Page 37 of A Lady's Heart Deceived
That thought had him breaking the kiss. Pulling away.
“I am sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I beg your forgiveness,” he said.
Maggie shook her head. “Piers, I—”.
“No.” He backed away. “I have overstepped both our friendship and the mission to which I was tasked. Forgive me. You deserve better.”
His fingers were on the door handle, and the key turned before she caught up with him. For a brief moment, they both stood silent, staring deep into one another’s eyes.
If only you could be mine. Destiny can be so cruel.
“Piers, you must know that we are more than friends. I don’t think that kiss was wrong. My only regret is that I had no right to it. You, like Robert, belong to someone else.” She lay her hand over his and opened the door. “I seem fated to fall for men who I cannot have. Good night, Piers.”
He stepped out into the hallway. He was still in two minds as to whether he should throw all caution to the wind and go back and kiss Maggie for a second time when the door closed behind him. The click of the latch gave him the answer he needed.
It had been a mistake. And he was a selfish fool.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Maggie was relieved that she had given her black and pale lilac gowns to the maid the previous day. By having them out of reach, it took away the temptation of wearing them to meet with Robert. To show him with more than just words what he had done to her.
But she understood only too well that while she had invested her heart and soul in their love affair, he had been merely toying with her. She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing that she had put her life on hold for over two years, thinking he was dead.
No. You no longer have that power over me.
The smirk he had so effortlessly offered the previous day had been like a knife to her heart, killing any and all tenderness she may have once held for him.
Robert may not be in his grave, but today, Maggie was determined to bury him deep in her past. She would keep shoveling the dirt over the mound until he finally fell silent in her heart and mind.
Stepping confidently into the pale apple and rose-striped gown that she had bought from Elizabeth’s modiste, she considered her reflection in the mirror. What she saw looking back at her was a young woman unafraid of her past, one who now looked forward to a brighter future. This was the Maggie Radley she so desperately wanted Robert to see.
Not the Maggie who had collapsed in the street. Nor the Maggie who had cried herself to exhaustion on the bed yesterday afternoon. And most certainly not the Maggie who had been taken for a fool, the one who had wasted all those days grieving for a scoundrel. She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. Whatever she might still feel inside, she was determined to project this happy version of herself to the world.
At least for this morning. Until I am sure he is gone from my life.
“I do so love this gown on you, Miss Radley,” said her maid.
Opening her eyes, Maggie glanced at her reflection in the mirror once more and smiled. She had almost forgotten the wonder of cheerful colors and what they did to her complexion. The change in color palette was welcome. An appointment with her modiste would be high on the list of things she would have to attend to once she returned to London.
Ridding herself of the rest of her mourning gowns, and any correspondence relating to Robert, were at the very top of that list.
“It’s a pity I don’t have any boots to match the gown, but these black ones will have to do. I don’t expect we shall remain much longer in Coventry. Captain Denford has already completed the work he came here to do,” she said.
Under other circumstances, she would have loved to stay on and see more of the city and the surrounding countryside, but she doubted Piers would want to linger. He had many other pressing commitments in London, and it wouldn’t be fair to ask him to indulge her any further.
Her fingers found their way to her lips, touching the place where Piers had kissed her the previous evening. The memory of his arms around her, the heady scent of his gentleman’s cologne. His long, lingering kiss . . . She shivered, recalling how much she wished him to do it again.
You know that is impossible. He has a fiancée, and you shouldn’t be the cause of heartbreak to another woman. Not after what you have been through.
What she had done was wrong.
The maid finished lacing up the back of the gown, then handed Maggie her cloak.
“Thank you. Would you please let Captain Denford know that I will meet him downstairs shortly?”
Maggie needed time alone to put her emotional armor firmly into place. To prepare herself for meeting Robert.
And to spend more time with Piers.
