Page 47

They’d slept in their separate rooms then woke up to luncheon. After eating, Edward had met Miss Coventry and Jane outside of the inn, where they began their exploration of Wells.

Miss Coventry had dared to replace her heavy cloak and hood with a simple spencer and bonnet adorned with those same small blue flowers he’d first noticed at the cricket match four weeks before. “Will this be enough cover, do you think?” she asked, motioning to the bonnet.

He nodded. “I believe so.” Then he looked away before he could admire the way her green eyes brightened against the light blue of her spencer.

Their first stop was to purchase a ribbon, and after ensuring the shop was vacant apart from the owner, Edward held the door open for Miss Coventry and Jane. But Miss Coventry paused, her brow wrinkled.

“What is it?” He looked over her shoulder in the shop. “Do you recognize someone?”

She shook her head. “I have never been within a shop before without my sister or mother. I know there is nothing to be anxious about, and yet…I am.”

Her father certainly had been dedicated to keeping up appearances. Would the man ever regret the toll his efforts had taken on his daughters?

With an encouraging smile, he offered his arm to her again. “Well, you shan’t be alone, if that’s what concerns you.”

She gingerly took his arm then gripped it tightly as they moved about the shop.

The owner, a short man with hair falling forward from behind his ears, came to stand before them. “Good morning. May I help you find a certain color, Mr. and Mrs.…?”

Miss Coventry’s grip tightened on his arm.

Edward smiled comfortably. “Hickenbottom.”

The man paused then nodded with a comfortable smile. “What can I help you find?”

Edward looked down at Miss Coventry. “What color are you in need of, Mrs. Higgenbottom?”

The shop owner’s sharp eyes focused on him in an instant. What had Edward said?

Miss Coventry squeezed his arm. “Hickenbottom,” she whispered in correction.

Heavens above, he’d said the wrong name. A bubble of laughter moved up his chest, but he barely managed to keep it down.

“Light blue, please,” she responded, her twinkling eyes matching the humor laced through her tone.

The man eyed them with suspicion then showed them to the blue ribbons. Miss Coventry picked two long strands and purchased them both before the owner wrapped them up and extended the package toward them.

“There you are, Mrs.…” He paused, having clearly forgotten the name again.

Edward could not blame him, nor could he help himself from saying, “Higgenbottom.”

“Hickenbottom,” Miss Coventry corrected swiftly.

This time, his laughter could not be warded off, and a short chuckle escaped Edward’s lips. “Not long married, you see. We both keep forgetting the name.”

A barely stifled giggle came from Miss Coventry, then she tugged on his arm, and they swiftly left the befuddled man’s shop.

Their laughter fully erupted once they were safely on the street, Jane following close behind with a smile of her own.

“What on earth were you thinking, Mr. Steele?” Miss Coventry whispered, tears of mirth filling her eyes as their laughter settled. “Why would you forget your own last name if you were newly married?”

He chuckled along with her. “I figured I may as well confuse the man more than he already was.”

“Well, you managed to succeed in that regard.”

Their laughter continued, and they carried on to the next shop. After that, Miss Coventry’s hesitance melted swiftly away, and she entered the next three shops without an ounce of reluctance.

As for Edward, keeping up the façade that they were, indeed, husband and wife, became more and more enjoyable. He’d always wanted to marry. But once the rumors began and business waned, marriage became a distant dream. To pretend now that his dream had come true, it was both happy and unsettling. In reality, it could never come to fruition, especially with such a woman.