She looked into her purse. "I wish I had some money to give you."
"Even if you did, I wouldn't take it."
She looked up sharply, offended by the remark. "And just what is that supposed to mean? Are you saying that my money's not valuable? How dare you-."
He held up his hand, clearly surprised by her outburst. "Hold on, ma'am, I didn't mean anything of the sort. I meant that this trip was my treat."
Suddenly she was ashamed of her outburst. What was wrong with her today? She wished that she could go back in time and do the whole day over. And that wish would not have included a trip to London at all. But there wasn't a thing she could do about it now. What had happened had happened.
"I'm sorry. And that's very generous of you, Mr.…"
"Scott." He finished "Gregory Scott."
She held out her gloved hand and smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Scott. I'm Lucy Muir. But you must let me repay you somehow."
"Nonsense, Ma'am."
"I insist. Now I have some money in the cottage so if you don't mind waiting…"
"I meant what I said. I won't take any money from you. It was just a goodwill gesture. Perhaps you can repay me another way in the future."
Her eyes widened, wondering what the man could possibly mean. And then she noticed how handsome he was, even more so than her husband; a thought that chilled her to the bone. She shouldn't be thinking such things. But to her dismay, the thought remained.
"Now don't get the wrong idea ma'am. I was just saying that there are other ways that generosity can be repaid besides money. There's food, gifts…. "
"Oh, are you hungry? Why didn't you say something? Please, come inside and I'd be happy to-."
"I really have to be getting back."
She glanced at the clock noticing how late it was. The afternoon was almost completely gone. "Of course. Well… thank you and I hope we will meet again in the future."
"Thank you. I hope we meet again soon."
She stood on the porch, watching as he turned the carriage around and proceeded to go the other direction. Her gaze was only intended to last a few minutes, but it remained on the carriage until it became tiny on the path and disappeared from sight.
When she returned to the house, she found a note on the table and picked it up. It was written in Martha's handwriting and stated that she and Anna had gone to the park and then to the library. Anna wanted to read the newest book by her favorite author, Uncle Neddy.
At once, the note crumpled in Lucy's hand and her body went limp as she collapsed to the floor. There she sat, staring at the note. It was such an innocent comment, but the name jumped out at her; a harsh reminder.
Uncle Neddy, famous children's book author, also known as Miles Fairely.
Miles Fairely, the man she had fallen in love with and had decided to pay a surprise visit to, only to discover, to her horror that he was a married man with a wife and two children. She sobbed uncontrollably into her hands, grateful that there was no one around to see her.
