Cooper started laughing. “Here I was, about to be amazed at your generosity, only to realise you’re doing this for purely selfish reasons. Admit it, you can’t bear the stench when you’re in there!”
“You need not concern yourself with my motivations,” Talbot winked at his friend, who shook his head and laughed again.
The next morning, Talbot was in the carriage with his wife again. He felt like he was given a priceless gift; two days in one week when they were doing somethingtogether,like the couple they used to be.
Colin had decided to take his wife to his favourite stationery shop,Letts of London. He suspected she’d be loath to spend a lot of money, so he was determined he would wait for her to make her selection, tell the shop to double it, and then pay for everything.
“Whatever Your Graces might need, I am at your disposal,” the shop owner had said, and then he kept following them around, eager to help, but Colin could tell that it was making his wife uncomfortable.
“Thank you, we shall call for you if we need anything,” Talbot said, his tone dismissing the man at once, which allowed Elizabeth to finally start touching every single thing she saw, like Talbot had known she would.
She selected pens, inkwells, penknives, muttered to herself about how many quires of paper she might need, and Talbot was pleasantly surprised to discover that she was being far from frugal.
“Was this what I should have been doing all along in order to get you to spend some money? Take you to purchase writing supplies?” He teased her affectionately.
“No,” she replied decisively. “Two quires of paper cost what a housemaid makes in a week, which I consider excessive, so I avoid wasting paper as much as I can. This is different, however, since I’m purchasing these things for my students.”
“I distinctly remember you blowing out every unattended candle you could find at Norwich, so pardon my incredulity.”
“You are comparing ten candles unnecessarily illuminating an empty hallway all night long to lighting a candle in someone’s mind by teaching them to read. One is a waste, and the other one is something I’ll never regret spending money on,” Elizabeth said and made her way to the front of the store, where she opened her purse and spent an exorbitant sum of money on other people.
“Can we make one more stop?” He asked when they were on the sidewalk.
“What for?” Lizzie asked absentmindedly.
“I need to buy some chapbooks,” Colin said conversationally.
Elizabeth stopped walking. “You? Chapbooks? What for?”
“For Hettie,” he admitted sheepishly, and Lizzie tilted her head to the side endearingly.
“I’m amazed! Duke Colin Talbot is selecting books for a woman. I shall very much enjoy observing you on this momentous occasion,” she said with a smile that made Colin’s heart swell.
“It’s not the first time I’m selecting books for a woman,” he said, only half-defensively, and immediately regretted it when her face hardened.
*
A week later, Colin watched an inner light illuminate his wife’s face as she stood in front of the Magdalen girls, writing large individual letters on the blackboard and demonstrating the sound they made in different words. The happiness and change in her every movement made him realise that this was, truly, what she had been put on this earth to do.
Her purpose,he thought.But also something she could do anywhere in the world.
Elizabeth not only appeared confident and authoritative, but she also demonstrated a wit that put the girls at ease, and Talbot could tell that she adjusted her approach with each of them according to what she sensed they needed. He proudly noticed that she often put her hand on their shoulders or adjusted the way they were holding the pen without hesitation.
“You did well,” he told her in the carriage on the way to the poorhouse.
“Several girls approached me to tell me how much they’ve enjoyed your lessons, well done,” Mrs Cooper added.
Lizzie blushed and looked at her hands.
“Thank you. I enjoyed myself tremendously as well. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the opportunity to teach, and I’ve missed it.”
Talbot decided he would build her a school and pay students to attend if necessary, only to be able to witness that light more often.
*
“What story should we read next, Hettie? One about love, perhaps?” he teased.
Now that everyone had had a bath and was wearing clean clothes, Talbot found himself enjoying his time in the consumption wing far more. Lizzie had gone with Mrs. Cooper to talk to the hospital administrator about organising lessons for the children, and Doctor Cooper was attending to patients in another wing, so Talbot had all the time in the world to banter with Hettie.
