maddie smiled. “Michael is taking a nap, thankfully. When he’s awake, he enjoys hiding in peculiar places and seeing how long it takes us to find him.”

Kira laughed. This was what she wanted for herself: a loving husband, charming children, acceptance and happiness and all that life had to offer. If Gavin would just make a few moments for her, they could begin. And she didn’t mean to sound impatient, but why couldn’t he spare her a bit of time? Perhaps she was being overly suspicious, but she wondered if he was avoiding her.

“So tell me, when do you and Mr. Howland plan to marry?”

Tensing, Kira paused, blinked, wondered how to answer. She hadn’t considered what to say to people before she and Gavin could be wed. “Well, Mr. Howland is away at the moment with my brother.” She concealed the fact they’d gone after Lord Vance. “When they return, I suspect we shall decide then.”

“But the banns have already been posted?”

“Indeed, they have. I’m hopeful that we shall come to some… agreement soon.”

“Of course. Well, I wish you all the best.”

“Thank you.”

Wishing to change the subject—Kira

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.