Page 40 of Unmasking the Silver Heiress
"Yes, and not because I'm some love-smitten fool, either," Nate snapped. "She's unseemly intelligent and has been involved with the Silver Leaf Society since she was fourteen. She might have some answers readily available that we'd otherwise spend months trying to work out for ourselves."
Kit made a noise somewhere between a scoff and a grunt. "She is a little bluestocking, isn't she? She wanted to ride over to Dover Castle and poke around inside!"
Nate laughed despite himself, absently touching her spectacles where they rested in the breast pocket of his waistcoat. "She quoted Francis Bacon at me this morning, casually, as though it were a thing she needn't even expend effort to summon."
"Well, you never have just done things the easy way," Kit said cheerily. "I don't see why the endeavor of marriage should be any different. You are tripping up on all of your old pitfalls, though. Honestly, I'm surprised you take so long to learn."
"My marks were a great deal higher than yours, Christopher," Nate snapped, already shaking his head at the peal of laughter it won him. "Pray tell me, then, Professor. Where am I erring in my marriage? I am quite eager to hear the observations of a bachelor."
"I'm tempted not to say anything at all." He chuckled as they wove their way back through the crates and over to the ladder. "It's only a growing fondness of Eleanor that buys you my mercy."
"Growing fondness," Nate snorted. "You've known her a day. Careful, now, hand me the lantern."
Kit extinguished the lantern and handed it back to his cousin, waiting until both were secured on Nathaniel's belt before he began his ascent. "You always do this asinine division of your motives," he said between breaths as he heaved himself up. "I'm eating this apple because it is going to go bad soon, not because I like it. I'm joining this race because it will lead to valuable connections to further my career goals, not because I want to win. On and on you go, as though both things cannot be true at the same time. It's ridiculous."
Nate heaved himself out of the hatch and onto the grass, pondering over these words with no small amount of annoyance. "Get to the point," he muttered.
"That was the point," Kit said happily, dusting the debris from his trousers and reaching for the broken door to toss back over the hole in the earth. "I couldn't be any clearer if I did a song and dance."
"I agree. That is about where I'd rank your clarity," Nate replied. "If that's all, let's go have some tea and talk logistics. I'd rather be solving the problem under our feet than discussing the nuances of my marriage."
"There you go again," Kit said, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
Nate wasn't listening. Not really. Kit always was talking nonsense.
Chapter 19
Nell had always been reasonably talented at predicting the events ahead of her. She had become a keen observer on the sidelines of her finishing school and throughout her Seasons in London as a wallflower. However, she was quickly learning that this finely honed skill was useless at Meridian, and short of true psychic gifts, she had no means of foreseeing where any given moment might take her.
It wasn't that the surprises were unpleasant. No, quite the contrary. From the moment Nathaniel had burst in on her nap, ranting about a secret room in the ground and brandishing a stable boy's trousers at her, she had come to realize that her husband was a man far too complex to be predictable.
Further, he was considerate.
What other husband would think to find her a pair of trousers (a pair small enough to properly fit!) for her to wear to navigate an old cavern? What husband especially would consider such a thing on the understanding that she might wish to join him on an adventure most unsuitable for the average lady?
Of course, she knew a portion of that confidence in her nontraditional nature was due to the Silver Leaf Society rather than any particular quality she might have espoused in his presence, but all the same, it made her feel worthy. Stranger still, it made her feel visible, conspicuous even, for the first time in her life.
They had mostly been working at night to explore the cellars under the manor. Slipping out onto the doors hidden on the grounds under cover of dusk was prudent, as to not arouse too much curiosity from the staff. Without being certain just what they'd find in what could only be a smuggler's den, it was best not to draw attention to anything that might rain trouble down upon their heads.
Kit had been present for several of the visits into the cave, helping to repair and oil the lamps hanging on the walls so that they might have a clear view of their surroundings and the contraband therein, for contraband it most certainly was.
What they would ultimately do with all of it was a mystery. For now, the only thing to do was to create a list of everything they found, and (Nate insisted) to estimate its value.
Nell had spent the bulk of her life a member of a family that made the most of every spare pence. Seeing all of these things, discarded for decades, was bizarre. Further, so much of the gorgeous silks and satin and fur was eaten away by mold and age and rodents. It was almost enough to bring her to tears. What a horrible waste! What a tragic demise for something so fine, something someone might have treasured deeply! In the right hands, such things would have been heirlooms rather than rat's nests.
In truth, the only complaint she could muster from the last handful of days was that spending the night hours picking through a mysterious treasure trove left them both far too exhausted to use their bed for anything other than sleeping.
It was perhaps a small blessing, for the soreness that she'd experienced after their first encounter had now had time to fully resolve itself, and of course, it had given her time to contemplate how best to execute her next attempt at seduction.
It was not without progress in the matter of intimacy, though they had not yet made love again. Nathaniel no longer slept like a plank of wood, fit to roll right off his edge of the bed if a strong breeze happened in. She often fell asleep with the warmth of his leg against hers and the smell of his skin, always washed clean in fine sandalwood soap before slumber, lulling her to dreams.
On the day of the first snow, Nathaniel had sent a runner into Dover to retrieve several items for the both of them, including several more parcels from Madame Bisset's. To Nell's astonishment, it was not only the gowns and garments that arrived, but half a dozen pairs of brand new shoes, from embroidered slippers of jewel-toned silk to sturdy riding boots that gleamed with quality, all in boxes dusted with fine, frosted powder from the change of seasons outside.
"I feel a bit silly now, having ordered jewelry," Nate had commented over dinner. He had said it so casually, as though Nell were the sort of woman who was often gifted jewels. "With what we've found down below, I fear it is not only redundant, but rather paltry in comparison."
Nell had been unable to formulate a proper answer. How could she tell him that any gift from him, chosen for her, would be more precious to her than the full contents of their treasure hoard? How could she say such a thing without sounding absurd?
She had not yet worn any of her new gowns, instead limiting herself to the luxury of her nightgowns, some of the ribbons for her hair, and a particular pair of woolen stockings that were as soft against her skin as they were warm against the first frosty grip of early winter.
