Page 44 of Rescued from Betrayal
“It is not a secret. It’s part of the reason Uncle Percy insisted there be no more scandal. While a duke is granted plenty of liberties, it is best not to make more enemies.”
“So your grandfather married your grandmother for her fortune, then?”
“No. It was more than that. He loved my grandmother with a fierceness not many have ever witnessed.”
He smiled indulgently. “And how could you know this? Your grandparents have been deceased for a long time.”
She narrowed her eyes, obviously upset at his distrust in the credibility of her story. “Because he told his children, and Uncle Percy told me. There have been generations of loving families in the Kendall line. Ones built on trust and mutual respect.”
The passion in her voice flooded her face with color causing her cheeks to glow and her eyes to brighten—if that was even possible. Nathaniel did not know if he’d ever met someone with as luminescent eyes as Melior.
Then he remembered Melior’s parents’ relationship. He’d witnessed enough through the years to know that no love existed there. What had happened to them if love was such an important part of the Kendall legacy?
“Why do you look like that?” She set down her utensils.
“Like what?”
“You do not believe me.”
“I said no such thing.”
“Your face says everything. There is doubt and incredulity written all over it.”
“I simply wondered how you could speak so freely of loving marriages when your own parents…”
She smiled sadly as he trailed off. “When my own parents are so unhappy? Uncle Percy is the answer. He and my Aunt Lucinda were my example. They loved each other, much as my grandfather and grandmother had, even though scandal surrounded their union.”
Nathaniel took a bite, processing her words. “You loved your aunt.”
She did not respond right away, but she did not have to. The glisten in her eyes spoke for her.
Finally she said, “My Aunt Lucinda meant the world to me.” She took a sip of her wine, then muttered, “Much to my mother’s abhorrence.”
“Your mother did not like your aunt?”
Melior shook her head. “It was my aunt’s influence that she disliked. They got on well together, but my mother does not believe in love and demanded Aunt Lucinda leave my social training to her.”
“I see. But you ascribe to your aunt’s way of thinking.”
A pretty blush spread on her cheeks. “I do.”
The rest of the meal was a silent affair, both of them lost in their thoughts.
Nathaniel pondered her words. It seemed Melior was a romantic at heart, something he’d never have guessed. Perhaps there was a bit of hope that they might have a future after all.
Chapter 16
Melior found the next two weeks far more enjoyable. While very little had changed, there seemed to be less tension between her and Nathaniel. Dinner conversations flowed well as they shared childhood memories, and the times that Lord Newhurst had come to draw, she’d actually found herself smiling and even laughing.
Then again, it was hard not to when Lord Newhurst made such a big show of forcefully placing Sir Nathaniel in some of the most ridiculous poses. More often than not, the poses required Nathaniel to touch her, something she found she enjoyed immensely. He had not objected so she hoped that meant he was just as amenable to the contact.
However the last position had been more humorous than intimate. Lord Newhurst had required Sir Nathaniel to place his foot on a stool so his knee bent in a way he could place his elbow on it. Then Lord Newhurst had made him put his chin on his pointer finger while holding his other arm awkwardly out behindhim, his hand grasping a bouquet of flowers. She, on the other hand, had been allowed to sit serenely on a chair next to him.
She chuckled at the memory. Picking up a paintbrush, she dabbed the watercolor on the small piece of parchment. The blue latched onto the purple she’d previously laid and mixed at the edges creating a beautiful marbling effect. She smiled and gazed out the window at the setting sun. The light refracted off the cracks in her lenses, drawing colorful lines through her vision and making a delightfully artistic view.
The watercolor would not be an especially good replica of the horizon, but it would add a bit of color to lighten up her darkly paneled room.
Her attention shifted to the ceiling, the only patch of light where someone had painted a mural of primrose, foxglove, and forget-me-nots splashed with several ox-eye daisies. A few of the small paintings that hung on the walls matched the ceiling, but it did not relieve the darkness of the wood.
