Page 15 of Unmasking the Silver Heiress
"We don't have to go," she said, blinking up at him with those big, trusting eyes. "We can simply decide not to be part of the Silver Leaf anymore, if we wish. I do not think Aunt Zelda would retaliate, though she would doubtless be displeased."
He sighed. This was probably the intelligent solution to their plight. He could not explain to her why it was impossible, why he had spent over a decade seeking out answers that he would never find if they did the sensible, safe thing and chose to withdraw. "I'm afraid I'm a man of my word," he said. "We will go to Meridian and see this mission through, and then we will decide if we wish to continue on with your aunt's machinations."
She nodded, sucking in a great breath of air as though to fortify herself. "Why did she have the keys to your family's house?" she asked in a tone that did not expect an answer. "What did she mean by what she said to Peter? I feel more lost now than I did this morning!"
"As do I," he replied grimly. "In regards to her holding the keys to my family's estate, I am just as baffled as you are. She didn't seem even remotely concerned that I'd draw up charges against her for meddling in my property. She knows I cannot without raising a great deal of questions that have no convenient answers."
She gave a little grimace, shaking her head at what must have been a lifetime of her aunt's antics. "She has known of you for far longer than you've known of her."
"So it seems," he replied evenly. The sentiment was not wholly correct, but it did unsettle him that Lady Silver had apparently seen him coming years and years away. It had not been expected, especially knowing what he knew of her.
"So, it's Kent then?" she asked, tilting her head. "And an announcement of our union?"
"So it seems," he agreed, pushing himself back to his feet. He offered her his hand and assisted her to standing as well, looking down into her eyes. "Shall we introduce you to your staff, then, Mrs. Atlas?"
She gave a shy smile, biting down on her bottom lip. Despite the annoyances swarming around them, it gave him a little thrill to see her so bashful at his behest.
"Nathaniel," she said softly, taking a step forward, closing the space between them, leaving her hand in his. "I know you did not marry me for the reasons most men might run off with a girl. I would still like to make an effort to be happy in our union, to be the wife you might have wanted, if things had gone more predictably."
He could feel the way she held the breath in her lungs, her dark lashes flickering as she blinked away the embarrassment of her words. His first instinct was to play the romantic hero. He was good at it, well versed in sweet words and doting mannerisms that sent debutantes into a pliable muddle of infatuation. It would placate her, he knew, perhaps even thrill her, but he found himself hesitating from the artifice.
She was never going to be the bride he had envisioned for himself, slippery and cool and nurturing ambitions that spanned Society from end to end. To tell her otherwise would be lying, and he rather thought that she'd spent her life around quite enough dishonesty.
"If you do not wish to share a bed with me, I understand," she added, lifting her chin against the blossom of heat that spread over her cheeks. "I should never insist upon such a thing when it is not wanted."
He blinked at her, tempted yet again to laugh at such an absurd statement. He didn't. He knew well enough how that would seem to her, in such a moment of vulnerability.
"I think that it is a worthwhile endeavor," he told her, lifting her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss. "I should like very much to attempt happiness as man and wife, even if it is not what either of us might have imagined. It is all strange and new to me as well."
She gave a tenuous little smile, the color remaining high in her cheeks from the brush of his lips. "Shall we speak to the staff together, then?"
"Yes," he agreed, tucking that little hand into the crook of his arm and motioning toward the door. "That is a splendid idea."
Chapter 9
In light of everything that had happened, Nell found that she couldn't begrudge her new husband the necessity of immediately packing up their things and venturing out onto the road again. After all, autumn was quickly falling away to winter, and it would be best to avoid first snow if they could, especially since they did not yet know what awaited them in Kent.
"Something you said earlier made me realize that we can simply parcel up and ship over some of the more pressing necessities, my dear," Nathaniel had told her over an early supper. "I do not trust that much remains at Meridian that we will wish to use for any length of time, so at the very least a bed and some basic washing items should be sent ahead of us."
"I gave you that idea?" she had marveled, recalling no such suggestion.
"Quite. You said we can't simply ship the staff over like so much furniture, which made me realize that wecanship over the actual furniture. You are a clever one, you know."
"Oh." She had blushed, turning her attention onto her food in an effort to hide the flush of pleasure that had risen in her cheeks. Her head would be spinning for hours, she knew, from the events of the first half of their day.
"We will send some things tonight, I think, and set out at first light tomorrow," Nathaniel continued, oblivious. "I don't relish sleeping in that carriage again."
Of course, she wished more than anything to suggest they do nothing of the sort. Stopping along the way at coaching inns would be far more comfortable for them both and would give them the opportunity to share a room and a bit of privacy on this next trek. Now that she'd reclaimed her things from her aunt, she had proper sleeping attire and a few dresses that might serve to flatter her meager charms more effectively than what she'd worn thus far as a married woman.
Still, she couldn't bring herself to mention sharing a bed again just yet. He hadn't been unkind or rejected her outright earlier, but he hadn't exactly expressed a passionate intention to make good on their spousal duties either. For the first time in her life, she dearly wished she'd spent more time gossiping with the girls she'd known at school. Perhaps a few of them might have given her some guidance in the business of seducing one's husband.
Her own mother had never offered much in the way of guidance on such matters, for she was spoiled by a long and loving marriage with a man who doted upon her every word. Perhaps she might write and ask anyhow, she thought, no matter how embarrassing such a thing might be. After all, her parents had sired many children and were still very affectionate with one another, despite a lack of wealth or luxury.
She wondered with a smirk what Aunt Zelda might suggest on the matter. She surely had knowledge of such things, no matter how distasteful she found them. Nell had seen some truly shocking prints drawn up of various affairs between the rich and influential over the years, though she'd always quickly looked away rather than studying them for a glimmer of useful information.
Ah, perhaps it was hopeless. She should be floating on clouds of euphoria at having been presented to the household staff as Mrs. Nathaniel Atlas, not dwelling on her own superficial grievances. It was common enough anyway, for a woman to have her own bedroom in her husband's house. In fact, Mrs. Arlington had told her pupils more than once that this very thing was the key to matrimonial harmony. There was no shame in it.
He had presented her as though she were a precious treasure he had unearthed by nothing less than divine will, and while the staff was ogling her with bald curiosity, he had presented them with the mysterious offer to join him in Kent for the next several months, leaving the final decisions in the hands of his butler and whisking her off to the dining room before she could so much as breathe.
