Turning to Bentley, she said, “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get us a hackney…”
“There’s no need for that. Allow me to offer the use of my carriage,” Roarke smoothly interjected with a challenging grin.
Mara frowned. “That won’t be necessary. I’m perfectly capable of hailing us a cab.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He grinned, enjoying her discomfort entirely too much. “My landau is parked just there, and it’s both more comfortable and less expensive than one of those rickety contraptions that pass for hired vehicles. Besides, it’s not as if I plan on whisking you away to the wilds of the country, never to be seen again.”
Bentley gave her a considering look and shrugged.
Fuming, Mara realized there would be no help from that corner. In the end, she gritted her teeth. “Very well.”
Roarke offered her his arm, but when she pointedly refused the gesture, he chuckled and fell into step with Bentley, giving her no choice but to follow in their wake.
Once they were seated in the carriage, Roarke gave his driver Mara’s directions and, after a slight jerk, they were in motion.
Mara desperately tried to hold on to her irritation, but the moment she sat down, she couldn’t help but rub her hand over the red velvet cushions beneath her. Never before had she ridden in such a finely sprung and upholstered conveyance as this—and likely never would again. It made her think of what might have been had things turned out differently and she had married Roarke. As Lady Eversleigh, she could have enjoyed such refinements these past seven years, along with silks and satins aplenty. Instead of displaying them in her shop, she might have been able to purchase her own, along with anything else she wished. She would have a home to call her own, not just a cramped room in the city. Perhaps even children…
Mara jumped in surprise when she felt a gentle hand on her cheek. She hadn’t even realized she’d been crying until Roarke pulled his thumb away and she saw the moisture glistening on the pad of his finger.
Embarrassed, for it was the first show of kindness he’d shown her thus far, she quickly swiped at her face, shaking her head when he silently offered her the use of his handkerchief. Unfortunately, a small scrap of linen couldn’t erase the remnants of heartbreak and regret.
For either of them.
