Chapter Eight
Catherine noticed that her husband was rather solemn during the evening meal. When she finally asked him about his sudden reticence to carry on their nightly conversation of which she had grown rather fond, he looked as though she’d told him the fish had gone bad.
“I received a reply from my inquiry agent today.”
She blinked. “Oh. I see.” For some reason, her heart started to pound, but she wasn’t quite sure why. “What did he have to say?”
“I’m afraid you won’t like the results.”
Another zing of apprehension shot through her. “Pray tell. Don’t keep me in suspense any longer.”
He took a deep breath. “Very well. He gave me a list of candidates with whom we might engage, but he found no evidence of any discordant unions from the names on this list. In truth, he seemed to write as though they were all rather pleased with their situations.”
Expecting her heart to plummet, Catherine was surprised when the only thing that seemed to flow through her was…
relief. She had been so set on her vengeance against the woman she’d believed had ruined her life, not knowing that it would turn out to be the best thing she would ever do.
She should have been thanking Mrs. Dove-Lyon for her keen sense of observation, but that would be admitting defeat and she couldn’t do that just yet.
And since she didn’t know Benjamin’s thoughts on the matter, she thought it best to at least visit a few of these people to see if they truly were experiencing “wedded bliss.”
Wiping her mouth with her serviette, as her appetite had abruptly vanished, Catherine set the cloth aside and said, “I suppose that shall remain to be seen once we engage with a few of them. How soon can we travel to London?”
His eyes were almost burning as they lit on her.
Or perhaps it was merely the candlelight causing them to glitter so intently.
“We should have our new coach by the end of next week. It was the first thing I made sure to purchase. Then we shall arrive in London in high style in a nicely sprung carriage.”
She inclined her head. “That sounds lovely.”
He set down his serviette and pushed back his chair. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some work I need to finish before I turn in for the night.”
Catherine watched Benjamin go with a heavy heart.
She could tell that he wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of traveling to London.
At the beginning, he’d seemed just as focused on his retaliation against the Black Widow, but something had definitely changed along the way.
But then, she’d found the same held true for her of late.
While she’d been focused on renovating her new home, she’d found a certain satisfaction in doing so.
She’d even made sure to visit the nursery and looked through various catalogs to find a lovely carved cradle that would arrive in plenty of time for the baby.
She was finding that the more time she spent running the manor as its mistress, the more she was coming to appreciate the history that resided here, as well as the servants who took great pride and care in their positions.
The housekeeper, Mrs. Limewood, had been a veritable Godsend, offering a bit of advice to someone who was just starting to gain her footing when it came to running such a large estate.
Catherine would forever be grateful to her input and her kind patience as she scribbled down her wishes for each room.
As the days passed under a hum of activity with repairs and the constant din of noise throughout the manor, Catherine was able to find a few moments of solitude throughout the day, wrapped in her husband’s arms. The nights were full of the same bliss, causing her annoyance toward their forced union to slowly start to fade.
She was growing excited about the life they were building together and as the interior of the manor slowly began to take shape, she was starting to feel as if she could finally call this place home at long last.
On one mid-morning, Catherine was sitting in the sunroom and sipping some tea while trying to read. It was someplace where she’d been able to find a bit of peace and solitude. It was quickly becoming her own personal haven.
“I had a feeling I would find you here.”
Catherine looked up and smiled when she spied Benjamin. She couldn’t seem to stop the happiness from blossoming on her face when she saw him. Never had she thought her heart could be so full of love.
And that is when it became crystal clear. She didn’t just admire her husband.
She loved him.
She put a hand to her stomach to quell the sudden unease. He must have taken note of the action, because he was immediately at her side. “Catherine? Is something wrong?”
Quick to reassure him, she shook her head and forced her pleasant smile to return. “It’s nothing. Just another flutter. I’m not sure I will ever get used to them.”
The trepidation immediately washed from his face. “I am given to understand it is quite remarkable to carry a child.”
As his expression turned slightly solemn, she reached out a hand to him. He sat beside her and she squeezed his fingers gently. “I feel that there is something troubling you.” She paused. “Is it the memory of your wife and son?”
He winced slightly. “I will admit that as your lying-in draws ever closer, I am concerned about the outcome.” He reached up and cupped her cheek.
“But you are a strong, resilient woman. I have no doubt you will do fine.” His eyes lost some of their shine.
“I shall always feel responsible for their deaths, no matter what I do. I knew Daria was fragile, and yet I used her most ill.”
“You cannot continue looking to the past when there is a brighter future ahead.” She kissed him lightly. “For all of us.”
He seemed to take some reassurance in her words, but then it was also short-lived. “I sought you out to let you know the coach has just been delivered. I have written to a few of the names on the list and once we receive word, I will make arrangements for us to travel to London.”
“I see.” Catherine’s heart sank slightly.
She had almost convinced herself that this was a love match between her and Benjamin.
But now that the memory of the Black Widow had been revisited, she found that she couldn’t ignore the nagging doubt that wanted to plague her.
She would never rest easy with Benjamin until she could meet some of these other couples and be assured that their stories had ended happily.
“I appreciate your dedication to this endeavor,” she added softly.
“Of course.” His dark eyes were hypnotic as he looked at her, as if he could see right into her soul. “I would do anything for you. You should know that by now. Or at least, I hope you would.”
“I do.”
The following morning, Benjamin assisted his wife into their new, black-lacquered coach and headed for the heart of London.
It would not take long to travel, but he had made arrangements for them to stay overnight nevertheless.
He thought a nice break from the excitement at Fontaine Hall might be a welcome respite for both of them.
Perhaps it could be a romantic outing together.
Their first unofficial engagement as a married couple.
Long after Catherine had fallen asleep last night, he’d pondered the state of their union and how he prayed that Mr. Steele was right and the couples he’d reached out to had nothing but glowing praise for Mrs. Dove-Lyon and her matchmaking ability.
He certainly didn’t want anything to ruin the progress he’d made with Catherine.
They were easing into a daily routine that left him feeling happier than he’d ever imagined possible.
He was relieved that everything was going so well.
But at the same time, it terrified him. He kept waiting for the moment when something would go terribly wrong.
He had never been a man who relied on faith or believed in miracles, but he prayed that, just once, he would be granted one. When he’d told her that he was concerned about the upcoming birth in a few months, he hadn’t been lying. Visions of Daria’s fate haunted him more with each passing day.
A slight sigh came from his side and he held Catherine a bit closer to him. She had fallen asleep against his shoulder. Exhaustion was part of the process, but yet she came to him nearly every night with an eager passion for which he was grateful.
As the outskirts of the city came into view, he sat up a bit straighter. It wouldn’t be long before they would be engaging in their first inquiry.
However, as the carriage meandered along the West End along Cleveland Row, Benjamin knocked on the roof of the carriage to alert his driver to stop.
As a sleepy Catherine raised her head and covered a yawn with her gloved hand, she asked, “Have we already arrived at—” When she spied the familiar blue exterior of the Lyon’s Den, she said, a bit more alert, “What are we doing here?”
He grasped her shoulders. “I fully intend to take you wherever you want to go after this, but I decided it would be instructive to come by to see Mrs. Dove-Lyon first.”
She frowned. “For what purpose? So that she might lie? Or crow about her victories?”
“No.” He shook his head. “To hear the truth. To find out why she chose to pair the two of us together.”
As his wife’s blue eyes narrowed, he wondered if she would be keen to engage in his scheme, but she gave a curt nod of her head.
“I admit I have been curious about her reasons for that as well. But will she even agree to see us?”
This was the part that Benjamin had omitted. “She was one of the letters I sent and her reply was the first to return. We are expected.”
She lifted a brow and Benjamin admitted that he had been rather stunned at the easy acquiescence as well.
Opening the door, he stepped to the ground and then turned to offer her a hand. “Shall we?”