Page 42 of To Have & To Hold

Nathaniel pressed his lips to hide the smile that tugged at his lips at her admission. “Has something changed?” he asked.

Emilia’s shoulders dropped in defeat. “I am no longer certain I have the courage to send it.”

She looked down at her hands as she wrung her fingers together. “We encountered my aunt this morning, and she pressed me for an answer. If we do not attend, it may be viewed as a deliberate slight.”

“Would it not be?”

Her head snapped up at his question, but she did not answer. Nathaniel did not know much about Emilia’s relationship with the couple who raised her, but he knew enough to gather that she cared more for their feelings than they did for hers.

“Do you wish to go?” Nathaniel asked.

“No.”

“Then it is settled.” Nathaniel stood and made his way around the desk to stand in front of his wife. “If you do not wish to decline them, I will. You need not concern yourself with how it will be received.”

“My uncle may not take it well.”

“I would be disappointed if he did,” Nathaniel replied, leaning against the edge of his desk, arms folded across his chest. “Then I would feel obliged to pretend civility towards a man I have no inclination to like.”

“Charlotte said this is how you would respond,” Emilia said, her expression brightening slightly.

“If they continue to put pressure on you, I will do a great deal more,” he said, the words slipping out before he could think better of them.

Nathaniel had always felt a certain level of protection over his family, his sisters in particular. But nothing had prepared him for the lengths he would go for the woman standing in front of him now.

Nathaniel took a steadying breath, “You do not owe them anything, Emilia.”

“They are my family,” she said quietly.

“You are my wife.” Nathaniel pushed off his desk, taking a step closer. “You are the Duchess of Kenswick.”

He closed the space that separated them in a few strides. He moved slowly so as not to startle her. “You need never yield to anyone again.”

Emilia’s eyes shimmered brightly with unshed tears, but she smiled softly.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Nathaniel nodded as though it were nothing, but his heart was nearly beating out of his chest.

“I will handle the refusal if you would like me to,” he said. “You need not give it another thought, my dear.”

Emilia nodded, her wide gaze completely fixed on him, until she slowly turned and walked towards the door.

The room felt empty the moment she was gone. Nathaniel remained where he stood, his thoughts no longer capable of returning to the work he had been buried in before she had entered.

It did not trouble him that there was still so much he did not know of Emilia—though, perhaps, it ought. For now, it was enough to know that her uncle had once held more power over her than mere guardianship—and he would never be permitted to do so again. To ensure that, Nathaniel intended to understand precisely the sort of man he was dealing with.

He returned to his desk, drawing out a sheet of stationery. The invitation could wait. The most pressing matter on Nathaniel’s mind was gathering all the information he could aboutLord Moorfield.

Chapter Fifteen

The past few days had passed by in agonizing quiet, ever since Charlotte had departed for her sister’s estate in Hertfordshire. She had handled leaving London surprisingly well. The fact that she had gone so willingly seemed to concern Nathaniel more than if he would have been required to drag her to the carriage while in a fit of hysterics.

During her week out and about the town with Charlotte, Emilia had come to realize the girl’s flair for the dramatic seemed to increase only when her brother was in the room. Whether it was her way of pulling his attention away from his never-ending responsibilities, or she just enjoyed the challenge of attempting to fluster him, Emilia was unsure. But the Charlotte she had become acquainted with was sweet,thoughtful, charming, and irresistible to love. Emilia missed her dearly.

When Charlotte first left, Emilia had cautiously let herself hope that the quiet of the house would allow for the tentative friendship between her and Nathaniel to grow. Instead, she found herself feeling even more distant from him.

For someone who appeared so simple and direct, he was a very complicated man. In the weeks they had been married, Emilia had come to notice the lines that pulled at the corner of his eyes, and the twitch of his mouth that revealed he was more amused by life than he let on.