Free The Robber Bride by Jerrica Knight-Catania

rather well turned out Mr. Woodmore . Victoria smiled. Finally.
    She tried to sit still while she waited for his introduction and subsequent presence in the drawing room, but it wasn’t easy. She’d pent up such a great amount of energy sitting there all day. It seemed like an eternity while she waited, but at last, Mr. Woodmore arrived, a bouquet of flowers in hand.
    “Ah, Mr. Woodmore , how kind of you to call on us today,” Lady Grantham said as he bowed over her hand.
    “ ’tis my pleasure, Lady Grantham,” he replied as he tossed a lock of his light brown hair out of his eyes. It was a bit long for fashion. Or maybe he was trying to make a statement. Certainly, his clothes did just that. She let out a little giggle when she pictured Fin in that same ensemble. He would have looked positively ridiculous.
    “Is something the matter, Victoria?”
    Oh! Had her giggle been out loud? “No, no, Mother. Everything is fine.” She moved closer, so she stood only a couple of feet from Mr. Woodmore . With a curtsey, she said, “Good afternoon, Mr. Woodmore . So very nice to see you again.”
    He smiled, and Victoria was struck by what a nice smile it was. His lips weren’t too full or too thin. They were just right. And his teeth were straight and white. She resisted the urge to run her tongue over her own teeth. They may have been white enough, but the front two overlapped slightly.
    “I was hoping you might accompany me on a drive, Miss Barclay?”
    “Would you mind if we walked?” she suggested instead. She couldn’t bear to sit anymore today.
    “A walk would be lovely.”
    Lily accompanied them on their walk, for which Victoria was grateful. It would have been awkward if Tom had come. Then again, he was nowhere to be found today. Victoria was fairly certain he’d spent the evening with Lady Beecham. It all suited her just fine. Lily was a much better chaperone—she kept to herself and stayed out of earshot.
    Once they were out of the house, Woodmore started to take a left hand turn, but Victoria stopped him.
    “I much prefer this direction,” she said with a gesture to the right. She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to do it, but she was compelled to stroll past Fin’s home. She didn’t want to make him jealous, per se . But perhaps she wanted him to see that their argument had not affected her in the least. That she was just fine without him.
    They strolled slowly along the sidewalk. The sun was hot today, and Victoria tipped her parasol backwards so that the rays hit her face.
    “You don’t fear freckles?” Woodmore asked.
    She shook her head. “They aren’t such fearsome creatures as the patronesses would have everyone believe.”
    Woodmore laughed. “I suppose that’s true. As a matter of fact, I think I rather like freckles.”
    “Such a rebel you are, Mr. Woodmore . Be careful who you say that to or you might find yourself blackballed from Almack’s .”
    “ Quelle horreur !”
    “Indeed!” They both laughed, though Victoria laughed a little harder than perhaps was necessary. They were passing by Fin’s home now, of course, and she wanted him to see how much fun she was having. How much fun he would miss out on now that he’d decided they couldn’t be friends anymore.
    As much fun as it seemed to flaunt her joviality at him, the thought that he really didn’t want to be her friend anymore tugged at her heart. Had he really meant that? Did he truly plan to shut her out for good unless she confessed? Certainly he had only been bluffing to see if she would tell him all in the face of such a threat. At least that was what she hoped, for the alternative would be too much to bear.
    ***
    A loud giggle from outside caught Fin’s attention as he filled in his subject’s dress with broad strokes of his brush. The yellow paint clumped a bit where his brush stopped mid-stroke, but he paid it no mind. He could fix it in a moment.
    Curious to see the source of Victoria’s laughter—for it