Woman's Own by Robyn Carr

Author:Robyn Carr [Carr, Robyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: philadelphia, historical fiction
Publisher: Liza Dawson Associates
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Lilly was fond of looking out the window into Rittenhouse Square for many reasons. One of them was Andrew Devon. She watched his clothing change from thin wool to a dapper overcoat with a leather collar as the weather became colder. She knew why he was there.

He was looking for her. Her grandmother had explained the Montaine family quite thoroughly.

Andrew Devon had been taken under Wilson Montaine’s wing when he was an orphaned boy without resources. Montaine himself had been an orphan who made good in property by way of determination, cleverness, and a few inside clues to property values he had learned while sharpening knives in the kitchens of rich Philadelphians. Andrew Devon, it was said, had become a protégé of sorts, though he now owned a factory, a carpet manufacturing business. He was married to a beautiful woman who brought this business to their marriage. Wilson Montaine regarded Andrew as one of the family; the old millionaire appeared more proud of Andrew than of his own son.

Lilly never let on that she knew Andrew Devon.

Lilly did not rush into the square the first time she saw him there…or the tenth. A new snow, swirling lightly around the square, gathered on his shoulders and hat. Her mother, grandmother, and sister sat before the hearth making lists for holiday parties to which old family friends would be invited. Lilly let the drape fall and turned away from the window. “I’m going for a walk,” she told her family.

“Don’t you want to help plan?” Patricia asked.

“No, thank you. Just tell me what I’m to do and I’ll do it.”

“Lilly,” Amanda asked, “are you all right, darling?”

“Yes, Grandmother. Only bored.”

“Don’t worry, love. We’ll be finished with all this nonsense soon.”

“Nonsense?” Patricia asked hotly. “It’s only my entree to society and my wedding! Why, if you all think it’s--”

“If you shriek one more time, Patricia, I will wash my hands of this entire--”

Lilly left them. She walked across the street to the square, her hands in her fur muff, her hair tucked into a fur cap that almost covered her ears. Her cheeks were pink, but this time it was from the cold. Lilly had almost completely stopped blushing. She walked toward him and stopped when she stood in front of him. “Hello, Andrew,” she said.

Those days in the park were so long ago--all that talk of philosophers and mannerly women. His eyes did not brighten with playful enthusiasm now. The Dublin green darkened, and his smile was melancholy. The thing that had confused her last spring was a little too obvious in the cold winter light. She no longer had trouble distinguishing friendliness from desire. She remembered when she would have been so happy to see desire in his eyes. “Lilly. I wondered when you’d come.”

“I’ve seen you.”

“Of course you have,” he said, offering his arm, and she accepted his escort, as she had before. It was all so different now. “We’ll be seeing each other often. Now that there is to be a marriage.

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