Page 62 of Silver Lining
"It never ends," she whispered against his throat. Her breath on his freshly shaven skin caused his body to tighten. In a week or two she might allow him to kiss her cheek. She knew he wanted to. After the baby arrived, she would consider kissing him back as a reward if he did something to please her. "I suppose my eyes are red and I'm a mess now," she said, pulling away to dab her lashes.
"You're beautiful."
"Do you know ifshe's coming to dinner this week?"
Of course she was. Last Sunday Philadelphia had feigned illness and Wally had brought dinner to her room. She hadn't enjoyed a single bite knowing the creature was at the table with the rest of the family, undoubtedly gloating and telling herself that Philadelphia feared to face her. Which was a lie. No respectable woman had anything to fear from a fallen woman who knew nothing of decency.
"I'll stay by your side every moment," Wally promised gruffly. "In time, family gatherings will get easier.
Until they do, just ignore Louise."
He could count on that. As far as she was concerned, the creature did not exist.
Once they had their own house in town, she would begin to wean Wally away from the McCords and the intolerable family gatherings. Unfortunately, a house in town was not yet a real consideration, but it would be. Her father had grudgingly promised that the next time he spoke privately to Wally, he would discuss a position at the bank. Moving Wally away from ranching was the first step on the road to molding him into what she wanted. But nothing would happen until after the baby was born. Her ordeal would continue for months yet.
Taking Wally's arm, she collected herself and lifted her head. Together they descended the staircase.
At the bottom of the stairs, Gilly's daughter, Sunshine, ran out of the parlor—the girl never seemed to walk—and threw her arms around Philadelphia 's waist.
"You look so pretty, Aunt Philadelphia! Are you feeling better this week?"
Gently she removed the child's arms. "Darling, you mustn't embrace me like that; you'll crush my skirts."
The careless child was witless enough to look confused. "But Aunt Louise likes it when I hug her."
"As we can all observe, Low Down lacks beauty and style, and her skirts are as ugly as she is. No one would notice if the material was wrinkled, not even her. Women of Low Down's ilk don't care about appearances."
A man cleared his throat, and when she looked up, Max and Low Down were standing in the foyer watching. Max stared at her with a flat, unreadable gaze. An infuriating half-smile curved the creature's lips, but bright pink blazed on her cheeks. So what if the creature had overheard her comments, Philadelphia thought with satisfaction. She hadn't spoken a word that wasn't true.
As if to prove Philadelphia 's remarks, Low Down knelt with no thought for wrinkling her plain, unattractive skirt, then she opened her arms and smiled at Sunshine. "I do like hugs. And your aunt Philadelphia is correct that I don't care diddly how I look. Never have."
Sunshine danced across the foyer and wrapped her arms around Low Down's neck. "Oh, you smell good. Like apple cider."
The creature laughed, a husky sound that belonged in a smoky saloon. The vulgarity of it grated across Philadelphia 's nerve endings. "I used the last of the apples to make pies. I imagine that's what you're smelling." The creature glanced at Max and nodded at Wally standing silently at Philadelphia 's side before she took Sunshine's hand. "Let's go to the kitchen and see if your grandma needs any help."
Apple cider, indeed. Philadelphia moved forward and demurely lowered her eyelids as Wally shook hands with Max. But she stood close enough that Max couldn't help inhaling the fragrance of rosewater and the rose petal sachet tucked inside her corset.
"Hello, Philadelphia ."
"Good morning, Max."
Today they would begin to establish the habits that would govern their behavior toward each other for now and all time.
"Are you feeling well?" A lack of expression concealed the tumult of emotion he must be experiencing, exactly as she was.
"Yes, thank you," she murmured. Wally moved closer and placed a proprietary hand against the small of her back. "And you?"
"Quite well, thank you."
The banality of the exchange deadened her mind. Was this how it would be? Dull, meaningless politeness? Never before had they gazed at each other and found themselves at a loss for words. She let him see her despairing stare at his mouth, then she touched the tip of her tongue to her upper lip. They had to pretend now, but she had forgotten nothing, nothing at all.
Still Max's expression didn't change, but his shoulders stiffened and he closed his hand into a fist around something in his pocket.
"I'm going to speak to Howard Houser tomorrow," Wally said, "and insist that lie lift the ridiculous ban on accepting your hands' money."
A flash of anger knit Max's eyebrows. "I appreciate your concern, but you're wasting your breath. Stay out of it, Wally."
" Philadelphia and I don't think this is fair treatment. We should put the past behind us."
