Page 117 of A Well-Trained Lady

The bedchamber door creaked open, and heavy footsteps sounded behind us.

A smile came to my lips, but I did not glance behind me. “But don’t tell Augustus I said as much, for he will rightly be cross at my encouraging you.”

“What encouragements are you giving her?” Augustus asked, stepping to my side and placing a kiss upon my cheek.

I turned to face him, the perfect picture of innocence. “Nothing you need worry about, husband.”

He couldn’t refuse me a smile. “If this has anything to do with a certain person who will be in attendance this evening, I shan’t hear a word of it. I’m already regretting approving any gentlemen being invited at all, let alone one as eager as Mr. Treynor.”

Ruth’s eyes brightened. “Eager? How amusing you should choose the very same word as Bella to describe him.”

Augustus hardly looked pleased with our like-minded comment.

“What are you hiding, Augi?” Ruth asked, and it was only then I noticed his hands situated behind his back. “Is it for me?” Ruth stepped to his side to try to catch a glimpse.

He shifted away from her. “Patience.”

I stretched my neck to do likewise, but he noticed my attempt and took a step back, pinning us with a most ineffective glower. “You two are absolutely tiresome. Might I at least give my speech before I present what I have?”

Ruth and I shared a glance, and I folded my arms across my chest. “How long is this speech to be?”

He lifted his brow. “Would it matter?”

“It most certainly would. If it is to be one of your monologues, I should like to take a seat before you begin. Make myself comfortable.”

He laughed. “I shall be brief.”

“Go on, then,” Ruth said, excitement lighting her expression.

Augustus straightened. “Ruth, these past few months, despite my attempt to overlook the truth before me, I’ve noticed the exceptional woman you have become.” Ruth’s gaze flicked toward me at his confirmation. “A woman more capable than I had permitted myself to believe.”

The utter delight on her face displayed her gratitude perfectly.

“As such, I believe you are more than ready to discover something I’ve kept from you all these years.”

My stomach clenched. Surely he would not tell her of her past now, right before she was to go down and begin welcoming the guests to her coming out ball.

Augustus’s eyes lingered on me a moment. “And Bella’s frantic look tells me I should assure you, and her, that my revelation won’t ruin your night in the least.” He paused, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Or I hope it doesn’t.”

I flicked my eyes upward and gave a subtle shake of my head at how amusing he found himself.

He moved closer to us again before turning his attention back to Ruth. “As you are well aware, Bella’s mother was not able to make it to our wedding, nor is she accompanying Lord Godwin on his current visit to Fairhaven.” He paused. “And though I won’t go into the particulars of why until you feel you are ready to know of them, you should be made aware that it was at Lady Godwin’s insistence that you and I were not able to maintain a friendship with Bella once you came to Fairhaven. A task, I fear, I was forced to help execute.”

Ruth’s gaze shot to me, and I nodded, hoping Augustus had a point to all of this.

“I only tell you that, so this”—he brought his hand in front of him, a stack of missives tied together with a string in his grip—“is given context.”

Ruth stepped closer to him. “What are those?”

“All the letters Bella wrote to you after you came to live at Fairhaven.”

Carefully Ruth reached out her hand and took hold of them, clasping the letters to her chest. “And what of all the letters I wrote to her? Were they never sent?”

“They were not.” Augustus revealed his other hand that held an even larger stack than the first. “These, Bella, are all the letters Ruth and I wrote to you throughout the years.”

I stared at his offering. “You kept them?” My gaze lifted from the bundle with amazement. “All that time apart and you kept them?”

He shook his head, smiling. “Why do you always act astonished by my devotion to you?”