Lillian Holmes and the Leaping Man Read Online Free PDF

straightened her dress with as much composure as she could feign, and Hoyt stood and motioned for Thomas to bring his hat. He fled immediately thereafter.
    A twinge of guilt stabbed through Lillian at her relief to be rid of him. It wasn’t Mr. Hoyt’s fault. It was no one’s fault. She would be a spinster, and not because of this man’s flaws but her nature. No man would allow his wife to pursue criminals, to favor scientific pursuits over artistic ones, to resist bowing simply because of her gender. And a husband would not want his wife to soothe her nerves with medicine, even if she were determined to give it up. Soon.
    She turned to Mrs. Adencourt. “So, that is the last for the month? I have fulfilled my obligation, Addie?”
    Addie covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. “I am ashamed of you, Lillian. That poor man.”
    “You are not ashamed. You are amused. So I think you disliked him as well.” Lillian bowed and brushed her hands together in imitation of Thomas.
    “Ah, my girl, what man has a chance with you?”
    “The murderer has captured my full interest,” Lillian announced. “Have you heard of any more crimes in the area?”
    “I know it’s not fear that makes you ask, and I thought we agreed you wouldn’t pursue this. I don’t understand your fascination with the sordid side of life, my dear. It is unnatural.” Addie paused. “Your obsession with those novels is to blame, of course.”
    “I cannot understand your lack of interest,” Lillian snapped, but she regretted it when the governess wrinkled her brow. “But then, you are the closest thing to a mother I will see on this Earth, and no daughter would want a mother to be in distress. Leave the criminals to me.”
    “Lillian, sit for a moment longer.” The governess put down her needlepoint and faced her square on.
    Lillian’s heart raced, for as sure as summer would soon end Addie intended to dig deeply. Please do not tell me more. Let’s pretend for another year that we are a normal family, that I am a normal lady. “You have my full attention, Addie.”
    Her governess leaned forward and put her hand on Lillian’s. So rare, this contact, this longing that burned at her throat and threatened to spill over her eyelids. It would not do, not at all.
    “Dear, I agree that the young men of society seem to be lacking a certain…”
    “Intelligence?”
    Addie didn’t smile, and Lillian suppressed a shudder and turned to gaze out the window.
    “Lillian, while you are too old to require instruction from a governess, I hope you still value my counsel. Is there nothing in you that desires…companionship? Do you not feel that there is a man in the world suited for you?”
    “You are asking me to compromise so that the Jackal stops his pursuit.”
    Addie frowned and clutched her hand. “This is not about…the Jackal. I love you. I want your happiness. You don’t have to be alone, Lillian. Have you never pictured yourself in the arms of some handsome fellow? Perhaps it is loneliness that causes some of your troubles.”
    “Is this a proper topic of discussion?” Lillian used the question as a deflection. But her mother would have asked the same, she realized, and she wondered if she would have answered differently to the woman who brought her into the world.
    “Your fantasy uncle would not allow you to slip off topic so easily, would he?”
    Lillian pulled her hand from Addie’s and held it over her mouth to hide the quiver of her lips. Her governess’s question deserved a response.
    “Yes, I have thought about it from time to time,” she admitted. When she was alone in bed, imagining a handsome lover hovering an inch away, pressing his lips to hers, running his strong hand down her hip. When she watched couples in the Park stealing kisses when they thought no one saw. When she read novels of love and longing… What would it be like to have a man love you and long for you?
    “I know you might be afraid of men, Lil. Is it that?