After the Wedding (The Worth Saga #2)(98)

It was as if he had never been married.

He thought for a long moment about everything that had transpired—from the moment he’d first seen Camilla in the rectory to now. Then he got out pencil and paper.

Cam, he wrote. I’m sure you’ve heard by now. We are no longer married in any sense. I am sure that you have a thousand things you might like to do—I have seen in the gossip columns that your sister wishes to launch you into society at large—but if you could find the time, I should like to call on you.

The response he received was swift.

I am not taking callers, Camilla said, as I have some personal matters I wish to attend to before I open myself up to social visits.

That being said, pursuant to those personal matters, I should mention that I am traveling quite often by train these days. If you should have a day or so free, I would welcome your company on a journey.

His reply came easily. Tell me where to meet you, Adrian said, and I’ll be there. Wherever it is.





Chapter Twenty-Six





When Adrian met Camilla at the train station early the next morning, she was wearing a dark purple traveling gown with even darker trim, and a hat with a dark veil.

Adrian was not well versed in such things; he’d never had any desire to learn which gown was intended for what purpose. What could he say? This one fitted her perfectly. There was a luster to the fabric. It must have been expensive, because crowded though the station was, people flowed around her as if they recognized that she was a woman of quality and not to be trifled with.

Funny, that it had taken her wearing this gown for others to see that in her. The entire concept of women of quality seemed sorely lacking, especially if anyone imagined that it might ever have excluded Camilla.

It felt like ages since they had seen each other. It had been far too long. He could only guess what she thought of him, and didn’t know why she’d asked him to accompany her on a journey. He didn’t know anything at all, except that he never wanted to go so long without seeing her smile ever again.

Only her clothing had changed; she lit up in delight as he approached, her expression so reminiscent of their times together that his heart squeezed in his chest.

“Camilla.” He inclined his head in greeting, then remembered abruptly. “Oh, for God’s sake. Should I be calling you ‘Lady Camilla’ now?”

She giggled—an actual giggle, as if he’d tickled her ribs. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re friends, aren’t we? Just Cam is fine, as always.”

“Where are we headed?”

Her hand went to her hip; she frowned and opened up the large bag she carried at her side. “‘You need new clothing,’” she muttered in tones that did not quite sound like herself. “‘Think nothing of the cost, I promise. We’ll never notice, but you couldn’t possibly continue on without at least seventeen thousand utterly useless gowns.’” She rolled her eyes as she spoke.

“Your pardon? Is there a problem?”

“Pockets,” Camilla said grimly. “Pockets are the problem. That gods-be-damned seamstress that my sister insisted was the best in town made my dresses without pockets, and then explained that it would ruin the line of my silhouette to have them bulging out with who knows what. So now, I have no place to put train tickets except in this stupid bag that I’m forced to carry everywhere—” She shook a massive bag at him. “Here.” She held out two tickets. “We’re going to Somerset today. The journey isn’t so terribly long; we’ll arrive by mid-morning, as long as we don’t miss the train.”

There was nothing for it. Adrian held out his arm. “If you don’t mind?”

She took it.

“I told Judith you were likely coming along,” she said. “Judith doesn’t like the idea of my little journeys—she’s made Theresa accompany me thus far, but now that I am a lady whose marriage is safely annulled, I convinced her that no such company was necessary.”

He wanted to ask why they were going to Somerset. He wanted to ask if she remembered the last time they had been alone together—when they’d kissed—or the time before that, when she’d promised that she would be his and that she would make him very happy.

They were in the midst of a crowd of hundreds. He set his gloved hand over hers. “How are you getting on with your family?”

Her lips pursed, and she let out a sigh. “It’s…I suppose it’s good, really? I’m still adjusting to the idea of them. There are all these rules, and honestly, I have not had to be a lady in far too long. It’s all very constricting. I’m destined to be an eccentric. I kept correcting our solicitor on questions of ecclesiastical law, you know. He hated me at the end. He told me if I thought I knew the law so well, I should consider taking articles, and so I said I would.” She smiled sunnily. “And then Benedict is apparently doing so at the moment, so he said I should come along and do it with him.”

He laughed. “What did they think of that?”

“Luckily for me, I appear to not be the only eccentric in the family.” She gave him a bright smile. “All these years, I had no idea what was happening with any of them. But it was touch and go from time to time. They had scarcely any money at all, not until recently. And the entire household is in a constant uproar. Judith was seventeen when this mess with my father happened; she was raised in luxury, and for all that she struggled thereafter, she simply cannot see that she just assumes things must be a certain way because they were for her growing up. Theresa, on the other hand, was raised by the docks in near-poverty. She learned that ladies are supposed to act a certain way, but she never believed she personally would be expected to do so until she was much, much older. So Judith and Theresa are constantly at odds. They love each other dearly, but there is no reconciliation. Judith wants Theresa to have the chance to become just like Judith, and it hurts her feelings that Theresa doesn’t want it.”