The Veiled Heart (The Velvet Basement Book 1) (22 page)

Her carriage stopped at the Worthington house fifteen minutes later.

It was outrageously late.

Miriam was shown into the study. The house was enormous and as she walked after a stiff and reproachful butler, all her doubts came to the fore. What if he had washed his hands of her? The clock in his study ticked as she waited. The room had a bay window that looked out over a garden, which was far too dark to make out more than shapes.

“Lily?”

His voice lifted the weight that lay in her heart from the day. It wrapped around her like a balm.

She turned.

His face was tight as he stepped into the room and closed the door. Dark circles were under his eyes; but those beautiful blue eyes looked at her as if she was the most welcome sight in the world.

Her breath caught.

She saw him now, the boy from the boat shed. Saw the man who had set about to win her, had defended her.

“Max.” The sound broke from her chest.

She didn’t walk, she ran. Ran across the room and leaped at him. His arms came around her, pulled her close, and wrapped her against his chest.

“I love you,” she whispered, her arms around his neck, her face in his hair. She held him even tighter as she turned her face and kissed him.

“I am so sorry. I was wrong. I am so sorry.”

His mouth came down on hers and he held her so tight she could hardly breathe when she lifted her face from his.

“Do I have you, Lily?”

She looked into those eyes, the eyes that had delivered everything, they had promised.

“Yes. Yes, you do.”

Forget-Me-Not: A Pictorial Journal for Ladies

July
1898

Last month we reported that
Lord Worthington and Lady Miriam Rothbury were seen
daily
at Hyde
P
ark
strolling in close proximity.
On a fashion note:
Lady Rothbury wore a smart
black
and white stripped outfit with a lace parasol
, reminiscent of the Parisian fashion released just that week on color plate
. Lord Worthington was regularly seen gazing down at her with what appeared to be more than casual affection.

They were seen to stop regularly and greet other society members in the park.

Numerous
events were attended by Lord Worthington in the company of Lady Rothbury and her aunt,
Lady
Dorothy
Penelope Ashley
.

It is with no surprise that we can
now
announce that the
above-mentioned
couple
were
married by special license at the registry office one month after they were first seen together at the Worthington Ball.

That event
,
a little bird whispered
,
was their first meeting and Mrs
.
Rothbury, the recipient of a love to last a
lifetime
with Lord Freddy Rothbury, danced with
Lord Worthington carrying
a
full
flush in her cheek
s. She
was
seen leaving the event in a state of fluster.

There were many that night
who
noticed the purposeful attentions of Lord Worthington and the struggle
s
of Lady Rothbury
to deflect them
, no doubt the loyalty to her
long
held affections for her
late
husband warring with
what
has proved to be an undeniable and irresistible draw to
another
.
A love
to rival even her first
,
it is whispered
.

There you have it
,
ladies. A heart shattering love can visit us not just once
,
but perhaps even twice in
a
life
time
.

But before we leave you to report on the ongoing activities of the notorious Lizzie Northcote
,
there is a fact that we here at Forget-Me-Not find
worthy of speculation
.

An application was made and granted by the College of Arms and a Royal License not simply to record the marriage of Lord Worthington to the previous Lady Rothbury but to also add a Christian name
,
Lily
,
to Lady Rothbury
’s
along
with a
request
to remove her other Christian names
,
Miriam and Winifred
,
from the records. It is as if she has given that part of herself forever to her late husband. That Miriam was his and this new Lily is free to love
a
new
.

Lily put the periodical down.

“What absolute nonsense.” It almost made her irritated to read such shallow minded busy-bodying. The attention their relationship garnered was far in excess of what she and Freddy received as London’s sweethearts.

“Lily, come back to bed.”

A soft warmth washed into the tightness of her chest. Then a slow smile meandered after it.

Lily. She was Lily now. Only Max knew what this change meant to her. The act of freedom it represented. But more so it was her gift to him. Lily was his name for her and that was the woman she wanted to be. She wanted to be the one to back his ventures as he did hers.

The old Miriam was still there; Aunt D refused to change. Aunt D said it was ‘outrageously indulgent’ and she should save that pleasure for her new husband.

“Max, I will not have another ‘love to last a lifetime’ marriage. These journalists will put all kinds of unrealistic nonsense into young women’s heads. You had better be very inattentive at the theater tomorrow.”

Max reached out and pulled her down onto the bed.

The wonderful warmth of him as his hand slid around her, the start of stubble rough at the side of her face as he pushed his face into her hair and whispered, “Let me practice; do delicious things to me and I’ll try my best to ignore you.”

Soft heat of anticipation rippled through her. She leaned into him, running her hands down the hard plane of his chest and stomach. And lower.

“I bet you the last croissant you can’t.”

Max pulled her under him and tugged at the belt of her robe.

This was what she’d imagined marriage would be like. Mornings with the sun streaming through lace curtains, the bed tousled and warm, half-finished cups of tea and pastries on the bedside tables; the door locked in case anyone should try to come in.

She’d had all the furnishings of her new room changed to the same blue as his eyes. The color of the Greek ocean, the color of hope, and a young girl who forgot she first fell in love with blue in a boathouse.

Back then he’d kissed her as though she was a fairy princess; and then did it again, but used his tongue. The shot of pleasure it had sent through her was a promise he now fulfilled time and time again.

Perhaps a part of her had remembered. Perhaps that’s what gave her the courage in the carriage in their first meeting, those eyes, the blue she came to see as the color she trusted above all else. Or maybe not, maybe she had just developed excellent instincts.

Either way, under it all, it was simply him.

Knowing now who he was, made it easier to see she had fallen in love with him just a little at a time when the world was a safe and good place.

He’d fought to win her against her pain, against the improbable. Her angel, he’d made her face the shadows that were Freddy and burnt them away.

She’d had the bed carved with feathers. Max had laughed. Then he took her to heaven, and she clawed at his wings in the throes of pleasure. And, to her, as she floated back down out of that cloud of bliss, the whole world really was filled with feathers.

“Miriam and Lord Worthington are unconventional characters, and this sets the book apart, as they are superbly written and feel very real. Their relationship will have readers’ hearts fluttering, and pining for the next book in the series. What will Holland surprise us with next?”
~ RTBookReviews

“Elsa’s writing is so lush, it sweeps me away to another time and place…” 
~ NY Times & USA Today Best Seller Kylie Scott, Stage Dive series
 

“This story is very unlike anything else on the market at the moment! Yes, it’s certainly erotic, and yes, it’s a historical romance…but it’s so much more than either of those things!”
 ~ Hopelessly Devoted 2 Books 

“Powerful feelings come to play in Elsa Holland’s beautifully written novel The Veiled Heart, part of her Velvet Basement series. Characters who are physically attractive but soul tarnished rise to overcome their past in this sensual and moving tale…..” 
~ 
Jenerated Reviews
 

“Put aside what you think you know about Victorian England era novels and GET this book NOW! This book grabbed me from the beginning and never let me go! I was enthralled and loved it!”
~  Amazon.com review

“I was mesmerized by the breathtakingly beautiful, romantic story, poetic from start to finish!” ~
Amazon.com review

“I devoured this book.”
~  Amazon.com review

“Intensely passionate. Beautifully written.” ~
Amazon.com review

“A wonderful romance.”~  
Amazon.com review

“Beautiful cover and beautiful writing. Elsa Holland invents the most unusual and intriguing story lines and throws her characters in the deep end right from the get-go. Plenty of romance, chivalry and strong characters.” ~ 
Amazon.com review

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