{"product_id":"2940013771741","title":"Forget-Me-Not","description":"She took off her glove and glanced at the wedding ring which she had no\u003cbr\u003eright to wear; this irritated her companion. As he opened the door of the\u003cbr\u003emusty, private parlour of the inn he reflected that many of her actions\u003cbr\u003esince he had eloped with her had irritated him; a bad beginning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe endeavoured to reassure himself by a full look at her beauty and\u003cbr\u003eelegance. Mary Showler accepted with pleasure this admiration that was\u003cbr\u003etinged by doubt and reluctance. Still displaying the slim hand with the\u003cbr\u003egold band that he had given her that morning, she sat composedly at ease,\u003cbr\u003eignoring her homely surroundings, the dark room with a dusty case of\u003cbr\u003eprize fish, a shelf with pewter tankards, a new engraving of the girlish\u003cbr\u003eQueen in her coronation robes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYoung Morrison decided that Mary Showler was worth the trouble; a beauty,\u003cbr\u003eif ever there was one...a woman of taste, too; he liked her gown of deep\u003cbr\u003eindigo blue glaces silk, so neatly buttoned to the slim figure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe was aware of his approval and smiled; her toilette had cost her all\u003cbr\u003eshe possessed in the world. She had never worn such clothes before,\u003cbr\u003enothing but the plainest attire was permitted the teachers at Miss Le\u003cbr\u003eMoine's Academy for Young Ladies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Well,\" she said, still smiling, \"so far successful, Robert! Can we get\u003cbr\u003eany refreshment here? And when do you expect your sister?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe did not like that; she should not have forced an explanation when she\u003cbr\u003eought to have understood the situation without a word. To gain time he\u003cbr\u003erang the bell and ordered coffee, she, smiling always, considering him\u003cbr\u003ewith furtive steadiness the awhile.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey had been travelling together since morning and the tedious intimacy\u003cbr\u003ehad not increased her esteem for him; she realised that she would have to\u003cbr\u003ebe very careful, very patient. He was pampered, wilful, bad tempered, an\u003cbr\u003eindulged sensualist, and worse than any of this, she feared, with a real\u003cbr\u003esinking of the heart, that he was stupid.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut he was wealthy and the next-of-kin to a duke; Mary Showler made her\u003cbr\u003esmile soft and engaging as she poured the coffee and offered the cakes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Are you not fatigued, Robert? The train was so wearisome! When shall we\u003cbr\u003eproceed?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Well, I have to see to a few arrangements.\" He stared moodily into his\u003cbr\u003ecoffee cup. She considered all he did and said with an intense, secret\u003cbr\u003einterest which she did not for a second mistake for the repulsions and\u003cbr\u003eattractions of love (though he had for her, on occasion, a strong\u003cbr\u003ephysical appeal) she was anxious to know, to understand and to please him\u003cbr\u003ebecause he represented to her a unique chance of escaping an intolerable\u003cbr\u003elife and of achieving all she desired.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe was a well-built, rather clumsy young man with thick, closely curling\u003cbr\u003efair hair and whiskers, blunt features and pale grey eyes. He rose\u003cbr\u003eabruptly, with an uneasy grin, and said:","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47079722123504,"sku":"2940013771741","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013771741_p0.jpg?v=1763598908","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013771741","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}