Page 24 of Suddenly a Bride
“Hire whomever you wish.”
“ ’Tis difficult to do that when I haven’t met anyone yet.”
She spoke with cool necessity, not a whine, as Elizabeth would have done. And she had so easily manipulated him out of his anger at her spying.
He glanced at her, saw how her eyes bravely met his, and he almost let himself smile. “Be patient, Gwyneth. Now if you please—”
“Aye, my lord,” she said, walking calmly around him and out the door.
Edmund closed it firmly behind her.
~oOo~
Gwyneth spent much of the day in the lady’s garden, letting the memories of her early childhood on the family farm wash over and soothe her. She’d been a child the first time her father had sickened, when he was no longer able to work as a farmer. Though the move to London had been jarring, she’d adapted easily enough. But she hadn’t realized how much she missed the country.
She kept her hands in the warm earth, pulling weeds and cutting back some of the overgrowth. Anything to forget the embarrassment of having practically begged to see her husband’s naked body. Even now she groaned and covered her face, not caring where she spread the dirt. She had meant only to look at his injuries, but somehow that was not what the words had conveyed once she’d said them.
But was it such a bad thing to be misunderstood? She did not yet have the courage to ask Edmund why he did not come to her bed, so letting him know that his injuries did not bother her might ease this awkwardness between them. Patience, something she was normally so good at, now seemed to be stretching thin. She needed this marriage to succeed, and not only for herself.
During every good meal she ate, she wondered what her family was eating. How were they getting along without her help in the kitchen and without her selling their baked goods to the local bakeries? She’d handled the business side of their baking, and she knew her sister Caroline, her replacement, was shyer than she was. Athelina and Lydia were more than competent to help their mother bake. And then there was her father, who’d seemed even thinner during their final embrace. How grateful she would be if she could make things easier for her family. She would not give up trying to push her way into her husband’s life.
If there was one way she could please a man, it was by her baking skills. Before supper, she invaded the kitchen and asked for a small space to work in.
Mrs. Haskell looked down on her with a frown, and the cook, Mr. Throckmorten, a sandy-haired man only a few years older than Gwyneth was, gave an affronted gasp.
Gwyneth went to him immediately. “Mr. Throckmorten, I assure you I mean this with no disrespect. Baking was what I did in London, and I thought to make my husband something…special to eat.”
She glanced at Mrs. Haskell, whose anger had melted into a sympathetic smile.
“Lady Blackwellisa new bride, Mr. Throckmorten, and I remember well how that felt.”
“I have never been married,” the cook said, nodding as he seemed to think it over.
“Were you not conversing with a certain young woman in Swintongate?” Mrs. Haskell asked.
Gwyneth was stunned when the usually dour woman actually winked at her. She smiled back.
Mr. Throckmorten cleared his throat. “Now, Mrs. Haskell, I cannot possibly imagine what you mean.” He turned to Gwyneth. “My lady, let me remove these pans from the table.”
Relieved and happy, Gwyneth pinned her apron on, rolled up her sleeves, and began to work on her famous ginger cake.
~oOo~
Edmund was at the kennels, overseeing the feeding of his hunting dogs, when he heard Geoff call out his name. He looked over his shoulder to see the man bearing down on him.
Edmund smiled and held up a hand. “Surely I did not forget a chess match. ’Tis all you reserve your ire for.”
Geoff gave a smile to the groom and pulled Edmund aside by the elbow. “I’ve been sitting in your dining room, having dinner alone with your wife. How do you think that looks to the servants?”
“Then don’t eat with her,” he said, turning away.
Geoff blocked his way. “You promised you’d give her the benefit of the doubt.”
“I said I’d try.”
“Try harder. Your wife subtly asked me if your wounds were more extensive than she knows about.”
“She wanted to look at my leg today,” Edmund said, shaking his head.
