Page 59 of Rescued from Betrayal
“A lady must be allowed to have some secrets, son.” She gave a sassy flick of her hand. Nathaniel smiled and Melior found her gaze drawn to the sight.
Over the last five years she’d rarely seen him so at ease, but he had not always been that way. There was a time when they were young that he’d never been without a smile. Those memories were so distant that she’d almost forgotten them. In some ways, the Nathaniel from her youth had completely disappeared from her memory until now.
Lady Stanford reached out her hand and Uncle Percy took it. He gave her an encouraging nod. She squeezed his hand and let go. “But it seems with the current situation, perhaps this secret deserves to be told.”
What sort of story could have brought on such a tender gesture? Melior found herself leaning forward, anxious for her mother-in-law to continue.
“Lucinda Mayweather was my dearest friend in all the world. We grew up on neighboring estates, and there was not a moment of my childhood that I did not remember her being part of it. We came out during the same season with the hope of finding twogentlemen who lived near enough to one another that we’d be able to go on being neighbors for the rest of our lives.”
A cough seized her and Nathaniel quickly handed her a handkerchief, followed by a glass of water. Melior’s heart pinched at the pained expression on Lady Stanford’s face.
“We do not have to continue, Mother, if you are unwell.”
She waved a hand. “A little coughing fit never stopped this old lady before. Now, sit down so I can finish my tale.”
Melior’s lips curved as her husband did as he was told.
“We did meet two gentlemen, you know.” Lady Stanford’s gaze flicked to the duke before it returned to them. “Both handsome and well connected.”
A subtle look at Nathaniel showed he was as anxiously engaged in listening as she was.
“But with no lands near one another?” he asked.
“Oh, they had several estates in common.”
Melior’s confusion must have displayed itself on her face, for her mother-in-law said, “It was not Sir Nathaniel Stanford the third. He and the Duke of Bedford had never met until that fateful night at the assembly at the Beckham’s country estate.”
“Then who?” Melior asked.
“Your father.”
Leaning back in her chair, she stared wide eyed at Lady Stanford. “You and my father?”
“Do not look at me so. It was no more than a few strolls through Hyde Park and a dance every now and again. But yes, your father was one of my beaus. That is, until I accidentally got locked in the library with Nathaniel’s father.”
“Yes, and it took over an hour for your parents to locate you both.” Uncle Percy chuckled. “If only they had been the first to happen upon the unfortunate circumstance, the whole debacle might have been avoided.”
“I am glad they were not the first,” Lady Stanford said emphatically. “It was the best mistake that ever happened to me.”
“Are you saying…” Nathaniel’s head shook slowly back and forth. “No, it could not be.”
“Yes. We were forced to wed.”
“But… but…”
Instinctively Melior reached out and slipped her hand into his. Nathaniel glanced at her, pain evident in his fine features.
“I always assumed you had a love match. That your souls were made for one another.”
“And they were. But Nathaniel, soulmates are not found.”
“They are not?”
“No, they aremade. Two people can love each other very much, but if they do not choose each other every day that love will die.”
“As it has with my parents,” Melior said, little needles like glass pricking her heart.
“Unfortunately,”—Uncle Percy eyed her— “your parents did not have much love to begin with. I am glad Lady Stanford did not marry your father. He would have made her miserable. Nor do I think he ever would have come up to scratch. While Lady Stanford is a handsome woman, he was looking for an heiress, which he found in your mother.”
