“So that’s it, then? We’re ending things between us, just like that? Without even discussing it? Without hearing my side of the story?” she asked softly, fearing she was about to shatter into a million pieces.
“There’s nothing to talk about. Our entire relationship was built on a lie.”
“No! No, it wasn’t,” she protested. “What we have is real, Phillip. What we feel for each other is real.”
“I feel nothing for you anymore.”
If he had slapped her across the face or reached out and hit her, he couldn’t have wounded her more than those six little words he uttered.
I feel nothing for you anymore.
That was it. There was no reaching him. He didn’t love her any longer, and maybe he never truly did. He never wanted to get married in the first place. He’d told her as much the night she met him. Perhaps the idea of marriage was too much for him to handle.
Shaking, she looked down at the small golden circlet of sapphires and diamonds around her finger that signified his promise to her. It meant nothing now. Reluctantly, she slipped the engagement ring off her finger. With a trembling hand, she returned it to him.
He took it from her without uttering a word, without looking at her, and placed it in his coat pocket. He squared his shoulders. “Good day, Miss Remington.”
She watched as he walked out of the drawing room, out the front door of the townhouse, and out of her life.
The room grew silent. Only the ticking of the ormolu clock on the mantel could be heard. The course of her entire life had just changed. Again.
Phillip was gone.
The man she loved had left her. Everything was ruined. Her life was ruined. She had lost him forever.
With a strangled cry, Meredith sank to the floor and wept. The tears she had been unable to shed a few moments ago now fell in rivulets down her cheeks, and great sobs shook her body.
* * *
“Well, you came back sooner than I would have expected,” she said, somewhat wryly. “Come in and have a seat.”
He looked like hell though, haggard and exhausted. She wrapped her arms around him and led him to the sofa.
“And by the look of you, I think you could use a little drink.”
Phillip Sinclair still hadn’t said a word, but Lady Katherine Vickers went to the side bar and fixed him his favorite drink. She prided herself on always knowing what he liked and having it on hand.
She hadn’t seen Phillip since they had ended things between them. She had, of course, heard of his engagement to the young oil heiress. Then yesterday, she’d heard the news of the great charade perpetuated by the American girl and her aunt.
And today, Phillip showed up at her townhouse unannounced.
Katherine handed him the glass and he looked up at her with such pain in his eyes, it made her heart hurt for him. With a heavy sigh, she sat down beside him.
“What happened, my darling?”
“I just ended my engagement with her.”
Katherine tried to contain her excitement. The news about the Remington heiress was all over town. Often a victim of the gossips herself, she thought they were being particularly cruel to Meredith Remington and her aunt. Katherine couldn’t say that she wouldn’t have done the same had she been in their position. Women had little enough recourse in this world and had to do what they could to save themselves. After all, that’s what Katherine had done her entire life, and it was partly the reason everyone gossiped about her.
But she was also too pragmatic not to take advantage of Phillip’s situation.
“After what I heard, it is probably for the best that you broke off the engagement with her,” she said, her voice full of sympathy.
“Then why do I feel like I just made the biggest mistake of my life?” Phillip’s voice was hoarse with emotion.
“Because it just happened, darling. It’s still new and raw. It hurts that she deceived you so dreadfully.”
Katherine could hardly believe her good fortune. She had thought that her relationship with Phillip was over and done with . . . and she had been utterly devastated when she learned that he was engaged. Especially after hoping that he would propose to her not too long ago.
Now he was seated before her, telling her that his engagement was off!
Phillip had come to see her. He’d come back to her! He must still care for her! This was her last chance to win him back.
“You never lied to me about who you were, Katherine,” he said with a rueful half-smile, before taking a sip of his drink.
“No, I never lied, and I never will, Phillip. You know that much about me.”
Oh, how she wanted to take him in her arms, soothe his poor wounded ego and mend his broken heart. She could make him happy again. She would make him hers! And then he would marry her after all.
Yet he spoke woodenly, as if in a daze, hardly seeing her.
“She didn’t even cry when I was with her. I expected tears when I broke our engagement, but she didn’t seem to care at all. She was cold and remote. Emotionless. She just handed me back the ring as if it meant nothing to her.”
Katherine couldn’t stop herself. “May I see it?”
Phillip fished around in his coat pocket and handed her the engagement ring he had given Meredith Remington. Katherine had received many beautiful jewels and costly baubles from her admirers over the years, and even from Phillip, but she’d never been given a piece quite as exquisite as this little engagement ring. Oh, she had been given more expensive and larger gems, but none of those jewels had been given with the promise of love and a life together, as this ring had.
For a second she tried to slip it on her finger, but Katherine could not make it fit. A sigh of longing escaped her.
Phillip was too lost in his own thoughts to notice what she’d done, thankfully. She quietly slipped the ring back into his pocket and kissed him on the cheek.
“I’m very sorry, Phillip.”
“I still can’t believe any of this has happened.”
She reached over and tenderly smoothed a lock of his dark hair away from his handsome face. Sometimes he looked like a sweet young boy. How she loved him! She missed him too.
“But it did happen, my darling, and you must try to move forward now. Carry on with your life. That’s all there is to it. You’re fortunate you found out the truth about her character in time, before you actually married her.”
“But I wish I hadn’t.” His voice cracked as he spoke. “I wish I’d found out after I married her.”
Katherine shook her head in confusion. “But if you found out after you married her, her little scheme would have worked. She would have duped you, and then you’d be tied to her forever.”
“But then I would at least be with her. I would still have her.” He buried his face in his hands with an anguished groan.
She stared at him with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, while a heavy and stark realization dawned on her.
Phillip Sinclair was hopelessly in love with Meredith Remington, and he would never love Katherine as much as he loved that American woman.
25
A Word in Edgewise
“Well, this is just dreadful,” Colette Hamilton Sinclair declared sadly, as she sat in her private morning room with her youngest son. “I never expected anything like this to happen to us all.”
“Have you spoken to her?” Simon asked, seated on a floral-covered armchair across from her.
Colette shook her head ruefully. “No, not yet. At first, I thought it best if I stayed out of it, hoping the two of them might come to their senses. Meredith and I have only exchanged a few notes, but I would love to talk to her.”
“Well, I have seen and spoken with Meredith. She is distraught over what happened. Phillip never even gave her a chance to explain,” Simon said, clearly disapproving of his brother’s actions.
Colette’s heart had broken when she’d heard about Meredith’s ruse.
From the start, she had
n’t believed it, but then she and Lucien sent a wire to Captain Harrison Fleming, who was married to Colette’s younger sister Juliette. Juliette and Harrison lived in New York City, where Harrison managed his shipping empire. Harrison’s return message confirmed their worst suspicions about Meredith and her aunt. She was not an heiress after all. The Remington Oil Company was on the verge of bankruptcy. They had overextended on their land purchases, and both Remington brothers had died in a tragic oil rig accident just a few weeks before the Remington women arrived in London.
Colette had been stunned that Meredith had deceived them after she had been so welcomed into their family. She had loved Meredith right from the start and had seen something in her that brought out her maternal instincts. She still remembered so clearly that day in the bookshop when they first met.
Meredith struck her as so honest and open. There had been nothing that set off any warning bells for Colette. The girl seemed lonely, but intelligent and warm and kind. They’d spoken easily together and bonded over their love of the bookshop and writing.
Colette fondly recalled Meredith stating that Colette reminded her of her own mother who had passed away when she was a child. She had been so touched that Meredith regarded her as highly as her mother, even presenting her with the same lovely fragrance that her mother had worn. Surely that moment could not have been contrived?
Had that been a lie? Had Meredith been that manipulative? Had she only said those words to gain Colette’s trust? So Meredith could become close to the family and ensnare Phillip that way? Colette could look back at almost every conversation she’d had with the girl and read something else into it now.
Could Meredith have been that conniving?
Colette didn’t want to think so and had a difficult time believing such a thing. She was so fond of the girl and had been overjoyed when Phillip and Meredith fell in love with each other. She could not have chosen a woman more perfect than Meredith as her daughter-in-law. Everyone in the family loved her, and she’d been such a positive influence on Phillip.
Oh, Phillip. With a very heavy sigh, her thoughts turned to her son, who’d had his heart broken. She worried about his recovery. Phillip had returned to his reckless ways, drinking and gambling more than he’d ever done before. He seemed to no longer care about anyone or anything. For all her complaints and worry over him for the last year, she’d never seen him as distraught and unmoored as this.
Meredith had deeply wounded her son and yet Colette couldn’t help but think there must be some logical explanation for all this.
“What else did Meredith say?” she asked Simon.
“She still loves him, and she’s terribly hurt that he dismissed her so quickly, believing the very worst of her without hearing her side of the events,” he said. “She explained to me, that after learning they were left practically penniless after her father and uncle died, she was pressured by her aunt to pretend they still had money so they could attract more suitors until they both married well.”
Colette sighed wearily once again.
She almost understood the reasoning behind what Meredith and Delilah Remington had done. It was an unfortunate fact of life that women were almost entirely dependent upon men for their survival. It was a situation that Colette had tried to change in her own small way, by hiring only women to work at her bookshops. She’d wanted to give women more opportunities to support themselves without having to rely on men.
What would Colette have done had she been in Meredith’s situation?
“I can’t say that I blame either one of them, but the lie was wrong . . . and has caused Phillip to fall back into his old habits again,” Colette said. “I’m more worried about him than I ever was, because now his heart is broken. We must do something to help them both. We can’t let this dreadful situation continue.”
“What can we do?” Simon asked. “Phillip refuses to talk about it, refuses to see her. He won’t talk to me, or you, or Father. He is out at the club playing cards and drinking every night, or he’s holed up in his bedroom each day, sleeping off all the liquor he’s consumed.”
“Yes, I’m quite aware of his comings and goings,” Colette said with a frown. “I’m not sure yet what we can do, but we have to do something to help them. They’re both suffering so much. We must find a way to bring them back together.”
“You’re such an optimist, Mother.”
Colette smiled fondly at her youngest child. “That’s because I choose to be one. I only wish for my sons to be happy. I want them to marry women who will add to their lives, not detract from them.”
Simon grew quiet and avoided her eyes, and Colette watched him closely.
“I think Meredith is perfect for Phillip, and I would love to have her as my daughter-in-law,” she continued slowly, wishing she could simply ask her son outright what she wanted to know.
But Simon stared off, glancing out the window.
Colette looked at her handsome younger son, with blue eyes so like her own. Her heart warmed thinking of the sweet, cheerful boy he was as a child. He was always smiling, always thoughtful, and had a maturity about him that defied his age. She wanted so much for him to be happy.
“I know that one day you, too, shall meet someone perfect for you, Simon.”
“And if I already have met someone?” he asked softly, still not looking at her.
Her heart rate increased. She took a deep breath, terrified of what she was about to say. “And might that someone be Robert Fields?”
His anguished eyes locked on hers and he gasped, “You know?”
“I’ve only suspected.”
“Does Father know? Does everyone know?”
Colette shook her head. “I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think any of them would be all that surprised by it. I have not discussed it with your father yet, but I think he’s not completely unaware. And I did bring it up with your aunt Paulette, and she was very calm about it all, I must say.”
“Do you hate me?” he asked, his dark eyebrows drawn with worry. “Are you ashamed of me?”
She rose from her chair and went to him, taking his hand in hers. His hand used to be so tiny and fit so securely within hers, back in the days when he was little and she could keep him safe and comfort him easily. Now it was a man’s hand she held. And always keeping him safe was not possible any longer.
“Oh, good heavens, no! Nothing could ever make me hate you or be ashamed of you, Simon. Don’t ever think such a thing. You’re my son, and I love you more than you could know. I have always been on your side and always will be.”
Simon rose to his feet and hugged her. Even though he was easily a foot taller than she was, Colette held him to her, rocking him as if he were a small child again. And how she wished he was just her sweet little boy again, so she could protect him and dry his tears! This road he was on was dangerous and fraught with legitimate peril, but she would fight by his side the whole way if that was where he needed to go.
“Thank you, Mother,” he whispered low. “Your support means more to me than you could possibly know.”
She pulled away and cupped his handsome face in her hands. Even though he was twenty-two years old, she could still see his charming boyish features within the manly ones. Her sweet boy was still in there. The loving boy who held her hand and gave her kisses. The dear boy who brought her a bouquet of wildflowers. The thoughtful boy who read stories with her. And the mischievous boy whose smile lit up the room.
Colette had considered this situation with her son for some time now, and she desperately wished Simon were on the traditional road. It was much safer to navigate through life on that avenue. Colette knew those rules well and how to obey them, and she knew it would be much easier for him. But her son had embarked on a different path. This was an unpaved, unfamiliar thoroughfare with no signposts or markers to guide them.
But they would travel along it together.
She would never abandon him, because she loved him.
“Ne
ver doubt my support. You are the son of my heart. As much as I love your brother, and heaven knows that I do . . . you, Simon, you are more special to me. You always have been. You are filled with a goodness and light that has been recognizable since I first held you in my arms as a baby. You can always come to me with anything that troubles you. I will always do whatever I can for you. Know that. I don’t pretend to understand this path that you’re on, but I will be there with you, no matter what, because I love you.”
Simon flung his arms around her again and hugged Colette so hard she couldn’t catch her breath for a moment.
“I love you too,” he mumbled, as he released her and hastily wiped his eyes.
“What can I do, Simon?” she asked.
“Just the fact that you know and understand is enough right now. Eventually, we’ll tell Father and Phillip. It’s enough that you know, and I can talk to you about it. You and Meredith.”
Caught by surprise, Colette’s voice rose, “Meredith knows?”
Simon nodded. “Yes, she and I have talked about it. She was incredibly supportive and understanding. She told me I should talk to you about it. She said that you would understand, and that I was lucky to be part of such a loving family. And she was right.”
Colette was speechless.
As if she could love Meredith any more than she already did . . . She was a good friend to Simon and supported him. Her heart overflowed with love for the girl.
“Meredith is right,” Colette agreed. “We do have a wonderful family, and they will all support you when and if you choose to share this part of your life with them.”
“I want Meredith to be my sister-in-law,” Simon said. “I don’t care about their foolish charade of her being an oil heiress and having a million-dollar fortune. None of that matters anyway, because it’s not who she is at heart. She’s a very special person, and I love her. She loves Phillip, and she’s good for him. Phillip is being a complete idiot.”
“We simply have to do something to get them back together,” Colette said, her mind searching for ideas.
The Unexpected Heiress Page 23
