Love At The House Party (Women 0f Worth Book 3) by Kasey Stockton

Author:Kasey Stockton [Stockton, Kasey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Romance, Women's Fiction, Victorian Era, 19th Century, Forever Love, Bachelor, Single Woman, Love Possibility, Hearts Desire, Clean & Wholesome, Christian Stories, Inspirational Reads, Love Inspired, Life-Changes, Second Chance Reunion, Honesty & Trust, Home & Family, Lifetime Love, Romantic Schemes, Love-Family & Forever, Action & Adventure, Women 0f Worth Series, Beautiful & Feisty
Publisher: Kasey Stockton
Published: 2019-07-07T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

The sun streamed through the open bed curtains, waking me early. I sucked in a shallow breath and sat up directly, my ribs uncomfortable from the corset. Oh dear, I’d fallen asleep above my coverlet waiting for an appropriately late hour to take myself down to the study.

“Emma,” I gasped when she came in with a prepared gown for church. “Please loosen my stays, I cannot breathe.”

“You’ve slept in them, ma’am?” She dropped the gown on the edge of my bed and rushed to my side. “’Tis sorry, I am. I thought you were going to ring for me when you were ready for bed.”

That had been my excuse, hadn’t it?

She came behind me, unlacing yesterday’s gown and helping me into a new one. She left the back open while she put up my hair, and I breathed deeply while I was able. I could not continue to sleep in my stays. The discomfort was acute and I felt it with every stretch of my lungs.

I first saw Lord Stallsbury just before I entered the carriage for church, his dark gaze piercing me with blame as he sat high atop his glorious horse. I lifted my eyebrows in response. Could he honestly hold me to the midnight meetings so pointedly? Chagrined, I claimed a seat beside Mrs. Haley, watching the men through the window.

Lord Stallsbury did not seem overly bothered, smiling cheerfully with Mr. Peterson. Surely he would understand; I only needed a chance to explain. He would understand and would likely encourage me to try again. I felt fairly certain Lord Stallsbury took pleasure in the secret we had between us.

“Your little parish is quite lovely, ma’am,” Miss Pollard said, as we pulled out of the drive. “It has been so long since we’ve come that I quite forgot how beautiful these country lanes are.”

“They remind me of home,” Miss Thornton said. “Though I’ve spent so long in London I am not quite sure I am able to call Kent home any longer.”

“You may,” Mrs. Haley said with authority. “Your heart will always yearn for the place where you spent your tender years. ’Twas then you did not feel the responsibilities of adulthood.”

Miss Pollard laughed with discomfort, glancing between her father and Mrs. Bancroft. “You make adulthood sound so bleak.”

Mrs. Haley’s bright smile belied her words. “Of course not. I am only reflecting on the differences. I had not realized as a child how very blessed and naive I was at the time.”

Miss Thornton grinned. “Every child dreams of adulthood, and every adult laments for simpler times. Is it not so?”

“Indeed, it is,” Mrs. Haley agreed.

The carriage quieted. I would not answer aloud, but it was a true statement in my experience. I would give almost anything I owned to return to the simpler life before Noah had discovered his affinity for drink and my parents had died in the wretched carriage accident.

But if I did, would I have acted differently as I grew through those experiences? Likely not.

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