A Bluestocking Christmas Read Free Page A

lips and touched his hand on the top of the door.  
    “Happy Christmas, Morris. I expect you and Mrs. Morris to enjoy the holiday with your family. Be sure to let the rest of the staff know they’re not to return until late tomorrow evening.”
    Ignoring the deep concern on the butler’s face, she looked up at the small window in the vehicle’s roof and ordered the cabbie to drive on. The vehicle jerked forward and she sank back into the cab’s leather seat. Despite her warm clothing and the blanket across her legs, the frosty night air bit into her skin. Darkness had fallen on the city a short time ago, and it only emphasized the bleakness weighting down on her.  
    Her sigh blew out a soft cloud of warmth from her lips as she numbly watched last-minute shoppers hurrying out of few shops still open at this late hour. Two days ago, she’d been one of those customers, happily calling out season’s greetings to strangers as she’d hurried home to wrap Simon’s present.  
    Why on earth did she persist in torturing herself like this? It was over. Finished. There was no going back now. One could never go back. Her cousin might have been quite resourceful when it came to Thornton Whitby, but not even Caroline could turn back the clock.
    Whitby. He’d been the first man to pay any attention to her, and she’d fallen quickly for his smooth compliments and false promises. He’d even said he loved her. When he’d demanded she prove her love, she willingly given her body and heart to the man.  
    Ivy knew now that her submission to Whitby’s caresses had been born out of a need for someone to love her. But she’d not realized that at the time of Caroline’s betrayal. All she’d known then was that the one person who’d said they’d loved her had stolen Ivy’s chance for happiness. Perhaps she should forgive her cousin. After all, Caroline had saved her from a miserable life with Whitby. Ivy released a soft, scornful laugh.
    At the time, if Whitby had known about Ivy’s inheritance he would no doubt have offered for her. Instead, he married Caroline. Looking back, she now saw the man for the overbearing boor he’d been, but it didn’t make her cousin’s betrayal any less painful. Caroline deserved to find herself a penniless widow with three mouths to feed.  
    Wincing at the bitterness of her thoughts, Ivy burrowed deeper into the cab’s warm wool blanket. When had she become such an embittered woman? Ivy released another breath that clouded white in front of her. Even the frosty air blowing across her face wasn’t as frigid as the ice that had sluiced through her veins the moment Caroline had entered the salon. Bile rose in her throat, and she closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about Caroline or her children.
    An image of three small girls forced their way into her thoughts. Their sweet smiles made it impossible to dismiss the memory. Especially little Ivy. When the child had raced forward to hug her—Ivy quickly banished the thought. Why would Caroline name her youngest daughter after her? It had to be a ploy of some sort. A way to atone for her betrayal. Ivy bit down on her lip as bitterness welled up inside her. If Caroline hoped for any redemption from her, then her cousin was sorely mistaken. The woman had made her choice a long time ago. Ivy could never forgive such a brutal betrayal.  
    But the children. She winced. Simon had been right to take her to task about sending them away. They’d looked so thin in their threadbare clothes. Still their smiles had been sweet and cheerful. Euripides had said that the gods visit the sins of the fathers upon the children. Were Caroline’s children responsible for their mother’s sins? Could she abandon them to poverty so easily?  
    The hack rolled to a stop and interrupted her chaotic thoughts. Throwing the blanket aside, Ivy gasped softly at the loss of heat. The library wouldn’t be much warmer. Perhaps Morris had been right. It might have been a