Page 41 of Bluebell’s Fate

“Oh! You frightened me, I didn’t hear you coming.” Her cheeks flamed bright red.

Nathaniel chuckled. “That doesn’t surprise me, as you were occupied dangling out the window.”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and pulled her lips between her teeth. A mannerism he found quite maddening. “I wasn’t dangling. I was looking.”

“Looking for what?” Nathaniel popped his head outside the window and looked down. The white-painted wood of the cottage didn’t seem interesting for any reason he could think of.

“How difficult would it be to attach a planter box outside the window?”

“Oh,” He narrowed his attention to the wooden plank that lined the window opening. “I don’t think it would be difficult at all. We’d just need to build a box to size. I can order that to be done.”

Bell fidgeted with her hands. “Nathaniel, may we sit down and look at the ledger together? I’m afraid I don’t know if my requests are silly or burdensome.”

Nathaniel swallowed, hesitant to let her know how little he was worth. She was accustomed to coffers that never ran dry. Nathaniel’s had never run dry either, but that was due to meticulous planning. “I assure you that a wooden box can be easily afforded.” He smiled.

She raised one eyebrow, somehow looking hurt. “I’d still like to know where we stand. I don’t want to cause undue stress for you, and I would like to be a helpful wife.”

Nathaniel wanted to provide her with comfort, but at the same time, he resisted to display his inadequacies so fully. Perhaps if he included Bell in his plans for the conservatory, she would overlook the state of his accounts, but it was just as likely that she might see his plans as inadequate and wish for more. The fact that she cared at all about the family’s finances ought to be enough. Surely she wouldn’t go to town and spend great sums if she was even a little worried. He reached out and took her hand in his, threading their fingers together, and pulled her a little closer to him. His heartbeat seemed fully connected to his hold on her. “I was hoping to surprise you…” He rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. “But would you enjoy it better if you were involved with my secret project?”

Bell squeezed his fingers and looked up at him with mischief sparkling in her eyes. “Would it allow us to spend more time together if I helped?”

“Yes,” he whispered, acutely aware that she took another step closer to him. His heart pounded in his chest, and he held his breath.

“Then I believe you should tell me.” Her sapphire eyes sparkled up at him.

Although he’d told Bell that he had been meeting with an architect, he’d somehow managed the conversation without mentioning the conservatory. His plan was for it to be a surprise. But after all, planning hadn’t worked out thus far when it came to Bell. Nothing about her had fit into his small-minded plans. She’d completely upended his life, and he found that he quite enjoyed it. Planned or not, Bluebell was the best and most unpredictable thing that had ever happened to Nathaniel. He’d stay rooted here all day if she would continue looking up at him like that, but he could see the curiosity sparking in her eyes. He led her to sit on the edge of the blue bed. “I’d like to build a conservatory here so that you might enjoy being outside even in the cold and dark of winter.”

Bell shifted to see him more fully, a smile lighting her face. “Truly?”

He nodded and couldn’t restrain his answering grin. “It’s where I’ve been going for the past few weeks. I’ve been meeting with a hothouse architect and surveyor to see if I can find a way to accomplish it.”

Bell laughed lightly and looked around her. “You may think me silly, but I had considered making this room into my own sort of wild space. However, I haven’t entertained those thoughts since we discussed it being a guest room.”

Nathaniel looked around the blue room. Could he devise a way to do as Bell suggested? There were some issues, certainly. The first being that the window faced west. The second problem was that this room was on the second floor of the cottage. Hauling a ton of dirt up here didn’t seem like a good idea for the integrity of the wooden structure.

“Nathaniel, I didn’t mean to make you upset. It was just an idea. I’m sorry I brought it up.”

“No, I’m not upset.” Nathaniel could tell that Bell didn’t believe him by the way she avoided his gaze. “I was just trying to figure out how to make it work. You see, the windows ought to face the south to allow the most sunlight in.”

Bell tipped her head to the side and pulled her eyebrows together. “Windows? I was just thinking of bringing in some vases of flowers, potted plants, and maybe including some art of a landscape.”

Nathaniel shook his head. If he was going to build a conservatory, he was going to do it properly. “You can find rooms all over the country that have plants and paintings, Bell. I want you to have a space where you can feel like you are outside. Where plants grow from the ground, like an indoor garden.”

Bell adjusted her body so she faced him more straight on. “Why is this important to you?”

Nathaniel swallowed. “Because your father told me that you are happiest when you are out of doors. I want to create a place for you to go to be happy any time of year.”

Bell smiled. “That is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“I haven’t done anything yet. Right now, it’s just a plan.”

“You call it a plan. I call it a dream. To me, they are one and the same.”

Nathaniel laughed. A plan and a dream were no more the same than he and Bell were themselves. And they were as opposite as light and dark. She was the dreamer with her head in the clouds, and he was the planner with his feet firmly planted on the ground. However, the thought of them being connected to this idea together was excellent progress. They may not be the same, but perhaps they could work as a team. “I believe I can ask Mr. Smith to meet with us here in a few days. If we both ponder what we could do, maybe we can find a way to build it sooner than later.”

“What plans have you already decided upon?”

“There is a basic conservatory structure that could be built just out past the kitchen garden. Beyond the tree line, there is a space that provides enough sunlight, and it isn’t too far situated from the cottage. We haven’t made any solid decisions yet though.”