“It is a dress. Do not fear it,” he whispered softly. “Now, enjoy it.” He let his hands drop from her and moved toward the curtain, stepping outside once again.
Mrs. Sinclair finished dealing with her other customer and returned back behind the curtain to assist Margaret.
Theodore spent his time looking through a display of gloves and bonnets. He picked up three sets of gloves and placed them on the counter too. One pair was for formal occasions, made of beautiful lace, but the other two were warm, green, and made of the finest wool to keep her warm in the wintertime.
When Margaret did eventually appear from behind the curtain in her normal gown and pelisse, she was pink-cheeked, perhaps a little embarrassed. Theodore found the expression rather endearing as he penned a draft for Mrs. Sinclair’s services. The whole time, Margaret fussed with the gloves he had laid on the counter.
Mrs. Sinclair stepped away to fetch a box for the gloves, leaving them a minute to talk.
“This is a great kindness,” Margaret whispered.
Kindness?
Theodore froze with the quill pen hovering in the air. That was not a word he could ever remember hearing attributed to him before.
It was a strange feeling, for her words conjured the horrid memory of his mother on that heathland. He thought of theway his mother had shouted, demanding he could not marry, warning him that he would be repeating the past.
I’m a demon, aren’t I? I have no kind bone in my body.
“Theo?” Margaret whispered at his side. “Thank you.”
A soft warmth spread through his body, but he quickly shut it down.
Today had been a weakness, a wish to help her, but it would not continue. He had always told himself that if he did marry, he would keep distance between them, to ensure he did not repeat the mistakes his father had made.
Perhaps Margaret had slipped through the cracks a little bit, become closer to him than he had intended, but that ended now.
“It is just one act of kindness. Nothing more,” he assured her, quite determinedly not looking her in the eye.
They both thanked Mrs. Sinclair for her help then left the shop, with Theodore carrying the boxes. They didn’t speak as they walked through Covent Garden, returning to the carriage. They didn’t even speak as they returned home in the carriage, though Theodore felt the temptation to look at wife more than once.
His weakness to her, the fact that he couldn’t stop staring, started to anger him again. So much so that when they reached the house, he jumped down quickly from the carriage and strodeinto the house, intending to put as much distance between them as possible.
Margaret, however, followed him into the house quickly. She stood by the entrance, opening up a sealed letter which had been left for her on a card tray. Theodore was halfway up the stairs when she called out to him.
Silently, he turned back to face her.
She stood quite still by the hall table, staring down at the letter as if something in the contents had stunned her. That loose lock of hair he had played with earlier now hung by her cheek.
The memory of touching her neck, of hearing the way she had inhaled sharply, had something burning excitedly in his stomach.
I cannot continue like this.
If he was going to stop staring at her, then he’d have to put more distance between them than just a few steps.
“It’s from my sister, Louisa,” Margaret murmured, waving the letter up at him. “She, Penelope and Alexandra are coming to see me. And… my father is coming too.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“At last!” Alexandra was the first to bustle in through the open doorway, flinging herself at Margaret. Louisa and Penelope were next, hugging Margaret each in turn.
She was so delighted to see them, she gripped tight to them all, barely noticing her father walk in behind them until they all stepped back.
“How are you?” Louisa asked in a low and pertinent voice, so only Margaret could hear her.
“I’m well,” Margaret assured her. “How are you all? I’ve been wanting to see you all for days!”
“Yes, well…” Penelope offered a sideways glance in their father’s direction. “Father was quite insistent we didn’t come yet.”
