Page 29 of A Necessary Wife

Her brow rose. “Now, I assume?”

“Yes, now,” he said. “If you will spare me a few minutes of your time.”

When she opened the door, as if to let him pass, he shook his head and took a step back. He would not resolve an argument in a bedchamber they had to share. He’d learned his lesson the first time around.

But the longer they were at odds, the worse things could become. He glanced down the hall as he heard a whisper of laughter.

There was nowhere close by to sit together that was private enough, but there was somewhere they could stand, far from any casual observers. Milo gestured Amelia toward the front upper balcony and drew her outside with him.

It was cold tonight, and he immediately removed his coat and offered it to Amelia so she would stay warm.

Amelia accepted it after a moment’s consideration, and he gently placed it around her shoulders.

There was not much light with which to see her face, but her arms were still definitely crossed over her chest.

He wet his lips. “My father’s health concerns me, and his current mood bodes ill for peace between us all, too. My reasons for staying are to benefit us, in the end. If he accepts our marriage, accepts you as my wife, we can return often and ensure the estate doesn’t suffer. It has taken others’ decades to recover from neglect. I cannot leave my son a troubled estate if and when I am gone.”

“You worry only about your son’s future, then?”

He heard her inflection and caught his slip of the tongue immediately. “Forgive me. Our son. Our children.”

“If there are to be any, at this rate,” she muttered under her breath, but loud enough that he heard. Louder she continued, “Your father seems perfectly capable of anything for a man his age.”

They might never share a bed again to make good on his promises if he didn’t regain her fleeting trust now. “My father usually has more energy than I do, than men half his age. I can see a stark difference in him since Christmas. And it is not just my new brother that wears him down. It is Samuel, too.”

“Your brother? What has Samuel to do with us staying?”

“He’s here. Somewhere.” Milo sighed heavily. He hadn’t wanted to reveal the family scandal to Amelia until he spoke with his brother. “Samuel has taken leave of his senses and is currently living out in the Stapleton’s woods, more or less alone.”

“I’ve considered the benefits of doing that more than a few times,” Amelia murmured. “In fact, before we agreed to marry, I was about to move to the small cottage I inherited to escape my family’s continued scorn.”

His eyes widened. “You were?”

“Yes, I was. I had funds enough saved, plans made, because I was growing tired of never being consulted. Never considered, always hushed. I wanted something of my own at last, even if my family disowned me.”

He winced again. He hadn’t known that marriage to him had been her second choice. He understood her irritation better now. He was letting her down rather badly so far. Her dreams were a long way from being met, while his were almost realized.

“Samuel refuses to dress as a gentleman and a Westfall or partake of any family festivities. He was absent at Christmas, and he hasn’t shown his face during this party, though Papa tried to lure him back many times.”

Amelia frowned. “Samuel has two sons. Where are they?”

He shook his head. “Running wild on the estate somewhere, too, although I believe the boys spend much of their time at a neighbor’s estate. My father worries about them all.”

“I’d say he has cause,” Amelia murmured, her stance softening a bit more as he confided in her. “But I’m afraid I sympathize with Samuel’s desire to make his own way in the world. It is far too easy to become caught up in the problems of others and believe they are yours to fix.”

“I cannot mend my brother’s broken heart any more than I can fix my own. But there are ways to grieve the loss of a beloved spouse that do not involve total isolation.” He stretched out a hand to her, then thought better of it. “If we could stay a little longer, I hope to bring my brother back to the life he was born for. He could be of great help to Father in my absence. That would lift a burden from my mind, and we could go home sooner.”

Amelia sighed, and then her lips pursed in thought.

Milo found her expression comforting. She was a deep thinker, his new wife. Quite different from his first, who reacted first and thought later, if at all. He could not forget again that he had decided upon this sort of marriage. He’d agreed to share the decision-making with Amelia.

If he wanted this marriage to work, he had better keep all his promises. “As soon as matters are settled here, I will take you home to Devon. Until then, you will have every comfort imaginable and servants to wait on you hand and foot.”

She inhaled sharply. “I never asked for an excess of servants to do my bidding when we agreed to wed. I only wanted the things you promised me, and a place for the items that are dearest to my heart. My family treasures, pieces most useful to me, were sent ahead by you without discussion, too.”

At that, Milo closed his eyes and cursed under his breath. He’d given orders that Amelia’s things go directly ahead of them to Devon, imagining their stay here to be brief. “Everything should have arrived there.”

Her brow rose. “How will I know that they arrived safe and sound, or even at all?”