Page 69 of Rescued from Betrayal
“Nathaniel, all my life choices have been made for me. First by my mother and father, and then by you and my uncle. I am not helpless. If it concerns me, tell me. I am tired of being excluded from my own life.”
“When did I or your uncle make your choices for you? Is this because I did not voice it abroad that we were married?”
“That is only a small part of the choices you made for me. Do you realize that not once did you ask me for my hand? You asked my uncle, you even made arrangements with my father, but you never solicited me.”
His mouth opened, then shut. His eyes flicked to the sky and then back to her. “Melior, I am sorry. I was so caught up in the necessity of the marriage that I did not give you the deference you deserved. And then I made it worse by isolating you from the neighborhood. You must think me a brute.”
His apology put out the last dregs of her anger. “Not a brute. If you were cruel, you would have left me to my fate when I stumbled upon Mr. Fairchild.”
Nathaniel stepped forward, lifted her hand and held it between them. “I could never have left you to such a fate. You are too precious for that.”
It was the second time he had hinted at deeper feelings for her. When he’d mentioned he cared for her to Baylor, she’d thought it for show, but now…
The door to the shop opened and Eddie peeked out, his eyes wide. “Save me,” he mouthed before his head disappeared back into the shop.
“Should we lend your brother a hand before he finds himself engaged to one of the Harris or Roberts sisters?”
“I am not sure he deserves help.” She smirked.
“Perhaps not, but we still do need him to help us ferret out our perpetrator. He cannot do that if he’s in the throes of planning a wedding.”
She tipped her head to the side as if to mull over the pros and cons. “I suppose we could step in this time, but next time he’s on his own.”
Nathaniel laughed and she grinned.
“Agreed.”
Disappointment was a bitter thing. Nathaniel walked through multiple shops with it dogging his heels. Disappointment in himself for not seeing how blind he had become where Melior was concerned. Disappointment that he had not bridged the gap between them before now. But mostly disappointment that the other women of the party seemed to be monopolizing his wife’s attention.
Perhaps also a bit of pettiness since he would have her to himself at home, but he had questions he needed answers to and he was too impatient to wait.
When they entered the milliners’ he opted to stay outside with John. He assessed his friend’s flushed complexion and darting eyes.
“Are you going to survive this encounter?”
John rolled his eyes. “Yes, but you might not. Why did you insist on my company today?”
“Come now, you must agree it has been pleasant to spend time with the fairer sex.”
“Only if you call physiological and auditory torment pleasant.”
“Are you saying one of them accosted you?”
“All of them have with their constant chatter and insistence that I offer my arm at every turn. It would not be sodisconcerting if I had something clever to say in return, but the only subjects that come to my frazzled mind are either inappropriate conversation for ladies or excessively boring to their fashion-focused minds.”
“Inappropriate? That is not like you. What could you possibly say that was inappropriate?”
John peered at him, misgiving in his expression. “I shared the medical origin of plethora and explained the use of urine in papermaking.”
Nathaniel raised a hand to his mouth, trying to cover his amusement. “I see.”
“There is laughter in your eyes.”
A chuckle slipped through Nathaniel’s fingers. “How is it that with men you can speak with eloquence and intelligence, but when ladies appear you turn into an encyclopedia, spouting words and details best left unsaid?”
John rubbed the back of his neck. “I do not know. I think something is broken in my head.”
A grey striped cat darted across the road stealing John's attention. The door opened behind them and Nathaniel turned, expecting to welcome one of his friends to the millinery outcast club, but instead he found Melior.
