Page 21 of Loving Mister Stratford
“Are you injured?” Odette asked, growing more concerned as she stepped further into the room. Meredith gave a minute shake of her head as she attempted to tuck a wayward red curl behind her ear.
“Here, let me…” She fished around to find the small pocket sewn into the layers of her morning dress. Filtering through the bits of ribbon she tended to use as bookmarks, she finally located a clean handkerchief and held it out to Meredith.
Her red-rimmed indigo eyes focused on Odette’s hand for several seconds before accepting the handkerchief and setting aside her ruined one.
“Is the viscount—is he…?” Odette was unsure how to voice the question as a leaden weight settled in her stomach.
Meredith abruptly shook her head.“George is fine,” she said with a shaky breath.“It’s me.”
Odette frowned, the weight settling even heavier than before. She dropped to the cushion beside Meredith.“Are you ill? Shall I call for a physician?” Any number of awful things began to dash this way and that inside of Odette’s brain. Her blood chilled as she pictured wasting illnesses of various degrees of severity and then spiraled from there. She’d inherited very little from her mother, but a predilection toward melodrama was apparently one of them.
Meredith placed a stilling hand on her arm when Odette would have risen to dash over to the bell-pull near the door and call for assistance.
“Not ill. It’s only…my courses arrived.” Several fat tears fell from her eyes and speckled the skirts of her morning dress.
Odette sat back, confused. She’d never heard of a woman who cried when her monthly bleed arrived. As a matter of fact, she’d witnessed her mother cry tears ofjoyon more than one occasion when her own courses came. As far as Odette was concerned, it was part of being a female. It baffled her to be so upset about something part of the natural state of womanhood…but she had come to know Meredith as level-headed and intelligent; if she was upset, then there must be a good reason.
Sure enough, Meredith’s perceptive nature recognized Odette’s swirling thoughts. She swiped at her face and turned to face Odette more fully, offering her a gentle smile of patience.
“It means,” she breathed shakily;“there will be no baby this month. Again.”
Understanding struck Odette like a shock of icy water to the face.
Her mother’s ugly words echoed in her head like locusts, ravenously gnawing away at the edges of her conscience. She gripped Meredth’s hands in both of hers, a wave of protectiveness rising within her, though it was tinged with renewed anger that her mother could have spoken such hateful words.
How many months had Meredith cried like this? Had she weathered any of the vicious whispers of which Odette had only had a taste?
“Surely Sommerfeld isn’t upset?” Odette exclaimed, aghast. She vowed then and there to take the man’s cane and crack him over the head with it if he was the one who’d made his wife cry—no matter that he was nearly a foot taller than her and she’d likely end her marriage into the family before it began. No one deserved to be made to feel less for something out of their control.
“Of course not,” Meredith squeezed Odette’s hands in a gesture of appreciation.“To be sure, he’d be thrilled to start a family, but I…I am the one who is most upset. I feel as if I have failed.”
Odette shook her head in denial.“The way your husband looks at you…” She considered all the loving glances, gentle touches, and tenderly teasing words she’d witnessed between them in the last week, alone.“You could grow a second head and Sommerfeld wouldn’t find you lacking.” It was a fumbling attempt, but it seemed to cheer Meredith up some; she chuckled and caught one last tear with the handkerchief.“He lights up when you walk into the room. Of course, I cannot understand exactly what you are experiencing, but I sympathize with feeling as if you come up short and how infinitely frustrating that can be; please don’t allow it to consume you or define who you are.”
Meredith gave a wet little laugh.“Aren’t I supposed to be the one counseling and comforting you as you prepare to join this family?”
Odette squeezed her hands again.“I may be new here—new to a family such as this in general—but you’ve all gone to such great lengths to make me feel welcome. The least I can do is provide what little comfort, when and where I can.”
“A great comfort.” She enfolded Odette into a snug embrace. A pleasant warmth spread through Odette’s chest, its gentle fingers curling around her heart and cradling it close. She felt like she had done something right, something good, something worthwhile. Even if Simon was too absorbed in his work to devote much time to her, at least this helped her feel a little more at home.
Meredith pulled back and swiped at her cheek one last time. Her eyes were slightly red from crying, but there was no denying just how lovely a woman Meredith was with her pale skin and charming smattering of freckles, her tilted indigo eyes with their cinnamon lashes.
“It might be overstepping,” Meredith began;“but perhaps you’ll allow me an opportunity to dole out a bit of advice now?”
“Of course!” Odette was taken aback, but she’d gladly grasp onto any small thread that might provide her with more confidence in this remarkable situation.
“I can see that you care for Simon.”
Odette’s cheeks began to burn. She hadn’t expected quite such a blunt statement.
“You’re far more forgiving with him than I would be in your place.” Odette couldn’t help her smile at the words, said with kindness rather than criticism.“Society—even most of his family—views his behavior as a bit unusual at times, and he can often seem distracted or rude, but I promise it is unintentional.” Odette nodded. She’d learned as much about her betrothed in the weeks of their acquaintance, but it was nice to have confirmation from another source.“He is merely entirely dedicated body and soul to his work, which is truly commendable. There are very few second sons who would find something and follow through with half as much passion as he. You have been supremely patient thus far and, I do realize it’s painful, but please continue to do so. He needs his own time to adjust, as well. That is, of course, not to say that you haven’t endured as much change, but Simon…he deserves the grace he hasn’t always been granted. You’ve been doing a stellar job of it thus far, but I don’t want you to lose hope; your efforts are far from unnoticed. Might I suggest you ask him about his work when you have the chance? He will light up like you’ve never seen before.”
The last made Odette’s smile broaden. She’d caught glimpses of Simon’s passion, but this was solid advice—something with which she could work. She made a mental note to learn what she could about Simon’s research and make genuine inquiries. If it was important to him, then it would be important to her. She swore to take Meredith’s advice to heart and make the most of their situation. They both had a great deal of adjusting to do, but Odette vowed to be strong.
Chapter Seven
Little did Odette know, her presence at Bridleton was, in fact, quite closely monitored by the man who would wed her in a matter of days. His work hadn’t been the only reason for his seclusion. No. Simon was struggling to come to terms with the fact that his brief freedom was rapidly coming to an end. He would be a husband with new responsibilities, new living arrangements, and another person to remember to take into account.
While he’d initially begun his self-imposed exile in an effort to maintain his sanity until he could rightfully work Odette out of his system, it also allowed space for his mind to run rampant down each tangent it sniffed out.
