Chapter 7
Seven
Cornelius thought his eyes would cross if he spent another minute on the ledgers.
He slammed the leatherbound book closed and leaned back in his chair.
The estate would make a profit within the next few years.
His investments continued to increase, though he was considering selling the Welsh mines. He could put the cash into the estate.
His sister walked past the door. “Jo,” he called out, “do you have a moment?”
She stuck her head around the doorjamb. “Of course.” Her walking dress was Pomona green muslin and hugged her tiny waist. “You resemble Mama in that color. It’s her favorite.”
“Why, thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said, taking the chair in front of her desk. “Is there something amiss? I’m not used to such a serious expression.”
He saw her eyes straying to the ledger. “No, quite the opposite.” He moved the ledger aside and leaned forward. “However, I need your advice.”
Jo grinned. “Big brother needs his little sister’s wisdom? How novel.”
“Yes, well. It’s about Di. And me. And our financial situation.” He let out a long, agitated sigh. “And our marriage.”
He saw the concern flash across his sister’s face. “Do you remember when we were young, and I told you about my feelings for Dinah?”
She nodded. “And made me swear to never tell her.”
“Did you? Ever tell her? Perhaps before we married?”
Jo shook her head. “I always keep my promises. Why? You haven’t changed your mind?”
“No. Nothing could sway my heart, but I’m wondering about hers.
” Jo’s mouth opened, and he held up a hand.
“I know she cares for me, but what grew between all of us since childhood is different. When Father put the family coffers into such a bumblebath, and Di suggested we marry, she did so as a practical matter not out of love.”
“She became quite pragmatic in the years after her papa died,” agreed Jo.
“I believed at the time that I could bombard her with my sexual prowess and renowned personality, and she would come to see that she loved me as a husband. I can almost taste victory these last few months.” He raked a hand through his hair as his sister laughed at his personal assessment.
“Even with Father taking half of the original dowry, I have done well with investments, extremely well, and our future looks bright.”
“How could this possibly be a problem?”
“We both know Dinah. By offering me marriage and financial help, she entered this union on equal footing. She thinks she ‘saved’ me, so to speak.”
“Yes, she did. I saw the woman Papa was arranging for you.” Jo shivered. “It wasn’t so much her appearance as her waspishness. She wears a constant sneer.”
“Unfortunately—or fortunately, depending how one looks at it—an investment I’d made before Father died finally came through. It turns out I would have been fine without her dowry.”
“Oh, I see,” said Jo, drumming her fingers on her lap. “You’re afraid she will feel like the fool and have sacrificed herself for nothing.”
“I wouldn’t say sacrificed. And I’m not exactly nothing.” Blast! He sounded like a whinging old woman.
“This is Dinah we are talking about. She loves, er, loves to be the heroine. She’ll understand. There was no deception involved.”
“Our agreement from the beginning was to continue to treat one another with the same respect we always had, to discuss issues as they arose, and make important decisions together. She enjoys a certain amount of autonomy as my wife that she probably wouldn’t have with another man.”
“I’m curious. What kind of decisions are made as a pair?” Jo leaned forward, her elbow on her knee and chin in her hand. “Do you control the money?”
“Di preferred for me to handle our funds. I would tell her when I was making a larger investment and what I was investing in. She didn’t question my choices, but I included her in the process. Does that make sense?” Had he not involved Di enough?
“Yes. She’s always hated her maths, so I could see her leaving that to you.”
“Before I purchased this estate, I brought her to see it. Her approval was necessary, or I wouldn’t have bought it.
She decided on the sum of her pin money and the household budget.
In that area, Dinah kept me informed but made the decisions.
If she needed more blunt, she could tell me or send word to the solicitor.
He is advised to follow her instructions as he does mine. ”
“It sounds like you have a strong foundation in your marriage.”
“Well, yes, but that’s not the point.” He blew out another breath, frustrated.
Jo chuckled. “Remind me what the point is?”
“When she finds out I didn’t need her money—” He threw up his hands. “I don’t want her to see our union as a sham.”
“Horse feathers! She’ll be proud of you.” Jo leaned back in the chair and stared at her brother a few moments. “Why haven’t you told her you love her?”
Neel blew out another long breath. “At first, I knew it would sound like empty platitudes, gratitude for the betrothal. You know I had planned to court her, propose in my own time, then Father almost ruined us. While he worked to lock us all in the parson’s trap to right his wrongs, Dinah stepped in.
” He turned toward the window, gazing out at the expanse of lawn.
“Then I figured I’d show her all the ways I loved her.
Small presents, reading her favorite poems, finding tiny ways to make her smile. ”
He smiled. “Our physical relationship… Let’s just say it has been more than satisfactory. But her mother convinced her that all men are eager for a good tup and sons, so I think she took that to heart and believes all men would treat her with such warmth in that respect.”
Why was his sister grinning and shaking her head? He was baring his heart, and she was laughing at him. “You are both two of the most obstinate, blind people I know.”
“I’m not the one who needs spectacles.” How had Jo put him on the defensive so quickly? And why such a mischievous gleam in her eye?
“I wish I could be here for the Twelfth Night celebrations. But I will expect a detailed report of your activities. From both of you.” Jo stood and walked around the desk to place a kiss on his cheek.
“Tell your wife about the brilliant success with the coffers and that you love her. Wait until Christmastide if you must, but I think you’ll find it was time wasted. ”
With that, she walked—no, practically skipped—out of the study.
Early December
The first snow drifted lazily against the frosted pane.
Cornelius had always enjoyed the winter months.
He hated the heat of summer, dripping buckets of sweat beneath the fine linen while trying to pretend to be cool and collected.
The cold put color in the cheeks and made the eyes bright.
He turned to find Dinah entering the breakfast room.
“Would you like to go for a ride in the snow?” he asked, smiling at her as she perused the sideboard and chose a sausage and white pudding to her plate. She’d grown even lovelier the past month. Neel shook his head. He was full of fancy these days.
“I would love to,” she said, accepting his help with her chair and reaching for the toast. “Shall we go after I finish breakfast? If we wait too long, it might stop.”
“I have no other plans,” agreed Neel. “We could leave in, say, an hour? Will that give you enough time to change into your riding habit?”
“Yes, I think so.” She beamed at him. “Do you remember the snow forts we used to build? We had such fun.”
“Of course I remember. What about the time I made a huge snowball, and we convinced my brother to go inside first?”
“And you rolled the snow boulder against the entrance.” She covered her mouth, her violet eyes twinkling with humor. “He was so angry with us, even though we didn’t make him dig his way out.”
“My father gave me a good thrashing for it, but it was worth it. My brother had been going through his high and mighty stage, convinced he was better looking and smarter than me just because he was born first.”
“Or when we went hunting for mistletoe and climbed up the tree—”
Neel slapped his hand on the table. “And the vicar was riding beneath. If you hadn’t been so wiggly, the snow wouldn’t have tumbled from the branches and fallen on his head.”
“For which you received another thrashing.” Di gave him that impish grin. “I am so sorry about that.”
“I still think you did it on purpose. He’d called you out for your lack of attentiveness during his sermon.”
“It wasn’t as if I was the only child to fall asleep during his sermons,” Dinah said in her own defense.
“True, but the others didn’t snore or dream about kicking an attacking monster.
Your foot woke old Colonel Granthan, yelling like he was back in one of the Anglo wars in India.
” Cornelius lowered his eyes and puffed out his cheeks to imitate the old soldier.
“I say, rout those blighters, every one!”
Dinah laughed so hard she grabbed her middle, sending Neel into a fit of laughter. This was how he’d always envisioned their marriage.
The snow did not let up. In fact, there were a couple of inches on the ground by the time they arrived at the stable.
Neel helped Dinah mount aside before getting on his own gelding.
He’d bought a handsome stallion but was reluctant to ride him yet with a mare.
The beast still needed to learn more manners before Neel would trust him around his wife.
They left the stable and enjoyed a short canter across a field, heading toward a copse of pine.
There was a winding trail throughout the woods, established by the previous owner for his children.
It would be perfect for today. The path ended near the top of a hill that looked out over an expanse of their property.
A nice easy ride, not too long or difficult.
They could enjoy the scenery and have a nice chitchat.
“It’s beautiful.” They gazed down at their property, and his heart pounded at the thought of owning such a landscape.
To the right were grazing pastures, and sheep blended in with the light layer of snow.
To the left, a line of cottages, some with newly thatched roofs, which Neel had helped to repair.
“I’m beginning to understand why farmers have such a ferocious pride in their land. ”
He turned to his wife, whose complexion had gone ashen. “Sweetheart, are you feeling all right?”
She shook her head. “Could you help me down, please?”
He leapt from his horse and pulled the rein over the gelding’s head, walking him around to Dinah’s left side. He reached up and waited as she removed her leg from the horn, then slid into his arms. She promptly pushed him away and ran a few feet to a tree.
Neel watched in horror as she cast her accounts, one hand against the tree trunk to keep her steady. He was by her side in an instant, rubbing her back, though she tried to wave him away. When she finished, he handed her a handkerchief and hovered over her.
“If you can’t manage the ride back, I will gallop home and bring the wagon,” he said quietly, watching the color slowly return to her cheeks. He removed the flask from his greatcoat and handed it to her. “Here, this will help.”
Dinah put her nose to the opening and shoved the whisky back at him, turning pale again. Blunderhead! Her stomach is in an uproar. Why would whisky help?
They stood in silence for a few moments, and he noticed the snow had stopped. Dinah continued taking in deep breaths of the crisp air. Finally, she turned to him, a forced smile on her face.
“I don’t think the sausage agreed with me this morning. The canter was wonderful, but my stomach wasn’t prepared for it. I’m so sorry.” She swallowed, and Neel wished he had something other than liquor for her. “Another moment, and I’ll be fine.”
True to her word, Dinah was soon back in the saddle, looking as though nothing had happened. Neel was taking no chances, and they stayed at a leisurely walk on their return. What a stupid idea, to go for a ride.
“It’s not your fault, you know,” Di said, as if reading his mind. “You can’t control an upset stomach, and I very much enjoyed the ride except for those few moments of illness and hovering.”
He gave her a side-glance and saw humor in her eyes. “Hovering? Is that what I was doing?” he grinned back, happy that all was well again. “That’s what mothers do when their children are sick.”
“Or anxious husbands.” She reached out her gloved hand, and he took it firmly in his own. As they continued side by side, palm to palm, he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. She was right. It was still a lovely ride.