Kathryn Smith Read Online Free PDF

maid what to do. Delightful girl. Very talented.”
    Moira’s gaze slipped from his smiling face back to her mirror.
    Where had all that hair come from, so artfully styled and curled atop her head? Those dark arched brows were thinner than she remembered, and her eyes seemed all the bigger for it. Her nose and chin had been powdered, eliminating the shine and giving her skin a shimmery glow. Nathaniel had insisted that the powder extend down her throat and chest, so that the flesh just above the neckline of her gown gleamed in the lamplight.
    All those things he had put her through—the bath, the creams, the potions—all of it had been worth it. Her skin felt as soft as a newborn’s. She smelled of strawberries and honey, every inch of her tingling from her friend’s pampering.
    “How do you know so much?” she asked, watching her skirts swish as she twirled around.
    Nathaniel chuckled. “I spent many hours with mymother’s maid as a youngster. Everyone thought I was infatuated. I was—but with what the girl could do rather than the girl herself.”
    “And now I reap the benefits of your education. Oh, Nate! I can scarcely believe my eyes! I am actually pretty!” Was it vain of her to admire her own appearance? But it was true—she felt so very, very pretty.
    “You always have been pretty, my love.” Nathaniel’s smile was kind. “All I did was help you notice.”
    She swished her skirts again, enjoying how the fabric felt against her legs. “I’m so glad I allowed you to talk me into buying this gown. It is perfect for a winter party.”
    The gown was soft, luminescent satin in a shade not quite white. The skirt and bodice were dotted with tiny crystals that sparkled in the light, and little pearls that added more shimmery warmth. Her gloves and slippers were the same shade of cream as well. Her only other adornment was the delicate diamond tiara on top of her head. She wore no other jewelry at all.
    “I hope Anthony is watching,” Nathaniel said, his voice tinged with regret. “He would love to see you this way.”
    Moira squeezed his hand. “He would be happy to see me wearing the tiara. He always wanted me to wear it more.”
    “It suits you.”
    Moira chuckled. “He told me if I married him he would treat me like the queen I was. The tiara was a wedding gift.”
    “He adored you.”
    Moira smiled. She didn’t need to be told. She knew what her husband had thought of her. “Is it still painful for you to think of him?”
    Nathaniel shook his head. “Not like it was. There is more happiness than pain when I think of him now.”
    Poor Nathaniel. He had gone through full mourning withher, feeling Anthony’s loss as Moira should have. How could she mourn Anthony as a wife should when he hadn’t truly been her husband? She had mourned him as one would mourn any dear friend, but Nathaniel had mourned him as a lover, and Moria’s heart had wept more for Nathaniel than it ever had for dear Tony.
    Two years had come and gone. Moira’s mourning clothes were packed away, but Nathaniel still wore somber shades—grays and dark blues, plums and browns. No one but someone who truly knew him would notice the change. Once upon a time he had worn bright colors, the very height of fashion, now he was more subdued. Still, not even Brummell himself could find fault with his appearance.
    Moira’s only wish was that someday the sparkle would return to her friend’s eyes. To think she had often envied Nathaniel’s relationship with Tony. Perhaps she envied it still, but she did not envy him his pain. The idea of loving someone so much that they took a part of you with them when they died was terrifying.
    And yet…How wonderful it must have been for both of them while Tony was still alive. Never mind that they could never love publicly—they could have been imprisoned for daring to have such a relationship. They had loved perfectly, without shame and without regret. Yes, Moira would always envy them