Hidden Affections (27 page)

He did not love Annabelle as Irene had claimed, but he was definitely on the verge of falling deeply in love with her.

And, torn between loving her and the searing pain he knew would come if he ever lost her or the children they might have together, he silenced the yearning in his heart and soul for this woman and made a vow to separate himself from her before it was too late.

To distract himself from questioning his decision or from worrying about what he would do about Irene when she learned he had actually divorced Annabelle, he kept his mind occupied by thinking about Eric Bradley . . . and tried to understand why the more time he spent with the man, the more he disliked him.

Annabelle stirred awake just after dawn, but gave a start when she rolled over and saw Harrison sleeping in the chair next to her bed. She did not know how long he had been there, but he must have been there all night if Irene had spoken to him after Philip and Eric had left last night as she had threatened to do.

Since she had promised Irene to sleep late today instead of meeting her at the bench or in the kitchen before breakfast for her lessons, she had no excuse to give him for slipping out of her room without speaking to him. She had no place to hide if he woke up and found her missing, either, so she glumly accepted the fact that she would have to explain herself to him as soon as he woke up.

She lifted herself up and leaned on her elbow to take advantage of this unusual opportunity to study him unobserved, but he opened his eyes just when she got comfortable in the new position, and she froze in place.

“I’d bid you a good morning, but I’d rather wait to hear your explanation for why you told Irene you were unhappy in our marriage before I jump to any conclusions about the day,” he said as he stood up and arched his back to stretch his cramped muscles.

She swallowed hard. “You know how intuitive Irene can be. She senses something isn’t quite right between us, and I needed to tell her something that would satisfy her, at least for now. And to be precise, I didn’t tell her I was unhappy,” she added. “I said you were.”

He grew still, furrowed his brow, and stared down at her. “And that makes a difference?”

Before her arm turned numb from supporting her, she sat up and arranged the bedclothes to cover herself as best she could. “It makes all the difference, and before you start lecturing me about not revealing anything about our relationship to her, you might want to think about something else first.”

He snorted and rotated his head in a circle, as if he was trying to ease a crick in his neck. “I spent most of the night in that awful chair wondering if there was anything you could say to me that would justify what she says you told her, but I still have no idea why you did. Enlighten me.”

She drew in a deep breath. “It’s the middle of January. If your lawyer is correct, you should be getting word in a matter of weeks that we’re divorced. I know you’re planning to keep our divorce a secret for some time before you announce it, but did it ever occur to you that unless Irene has some sense that we’re not getting along now, she’ll try her best to keep me from leaving in less than a month?”

He snorted again and dropped back into his seat. “I should have known better than to move out here. She’s a troublesome, meddlesome woman who—”

“Who loves you very much,” she offered. “She only wants what’s best for you . . . or what she thinks is best for you.” She twisted the end of the covers with her hands. “I’m sorry. I know I should have spoken to you first before I told her anything, but when I got back to my room last night, she was waiting for me and demanded to know what was wrong last night. I had to say something.”

He blew out a long breath, cradled the back of his neck with his hands, and leaned back to stare at the ceiling. “You don’t need to apologize. You’re right. I’ve been so preoccupied with convincing her we were happily married just to keep her from suspecting anything was wrong that I didn’t stop to think how I was going to explain to her why we were happy one day and you were leaving the next,” he admitted and sighed. “I know that as far as Irene is concerned, I’ll take full blame for ending our marriage, but you made matters worse by telling her I was breaking your heart. Was that really necessary?”

She clapped her hand to her heart, but dropped it when she realized he might assume she was trying to hold the pieces of her heart together. “I never said any such thing!”

“Maybe you didn’t actually put it into so many words, but that’s what she claims you meant,” he countered.

She huffed. “I don’t see how it hurts if she thinks I’m heartbroken . . . or would you prefer for her to think I’ve feigned my affection for you and only married you for your fortune like everyone else in the city believes?”

He dropped his gaze and rubbed the scars on his wrist. “I’m sorry. I had no idea that this marriage of ours would end up being so complicated or so difficult for you to endure, even temporarily.”

“You couldn’t know. Neither could I,” she murmured. “It really won’t be that much longer until your lawyer gets word that your petition for divorce has been granted, will it?”

He shook his head. “I don’t expect it to be, but I’ll see my lawyer tomorrow. Perhaps he can give me a better idea of how much longer it will take.” He got to his feet. “In the meantime, we’ll just have to make certain we talk things through each night like we’ve been doing. I only have one other concern I wanted to discuss with you.”

She nodded. “Of course. What is it?”

“Eric Bradley,” he said and paused to clench and unclench his jaw. “I may not like the way my own cousin looks at you, but I intensely dislike the way Bradley was looking at you last night. I’m a fairly good judge of character, and I simply don’t trust the man. I don’t ever want you to be alone with him for any reason,” he said firmly, then cocked his head and looked at her closely. “Now that I’ve had a chance to think about it, I suspect you weren’t yourself last night at supper because he made you feel uncomfortable. Am I wrong?”

“No, I . . . I don’t like him, either,” she admitted. She had to figure out a way to send Eric Bradley and his malicious threats out of her life, as well as Harrison’s. Permanently.

As the following Thursday unfolded, the unexpected became the norm before Annabelle even left Graymoor Gardens.

Peggy, Alan, and Lotte were all sick in bed with a stomach ailment that had started during the night, and Irene was so busy running back and forth between their rooms to clean up every time they retched or to change soiled bedclothes, she had had no time to cook breakfast, let alone take her lessons.

Annabelle actually prepared the morning meal, which she and Harrison ate in the kitchen. After fixing a plate for Irene and cleaning up a bit, she hurried back to the main house to grab her cape. They had less than an hour to get to the city for their meeting with Eric, and she hoped Harrison was not annoyed with her for taking so long.

He was pacing the length of the foyer, dressed to leave, when she arrived. She offered him an apology as she retrieved her cape.

“You don’t need to apologize or rush into your cape. I’ll be going into the city alone this morning.”

Stunned by his unexpected announcement, she held the cape in front of her. “I’m not going?”

“While I was waiting for you, I received a note from my lawyer. He says it’s absolutely urgent that we meet as soon as possible, which can only mean he must have news about our divorce,” he said, obviously aware there was not a member of the staff around to overhear him. “I sent a note back to him with his messenger and assured him I’d be able to meet with him this morning at nine o’clock. I expect to be there a good while. Clearly, this is far more important than our meeting with Bradley. Since I won’t be able to be there at all, I won’t have you seeing him alone.” He started to cross his arms over his chest, but dropped them before she could offer a frown of disapproval.

She caught her breath and held it for a moment. From the drawn expression on Harrison’s face, she could not tell if he was more anxious to learn if they were finally divorced or worried that she might not defer to his wishes. “I won’t be meeting with Mr. Bradley alone. Philip will be there, and he can bring me back home in a private coach from your city home.” She slipped into her cape without his help.

She prayed her argument was convincing enough. If she could see Eric this morning and get him to tell her the amount of money he wanted her to give him, she would not have to see him in the afternoon. If Harrison’s divorce petition had already been granted, she would never have to see him again, since his plan would be thwarted long before the two-week deadline when he expected to receive his money.

When Harrison scowled at her, she offered him a smile and took his arm. “A donation from the Bradleys to help expand the Refuge is important. I don’t like Mr. Bradley any more than you do, but I can tolerate him for an hour or two. Besides, Philip is always, always on time and more often than not, he arrives for his appointments early. He won’t let anything happen to me.”

He stiffened and narrowed his gaze. “Perhaps I should just send a messenger to Bradley and my cousin and tell them to meet us at the Refuge this afternoon.”

“Even if Philip can be there later, Mr. Bradley has another appointment, which he moved back so he could meet with us this morning, remember?”

His gaze hardened. “You’ll be sure to stay with Philip every moment Bradley is there and come directly home after he leaves?”

“I will,” she promised, pained by her deliberate lie. Oh, how she needed to rectify her sin of omission and explain everything to Harrison.

She turned and prepared to leave this house as Mrs. Harrison Graymoor, the former Mrs. Eric Bradley, ready to become the twice-divorced Annabelle Tyler.

After spending nearly an hour with the women in their knitting circle and explaining that they would be having a very important visitor today, Annabelle excused herself to wait for Philip and Eric in the front foyer fifteen minutes before ten o’clock.

Instead of Philip, Eric unexpectedly arrived first, and he looked about as he approached her. “I’m surprised you don’t have your husband and his cousin standing guard over you. After dining with all of you, I can’t decide which of the two of them is more devoted to you, a point I find very interesting indeed.”

“Harrison won’t be coming today, but I expect his cousin to arrive any moment,” she replied. “Say whatever it is you need to say quickly.”

He stopped in front of her and snickered. “I don’t have anything to say to you,” he argued, took a slip of paper from his pocket, and handed it to her. “I’ve written down the amount that I want and the name of the bank where I have the account where I expect you to deposit the funds. Added to the funds I’ve managed to squeeze out of my wife, I’ll be quite satisfied to leave you both behind as unpleasant but highly profitable memories. You’ll be happy to know I’ve decided that it won’t be necessary for us to meet again, but the deadline still stands. If the money hasn’t been deposited by noon two weeks from today, I’ll have my own meeting with your husband.”

Instead of looking at the paper, she folded it over and over until it was slim enough to slide into the knitting stick she wore at her waist. Whatever amount he demanded did not really matter, since she had no intention of paying him. “Would that account be in your name or my father’s?” she snapped, keeping one eye on the door to make certain she saw Philip the moment he arrived.

He removed his winter overcoat and hung it on the peg next to her cape, and she shuddered with the memory of seeing their outer garments hanging side by side in the small cabin they had shared with her mother for the short week they lived together.

“If you must know, Eric Bradley will no longer exist once you’ve made your deposit. William Tyler, on the other hand, will be alive again and ultimately living in a place where there is never any snow,” he said as he shook the snow from his boots.

If she did not have a conscience or a faith that kept her from acting on her first impulse, she would have taken out one of her knitting needles and plunged it straight into his scheming heart. Instead, she refused to give him the satisfaction that she was angered by the fact he was going to live out the rest of his life using her father’s name. “What you call yourself or where you live matters nothing to me,” she retorted. “If all you wanted to do today was to meet with me to give me your instructions, then I would prefer if you left now. I’ll make your apologies to Philip for you.”

He laughed. “And miss watching that foolish man nearly swoon every time he looks at you? I’m rather looking forward to the amusement, although I daresay your husband was not pleased, if you cared to notice.”

When she scowled at him, he ignored her, looked around at the gray stone walls in the foyer, and shuddered. “There’s time yet before I admit that my wife and I won’t be making a donation to this awful place. Why anyone would waste good money on the hapless souls who end up here is a mystery.”

Fuming, Annabelle was tempted to blister his ears and tell him exactly what she thought of him, but Philip chose that precise moment to arrive.

“I see you’re both already here waiting for me,” he said and quickly removed and stored away his outerwear. After shaking hands with Bradley and offering his own apologies for Harrison’s absence, he offered his arm to Annabelle.

She was grateful for his presence, if only to keep her from doing or saying anything that would have her on her knees tonight asking for forgiveness.

An hour later, when Eric abruptly ended the tour and left, offering the excuse that he needed to return home because his son was feeling poorly today, she was so relieved that she found it hard not to grin.

Philip, on the other hand, was clearly dejected. “I don’t think we’ll be seeing Mr. Bradley again,” he said as he helped Annabelle slip into her cape. “I was certain he would be making a donation.”

She tied the top of her cape closed before donning her gloves and retrieving the knitting bag she had stored on the floor below her outerwear while he put his overcoat on. “I suspect you’re right, but you shouldn’t be too disappointed. Didn’t you say you have two other prospects you’ll be seeing this afternoon?”

He nodded. “I sincerely hope they’re more interested than Bradley turned out to be.” The smile he offered her looked halfhearted. “I suppose that just means I’ll have to try harder when I meet with them,” he said, slipped his hand inside of his coat, and checked his pocket watch. “I still have a good three hours left before my first appointment. Would you care to join me for a bit of dinner before I get you back home?”

Determined not to break the rest of her promise to Harrison, she shook her head. “I really shouldn’t. Except for Irene and Graham, the rest of the staff took sick during the night and it’s been a terrible strain on Irene. I’d like to get back to help her. I suspect I’ll have a battle on my hands, but I hope I can convince her to rest a bit while I make dinner.”

The disappointment that dulled his eyes quickly disappeared. “I have a better idea. Let’s go back to the city mansion instead. We can eat there, and I’ll have Mrs. Farley tell the cook to pack up enough dinner for everyone else back home. That way, both you and Irene will be able to rest awhile this afternoon.”

She paused to consider his offer. She did not think Harrison would have any objection, since she and Philip would be dining at his city home where they would be surrounded by his staff. “I accept, on one condition. I’d like to ask Mrs. Farley to have the cook make some good broth for Irene’s patients. They probably won’t be able to eat regular food for a day or two.”

“Done,” he pronounced, then led her outside to the coach that was waiting for him and helped her inside. Once he joined her, he offered her another unexpected opportunity. “I know you spend most of your time in the city at the Refuge. If there’s anything you’d like to stop and purchase before we go home, we can do that.”

She smiled, as grateful for his offer as she was relieved that she still had the coins from selling her first wedding ring in the bottom of her knitting bag. If Harrison did learn this morning that they were now divorced, she did not know if she would have another opportunity to buy something she had been thinking about for a while, although she had yet to decide exactly what that would be.

“If you’re certain it won’t be a bother, there is one stop I think I’d like to make. I’ve heard there’s an emporium of sorts in the city where a number of merchants have their shops, all in the same building.”

“That would be the Philadelphia Arcade. At last count, I believe there were eighty or ninety tenants. It’s not far from here at all. I’ll take you there.”

True to his word, Philip escorted her into the massive marble-faced building less than ten minutes later. Overwhelmed by the sheer number of shops and their offerings, she feared she would never find what she was looking for in less than a full day.

Until she saw something that caught her eye in one shop that drew her inside, with Philip by her side.

She inspected a small square mirror framed in rich brown leather that was rather heavy, considering it was no bigger than the palm of her hand. She decided at once that it would make the perfect gift, but held her breath until the shopkeeper told her the price. Relieved that she had enough coins, she waited patiently at the counter with Philip while the shopkeeper wrapped up her purchase.

“While the mirror is quite unusual, it’s a bit masculine in style. I’m surprised you didn’t choose something more delicate, like this oval one.” Philip pointed to a small mirror framed in white leather strips woven in a more feminine design.

Reluctant to tell him that the mirror was not for her, she shrugged. “I’m afraid I’m accustomed to more sturdy and durable things,” she replied and hoped she would find the words to explain her gift in writing when she wrote the note she would attach to it before she left it for Harrison to find after she had gone.

And if Harrison was right this morning and his lawyer had summoned him to inform him that their divorce had been granted, she would be leaving within days. If so, she had to tell Harrison the truth about her relationship to Eric Bradley. Tonight.