4. Leah #2
“It’s quite all right, Mrs. Polaris,” Hathwell cuts her off, his blue eyes fixed on me.
He looks like he’s making several calculations in his head at once, and I refuse to break his gaze as I take another sip from my teacup.
“I agree that this arrangement has come about rather swiftly, Miss Polaris, but I respect your father deeply. While at first glance the terms might seem unusual, I do believe they might satisfy all parties…eventually.” He takes a step closer toward me, examining my face intently, as if hoping to find the answer to some question there.
“But why get married so quickly?” I demand, not satisfied at all. “Excuse my frankness, Mr. Reed, but my sister hasn’t even had a week’s notice.”
“Don’t interrogate the poor man, Leah,” my father chastises. Miraculously, Ada seems to be so furious she’s lost the power of speech altogether.
Hathwell ignores my father, his attention flicking to Evie and then back to me.
“My father wants me to go on a trip for his business. It’s a long journey, and I’ll be away from Pax for some time.
” Hathwell offers an apologetic gesture.
“I confess it’s expedited my plans to remarry.
I would like to take my new bride with me for companionship. ”
Remarry. The word rings in my mind like a bell. That’s how I know Reed’s name. Back in my disastrous marriage market days, he was a bachelor one of the other society girls had set her sights on. I’d heard something tragic happened to her, though…
I study Hathwell, hair prickling on the back of my neck as the story comes back to me.
The rumors were her husband hardly ever let her leave the house.
She died in childbirth about a year ago, and apparently at the funeral, hardly anyone could recall the last time they saw her.
That detail isn’t so unusual, but my will hardens as Hathwell turns to my father and asks some question I don’t hear.
Maybe that first part about keeping his wife under lock and key is just rumors—or maybe underneath Hathwell’s gentlemanly exterior lurks a controlling brute.
Evie would never survive a husband like that. She can barely even stand up to her own mother. She’s too sweet and good and kind.
But me, on the other hand…
“…died when she was five,” my father finishes explaining as Hathwell gives me a sympathetic look.
Even if he is what the rumors say, I’ve faced monsters much more terrifying than men like Hathwell Reed. And I’ve survived worse things than a bad marriage.
My heartbeat lurches at the idea forming in my mind, thudding behind my ribs like fists banging on the bars of a cage.
Putting my future in someone else’s hands goes against everything I’ve fought for. All I’ve ever wanted is to be free. For me and Evie to be free. But if this is the only way to keep her and her baby safe…
“I’m sorry to hear that, Miss Polaris,” Hathwell addresses me, his voice gentle. “It must’ve been hard to lose a mother so young.”
“Yes, it’s very sad,” Ada sighs unconvincingly at Hathwell’s condolences, finding her words again in time to redirect his attention. “But on the other hand, Evie here—”
Hathwell cuts her off like she hasn’t spoken, his gaze still on me.
“I imagine you must be a very strong person, given everything you’ve been through.
” I lift my eyebrows. He looks genuinely interested in hearing my response.
And just like that, I can see the path clearly ahead of me.
How I’ll save Evie. How I’ll make this right.
“I try to be strong,” I say, surprised by the earnestness in my tone.
“I find that very admirable,” Hathwell replies, moving a little closer to where I’m sitting.
Even as the decision settles in my stomach, part of me screams inside my head about what I’ll be throwing away, begging me not to do this.
I shut it down, looking at Evie to strengthen my resolve.
She has obviously noticed Hathwell’s interest in me too, because her eyes widen a little when they meet mine.
She can guess what’s coming, and she gives a little shake of her head, but I turn back to Hathwell, the words coming before I can think twice.
“Take me,” I blurt out, rising abruptly from my chair and hurrying to fill the stunned silence that follows. “Excuse my bluntness, Mr. Reed, but with this trip of yours, it seems like you’ll need a wife with a particular set of qualities.”
He blinks. I’ve surprised him again, but a small smile forms on his lips. “That’s true, but I’m interested to know what qualities you’re thinking of, Miss Polaris.”
I prepare my sales pitch. “I think you’ll need someone who isn’t fragile.
Who can handle long stretches of time on the road and can be ready to support you as you undertake this important business trip.
My sister is very young, sir, and she has a delicate temperament.
I’m afraid she wouldn’t be up to long journeys, and I believe she would pine for her home and her friends.
Traveling to distant places, far from all she knows, would never suit her. ”
I glance at Evie, silently apologizing for belittling her like this, not that she cares. That devastated look has returned to her face, knowing she’s watching me sacrifice myself yet unable to stop it.
“I believed that my marrying days were past me,” I continue, giving Hathwell what I hope is a charming smile.
“But if a steadfast companion is truly what you desire—” I stumble, needing to swallow before I can force the words out.
“Then I would like to offer my hand instead to pay my father’s debts.
I assure you, Mr. Reed, you won’t regret it. ”
Hathwell takes all this in with his steady blue gaze. That smile continues to tug at his lips, and he looks pleased, maybe a little too pleased. I don’t know why, but it makes me uneasy. “No, I don’t believe I would, Miss Polaris,” he says.
“Nathaniel!” Ada’s shriek cuts through the moment, making us all jump. “You can’t let her do this! We had it all arranged. She can’t just…ugh!” Ada sets her teacup down with a crash, words failing her again.
I meet my father’s eye, seeing him hesitate before answering.
“Please,” I murmur, willing him to see this is the best option. This is his chance to do right by one of his daughters for once in his life.
“Very well,” he says. “If you’re amenable, Mr. Reed, do you accept Leah’s proposition?”
Hathwell turns back to me, his smile breaking into a full grin. “I do.”