Page 17 of The Captain's Midwinter Bride
“How does she treat you?” She patted Beth’s arm. “Whenever I am around, she seems polite, if a tad overbearing, but how does she treat you when I am not there?”
An awkward pause ensued, and Annalise chewed her cheek as she waited with bated breath for her daughter’s response.
“Mrs. Newell can be very…critical. Not just of me,” she rushed to add, “but of everyone. And of everything. She finds favor with very few things, as far as I’ve seen.”
“Has she said anything to you directly?”
Beth nodded and dropped her head further. “She told me I shouldn’t wear yellow for it washes me out.”
“Well, that was rude.” Annalise narrowed her eyes as visions of stepping on the hem of Mrs. Newell’s dress danced through her head. “Yellow sets off the honey tones in your hair.”
“I ignored that comment for the most part.” Beth shrugged. “I figured a woman who routinely wore such atrocious gowns shouldn’t be giving fashion advice.”
“Touché, my dear!” Annalise declared, delighted by the girl’s levelheaded approach.
“But she did say…” Beth sighed, the sound seeming to deflate her. “She said she never dreamed her only son would marry a woman with such low connections.”
Red clouded Annalise’s vision. “There is nothing about your connections that are low.” Resisting the urge to march to the Newell house and give Mrs. Newell a thrashing, she asked, “And what did your fiancé say in response to such mean-spirited drivel?”
She wasn’t sure that Beth would answer. In fact, the girl turned her face away and acted as if she were inspecting the withered vegetation adorning the park. But Annalise was determined to wait her out. Beth’s response was important, and Annalise realized it would determine whether she continued to support the wedding.
With a loud exhale, Beth finally said, “He didn’t say anything.”
Closing her eyes, Annalise counted to ten before she responded. “My darling, you deserve a husband who has pride in you, as a person and as his wife. A man who will defend you to anyone who makes the mistake of mistreating you.” Annalise drew Beth to a halt and waited until she met her gaze. “I fear Mr. Newell has proven himself to be unworthy of the task. He does not deserve you, my dear.”
“Oh, Mama,” Beth cried, launching herself into Annalise’s arms. “It was terrible. It was at the Sorenson soirée, and Mrs. Newell had just introduced me to several friends of hers. And then she made that awful claim, and in my presence as if somehow I couldn’t hear her. I was so humiliated.”
“Of course she knew you could hear her,” Annalise said around clenched teeth as she patted her daughter’s back. “The vile woman did it on purpose. She wanted to intimidate you, remind you of your place and of how grateful you should feel to be marrying her son. Her spineless son who should be kissing your feet for even deigning to look his way.”
Beth sniffled miserably.
“Did you say anything in return?”
“Of course not!” The girl sounded scandalized. “I thought it best to ignore the situation.”
Annalise scowled. “My dear, you are allowed to defend yourself. Ignoring a bully is one way to handle their vitriol, but it’s not the only way.”
Beth sighed. “I just thought,what would Mother do? Ignoring the comment seemed to be the course you’d recommend.”
It felt as if the earth shifted under her feet. Her daughter thought she would recommend overlooking the insult Mrs. Newell gave her rather than offer a word of defense? Had she taught Beth to curb her bold personality to make herself more agreeable to others, even when they deserved no such deference?
Is that what she had done during her marriage? Had she ever stood up to her father-in-law? Had she ever questioned his decisions? Annalise gulped a painful swallow, knowing the uncomfortable answer.
“I was so disappointed,” Beth continued, around her hiccups, “in Silas and Mrs. Newell. Mostly in Silas. If he agrees with his mother’s assessment of me and my connections, why is he marrying me?”
“Because your family is well situated in Bristol, socially and financially, and with your father newly returned and retired, he commands respect.” Annalise wiped a tear from Beth’s cheek, a lump lodged in her throat. “And you are a beautiful girl. He probably enjoys having you on his arm, and he knows your pretty face will play well with electors.”
“How unfair,” Beth said, the octave of her voice rising. “As if there was not more to me as a person than my appearance.”
“It is a tough lesson every young girl learns at some point in time.” Annalise pressed a kiss to her crown. “Society is only concerned with a woman’s looks and her reputation, and if she loses one or the other, or heaven forfend, both, the woman ceases to serve any purpose. It’s cruel and unfair.”
Beth was silent for a time, and Annalise continued to stroke her back. She knew such behavior might cause a scene, but she didn’t care. Her daughter was upset, and everyone else could jump off a dock and into the frozen waters if it offended them.
Still, good breeding made her dart her gaze about, and she sighed in relief when she spied no one in sight.
Licking her lips, she said, “Darling, I have a question to ask you, but I’m afraid it will upset you.”
Pulling back, Beth blinked her swollen eyes. “I may become upset, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to ask me.”
