Page 62 of Bluebell’s Fate

“Oh.” Of course she didn’t, she was no simpleton. Looking back over the few months they’d been married, he wanted to kick himself. Not once had Bell asked him for anything that might be considered frivolous or even fashionable. She did not want for parties and gowns. In all reality, Bluebell was the least needy young woman he’d ever known as to things of the world, unless one considered all her friends and relations that wanted to be near her. Her desires had always run far deeper than his pockets could ever hope to be. She longed for pieces of his heart and mind, for his laughter and imagination. The simple elements that made life worth living. He’d been entirely selfish not sharing with her what he’d assumed was one of his biggest faults. “I’ll walk you through the books tomorrow then. There’s not much to see or hide, and I’ll show you how I believe we can still build the conservatory. I know it’s not something that is necessarily needed, but there is worth in your smile.”

She graced him with a hesitant smile. It started in her eyes and lit up the room like the light from a lighthouse called to a sailor…or a pirate. Nathaniel preferred the latter.

“You’d best keep that smile tucked away for when you need some bargaining power, darling.”

She laughed. “And what if I choose not to?”

Nathaniel sighed contentedly. “I’ll just have to lock you in the hold of my pirate ship and sail us far away from anyone else. That way I can have the wealth of it all to myself.”

Bell nestled her head into the crook of his shoulder. “What a scandal you’d cause, Pirate Nathaniel.”

He laughed, memories of her believing that he was a rake floating behind him like a current in the sea. There was no end to his gratitude for her sister, Lady Rose, to have that belief particularly disbanded. He breathed deeply.

“Nathaniel,” Bell’s body tensed beneath his arm. “Are you concerned about Ian?”

He blew out a breath. “Yes, and no. Honestly, I hope he’s embarrassed enough by his antics that he’ll leave. But it’s unlikely that my father will let him go so easily.”

“Your father?”

“It’s no secret that he favors Ian. Maybe if we convince my grandmother to leave, she’ll take him along. Not that I want her to go.”

“Have you ever considered why your father favors Ian?”

Nathaniel pushed bile back. Of course he had. “Ian was always like Edwin. I believe my father tried to step in and be his fatherly figure in some small way.” He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice, but he was quite certain he failed. “Why do you ask?”

Bell shifted as if she were uncomfortable. “I…well…never mind. It’s just odd.”

There was more to that story, he could feel it, but he didn’t know if he wanted to hear her concerns. Nathaniel’s relationship with his father was complicated as it was without adding Ian to the problem. None of it made sense. The problem wasn’t logical. The fact that Bell thought so differently from him should have given him hope that she might have discovered the reason. But in the end, did it really matter? Did Nathaniel want to know why he was less important than his cousin? No. He didn’t think it wise to go down that road.

Chapter Thirty-nine

Bell’s father wasn’t typically the sentimental type. Granted, he was often more tender than her mother had been. Ash was lucky that their father was tasked with his rearing. All the Gardner girls dealt primarily with their mother, and they didn’t enjoy the amount of freedom to express their feelings as Ash did. Still, it surprised Bell when her father’s voice broke on their walk the next day.

“I need to take Ash back to Gardner Manor.” He cleared his throat. “Have you settled things with Nathaniel well enough that I can feel at peace about leaving you here? Or would you like to return home with me?”

Bell squeezed his arm. “I’ll miss you, father. But I want to stay here.” Goodness, she was going to miss him. The handful of days he and Ash stayed had passed in a frenzy of joy and storms. She was so grateful they had been here through much of it. She did have one question though. “Did you really bring your dueling pistols?”

He looked down on her with a twinkle in his eyes. “I did. And I’m leaving them here with Nathaniel. I don’t want him to hesitate to use them should the need arise.”

Bell bit back a smile. Who would Nathaniel need to use dueling pistols against save it were his own family? She sobered quickly. Was that the reason he was leaving his pistols with Nathaniel? Surely, Mr. and Mrs. Payne had been less than civil at times, but nothing that would warrant a family to be ripped apart. Bell’s stomach dropped. There was so much Nathaniel’s family was hiding from each other. How much of it was known by everyone? “I’ll be all right, father. Nathaniel is a good man. He’ll take care of me.”

Her father leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I know. But just in case, Nathaniel is keeping the dueling pistols in the dining room under the side table.” The sun shone off his shiny head when he pulled back. “Should the need arise, remember what Henry taught you.”

Henry was the groundskeeper at Gardner Manor. He’d taught all the girls to shoot arrows and guns at Lord Gardner’s insistence and their mother’s ignorance. Bell had always liked Henry.

Her father continued, “I do feel a need to get home. Your mother has had only Lavender to keep her company these past two weeks.”

Bell understood implicitly. “She needs you.” And they both knew that she was speaking of Lavender. For all her goodness and meekness, two weeks alone with mother was bound to test even her limits of patience. “Go have Ash stir up some trouble for me in the woods.”

The earl laughed. “I’m not sending him in there on his own. And you know Lavender cannot join him.”

It was a sad truth. Lavender’s extreme reactions to bees made venturing into the woods impossible. But her father could go. “Well then, I think it’s time you ventured back into the magical depths of the fairies.”

He grinned down at her. “Do you think they will mind?”

“So long as you don’t trample on any bluebells, you should be able to find your way out safely.” How many times had her father given her the exact same advice?

There were so many rules to follow when it came to bluebells. It was odd that the flower represented everything that broke the rules of the natural world. Magic, and fairies, and legends, and stories yet untold were governed by strict rules for their safe keeping and fragile nature. The realization filled Bell with a deep sense of peace. Maybe it was possible for her random, fanciful ways to mix with Nathaniel’s structured and detailed ones. Maybe, just maybe, that would be the secret to creating their own story of happily ever after.