Keeping Faith (Fair Cyprians of London Book 3) by Beverley Oakley

Author:Beverley Oakley [Oakley, Beverley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sani Publishing
Published: 2018-11-21T06:00:00+00:00

Only one more day before they were to return to London. For nearly one whole blissful week Faith and Crispin had spent almost all day together and, latterly, much of the night.

Her beloved worked at a feverish pace in front of his easel, sending her loving looks when he thought no one else was looking, and passing her notes and love gifts at every other opportunity. Faith had no shortage of tokens in both kind and in writing to attest to the intensity of Mr Westaway’s love. It thrilled her, and it filled her with a deep and satisfied sense of completeness. No one had loved her before. Not her mother or her father or any of the gentlemen she had ever met in any capacity.

Crispin had his own reasons for keeping their relationship secret, and it suited Faith just fine. As she lay on the small iron bed they shared in the servant’s attic far from anyone else, she went over her best course of action. Crispin had briefly mentioned elopement. It was, in Faith’s mind, the best way forward. To be married in secret would guarantee her a passport to a trouble-free future. That she loved him with equal intensity was irrelevant in one respect; yet it was only for this reason she wanted to be certain of spending the rest of her life with him.

Mrs Gedge wanted to ruin him. Wanted to see his heart broken. Well, what could she do after Faith was safely married to him?

If she worried that Mrs Gedge would be vindictive, she tried to put those fears aside. Mrs Gedge had supported Faith for three years. Their monthly tea meetings had suggested a woman who was interested in furthering the prospects of her little protegee. Faith need only persuade Mrs Gedge that vengeance would hurt Faith in this regard more than it would Mr Westaway. Mrs Gedge had been a mother. She was a woman who knew how to love.

She would understand.

Now, as Faith sat at the dinner table opposite Crispin, Lady Vernon at her side, she couldn’t wait for the old woman to withdraw for the evening and so give the young people complete freedom. Faith didn’t care that the servants could not be unaware of what was happening. But this was a borrowed cottage. These were not Crispin’s servants.

“I expect you are anxious for the next few days to be over.” Lady Vernon’s nasal tones cut into the silence as the parlourmaid removed the main course and brought in dessert. “What will you do with your winnings if you are indeed the chosen one, Mr Westaway?”

“I dare not hope to think I will be.”

“No need to be so modest. Everyone agreed that your skills were far superior to your two competitors. If you win, you will be a rich man.” She looked meaningfully between Faith and Crispin. “You will be free to do as you choose, surely?”

Faith blushed at the lack of subtlety, and also the fact that Lady Vernon was fishing for words Faith did not wish Crispin to divulge.

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.