The Lady Who Lived Again. Thomasine Rappold
it made her want to retch. Seeing him after all this time, and here in the dress shop, was surprise enough. It took her several long moments to force her attention to the woman on his arm.
“May I present Miss Lucinda Brewer. My betrothed.”
Hearing the news was like taking a slap. But the sting of shock subsided as Maddie absorbed the brunt of it, determined to maintain her composure. She’d had three years to prepare for this. Three long years during which she’d imagined the moment she’d come face to face with her replacement. A woman more suited to being my wife, he’d said at their last meeting.
“How do you do?” Maddie whispered through the memory of those crushing words.
“I’m very well, thank you.” Even the dismal lighting couldn’t shadow Miss Brewer’s radiant complexion and glimmering blond curls. “I’ve heard so much about you.” Her kind expression confirmed that she had, indeed, heard plenty, and Maddie shriveled beneath the woman’s pensive smile. Miss Brewer’s eyes harbored no rancor, no jealousy, just an unmistakable look of compassion that left Maddie breathless. And utterly humiliated.
Daniel silenced his fiancée with a firm pat to her arm. The reprimand sent Miss Brewer’s gaze to the floor, along with Maddie’s sinking confidence.
“We’re in town for Cousin Lester’s wedding,” he said.
While Maddie had expected Daniel would attend, the wedding was more than three weeks away. She flipped the page of the book.
“You’re early,” she replied.
“We wished to extend the trip to give Lucinda the chance to get to know everyone.”
Maddie glanced up. He smiled, a beaming smile full of perfect teeth and arrogance. She smiled back, acidly.
“How nice.”
He abandoned all pretenses for a moment, his smirk vanishing without a trace. The man actually looked disappointed that she hadn’t fallen to pieces at his feet, and she congratulated herself for holding her emotions so firmly in check. But the respite was fleeting, and after a beat, Daniel resumed his smug assault with renewed vigor.
“Amelia will, no doubt, miss your presence at her nuptials,” he said.
His false regret was too much. The hair on the back of her neck rose with her temper. How dare he assume she would decline the invitation? How dare he assume anything at all?
“I wouldn’t dream of disappointing my dearest friend.”
His eyes widened. “You plan to attend?”
Even Miss Brewer seemed stunned.
“Certainly,” Maddie cooed. “Why ever would you think I wouldn’t?”
“I assumed your grandfather wasn’t up to escorting you.”
“He’s not.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed in warning. “Consider the impropriety of attending unescorted. People will talk.”
Maddie’s blood boiled under her skin.
“They always do.” She shrugged. “Unlike you, I don’t allow mere talk to guide my actions.” The barb left him speechless, which suited her fine. “But what makes you think I’ll be attending unescorted?”
“I…”
“You’ve been away a long time.”
He studied her, his irises darkening with something unrecognizable. “From what I hear of your situation, little has changed.”
Maddie clenched the book in her hands. Tears burned in the back of her throat. After he’d broken her heart and their engagement, she expected his pity, his guilt. Even his usual condescension. What she hadn’t expected, though, was spite. At this moment, her former love resembled his uncle, the pinched-faced Pastor Hogle, and Daniel’s suddenly triumphant expression made her wonder how she’d ever cared for him at all.
“So, tell me, Madeline. Who is this escort of yours?”
His question filled her ears with the sound of a challenge. The couple stared, awaiting her answer. Maddie wanted to run. Instead, she reacted in the moment. In anger. In defense of her pride.
“Who else but my fiancé?”
He blinked hard but recovered quickly.
“Your fiancé?” His skeptical gaze trapped her in a vise-like grip. “And who might that be?”
He sought to rip away her last shred of dignity, but she refused to let go. Consequences be damned, she simply could not resist.
“Doctor Jace Merrick.”
Chapter 4
Oh Lord, what had she done? Maddie held her breath until Daniel and his fiancée departed the shop. She exhaled an audible sigh, heart pounding.
She estimated she had all of an hour, perhaps less, before the shocking news of her engagement spread through town. She shot to her feet, trying to stay calm. Once the drumming pulse at her temples receded to a level where she could actually hear her own thoughts, she contemplated her next move.
She had to get to Jace before anyone else did.
Smoothing her skirts, she glanced into the mirror by the wall. The beige day dress and ancient straw hat she’d chosen that morning made her look mousy and plain. Inconspicuous. Since the accident, she had preferred to fade discreetly into the background of things for obvious reasons. But today she could not afford subtlety.
“Mrs. March,” she called. “Mrs. March!”
The sound of the woman’s footsteps grew louder. The measuring tape draped around her neck dangled from her hefty bosom as she halted in front of Maddie, hands on hips.
“What is it? Have you finally decided on something?”
Maddie glanced to the forgotten book of patterns on the bench. “No, no,” she said, shaking her head. “But I wish to purchase the blue hat in the window.”
Mrs. March huffed. “I’ll have it wrapped, and you may stop back for it tomorrow.” She started away.
“I shall need it immediately.”
The woman stopped, her furrowed face resembling a month-old potato.
“If you could please just get it down from the window. I wish to wear it home.”
Mrs. March drummed her fingers on her ample hips, contemplating the request.
“Very well.” The inconvenience of undressing the window display was apparently worth the sale. Money was money, after all, even if it came from Madeline Sutter’s pocket.
Maddie followed on the woman’s clipped heels to the front of the shop. Mrs. March climbed onto a stool to retrieve the hat, thrust it toward Maddie, and then stepped aside. Maddie placed the hat on her head, quite pleased by her reflection in the mirror. The color suited her nicely. She adjusted the flouncy brim, admiring the weave and the cluster of silk flowers.
It had been ages since she’d purchased anything so fashionable. She’d abandoned her frivolous pursuit of the latest styles long ago, along with so many of her other favorite amusements.
“Thank you, Mrs. March.” Maddie paid for the hat. “I’ll return later for the old straw,” she said as she hurried from the shop.
She walked toward the doctor’s house, playing in her mind how she’d approach the matter. There was no sense trying to guess how Jace would react to hearing the news of his sudden engagement, so she pushed all such distressing speculation from her head. She’d no choice but to proceed.
The only way she could stroll into Amelia’s wedding and face Daniel and the others was on the arm of her fiancé. She would simply have to charm Doctor Merrick into playing along. True, winning him