What the Bride Wore by Jade Lee

Author:Jade Lee
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Grant wondered if this was how men felt before battle. He was a jumble of contradictory emotions. Calm and jittery, excited and terrified. It had been five years since he’d last seen Will, and their parting had been ugly to say the least. Was the man really angry enough to plot Grant’s murder? Of course not, and yet…

“Helaine and Robert are here,” said a calm voice to his left. Irene. And thank God for her, or he’d have jumped off the nearest bridge to stop the questions churning in his mind.

“Thank you,” he said. Then when she turned away from the window toward the inn room door, he grabbed her hands and brought her around. “I mean that more than I can say. I know what playing hostess makes you appear.”

“We have… well, appearing as your hostess only reveals to the world what we are in fact.” Her voice was tight, and he knew what that cost her. It was no small thing for her to show anyone, much less her employer and Grant’s potentially murderous brother, exactly what they were to each other: lovers. Man and mistress. Lord and fallen lady.

It didn’t matter that he’d wanted her since they’d first danced together in a different inn. She was giving up a piece of herself merely because he asked it. And, for that alone, he adored her.

She looked away, probably because he was staring so intently. She became nervous whenever he did that, uncomfortable with his feelings, as they were no doubt written boldly across his face. Once he’d been told he had a good face for poker—blank and unreadable. No longer. Not around her.

Meanwhile, she gestured to the small table set for six. It gleamed in perfection there. From the candelabra to the cutlery, all was the best that could be had at an inn. “They’ve set a fine table here. You made a good choice.”

“I was lucky they had the room available.”

She nodded then they both heard the warm tones of the innkeeper as he escorted Lord and Lady Redhill to the room.

“You spoke with Lord Redhill?” she whispered before the door opened. “To watch your brother?”

He nodded a quick yes as the door opened, and his best friend entered the room. “Robert,” he said with a smile. “And Helaine, you look divine.”

They were dressed as was appropriate for wealthy peers. Helaine’s gown was one of her own design, and it flowed beautifully about her body. Unable to stop himself, he noted the cut and quality of the fabric in their attire. Robert, he noted with pleasure, wore a waistcoat made from Wakefield Design wool, the pattern on the fabric another of Grant’s own.

Grant looked pointedly at the waistcoat. “Amazing what a wife in fashion has done for your wardrobe. Become quite the dapper fellow, haven’t you?”

Robert lifted his chin in mock arrogance. “I’ll have you know I purchased this long before Helaine came into my life.”

“No, you didn’t,” inserted Helaine from the side, where she’d just finished kissing Irene’s cheek.

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