As she watched him shut the window and move back to his desk, she acknowledged that he was a very handsome young man with his thick golden hair and hazel eyes. She supposed it was not surprising that such a fine-looking, well-to-do man would balk at taking on a poor wife and her dependents, especially since they were now tainted with scandal. It would severely curtail his continuous rise in the world. He could do so much better. Nevertheless, it hurt to think that his feelings for her had been so shallow.
“Actually, Thomas, I am here at my mother’s insistence. She is a dear, romantic soul who finds it hard to believe that your avidly declared love for me could vanish so abruptly.”
He flushed. “A man has to look to his future.”
“And a poor wife with a mother and two young brothers depending on her will not help you at all.”
“Well, I am glad that you understand.”
“What I understand, Thomas, is that I have spent too many months of my life listening to your sweet lies. I tried to tell my mother that was the way of it, but, as I have said, she is of a romantic turn of mind.”
“Are you quite finished?” he said testily as he stood up and grabbed his hat from a rack just behind his chair.
“Ah, you have an appointment, do you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” He strode to the door and flung it open, then turned back and scowled at her.
“Well, do not let me keep you,” she murmured as she walked through the door. “Sarah Marsten always insists upon promptness.”
“What makes you think I am going to see Miss Marsten?”
“I read it in your appointment diary. It was open on your desk.”
“Do you need a ride home?” he snapped.
“You always did have such nice manners, but, no, I think not. Good day,” she said cheerfully and winced when he strode out of the building and slammed the door behind him.
“I am sorry, Miss Sherwood,” John murmured, stepping forward.
The sincerity in his pleasant face made Clover smile. “Except for the fact that we had pinned our hopes on him, there is really no call to be sorry. In a way, ‘tis best to find out before the wedding that his heartstrings are so firmly tied to his pursestrings.”
“Perhaps it is better for you that you will not be his wife.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing. Just referring to his obvious fickleness,” John stuttered, then blushed before he collected himself. “What will you do now, Miss Sherwood?”
“That is going to take a great deal of thought.”
“What about your sister, Mrs. Lavington? Could she not help?”
“She could, but she will not. Family loyalty was never one of Alice’s strong points.”
“Well, if I hear of anything that could be of help, I will be sure to tell you.”
“Thank you very much, John. I had best be making my way home.”
“You be careful, Miss Sherwood. There is a rough group of men in town today.”
Rough men was correct, Clover mused as she left Thomas’s offices. Unfortunately, the men were spreading outward from the docks. She was going to have to walk past several knots of them on her way home. Straightening her shoulders and silently cursing her small stature, she started off. Just because the men looked rough did not mean that they were rough, she told herself firmly, not allowing them to frighten her.
She was just about to breathe a sigh of relief, certain that she had passed them all unscathed, when a large bearded man suddenly blocked her path. The three men with him chuckled softly as he grinned at her, revealing a mouthful of blackened and broken teeth. She wrinkled her nose as she caught the strong scent of rum, just one of the unpleasant aromas emanating from his bulk.
“Here now, little darlin’, where are you going?” he asked.
“Home,” she replied, “if you would be so kind as to remove yourself from my path.”
“Feisty little thing, ain’t she?” He laughed heartily, as did his three hairy companions.
