“And are you?”
Phoebe pushed forward. “No, we are not sure which is why we are asking you to be plain with us. Indeed, all we know is that your actions have taken our friend from us for a fortnight. She has locked herself away, refusing to see anyone, and she issupposedto be here tonight, but I imagine she had second thoughts in case you were also here.”
“It is a lengthy story, and one that is not fit for such an environment,” Nathaniel said, realizing that they would soon draw the attention of the crowd. “All I can tell you, here and now, is that I love her, and I made a mistake. But I promise you, Ididthink I was protecting her. I did it for her sake, even though it crushed my heart into tiny pieces.”
The three women looked at one another, holding an entire conversation with their eyes in a feminine language that he was not privy to. There were scowls and subtle shakes of the head, pursed lips and slight shrugs, but when the smallest tug of a smile graced Anna’s lips, he had a feeling that all really was not lost.
“Very well, you can help us find her, and you can tell us this “lengthy story” on the way,” Matilda said, still clearly unimpressed. “Four searchers are better than three, after all.”
Nathaniel frowned. “I thought you assumed she was not here tonight.”
“To get rid of you,” Phoebe explained tersely, “but now, you have given us something to consider, and no one has seen Leah in at least twenty minutes. Half an hour, in truth, now that you have stopped to hinder us.”
Anna seemed to come out of her shell. “Her mother said she had gone in search of us, promising she would not be long. But ithasbeen a long while, and she obviously did not find us, so we are… somewhat anxious.” She smiled encouragingly. “Say you will help us, and say you will tell us this story?”
“If you will listen, then gladly,” Nathaniel replied. “I know I have disappointed you, but I hope you might forgive me. I hopeshewill forgive me, most of all. As for helping you find her,” he flashed a small, nervous smile, “why are we still standing around, twiddling our thumbs?”
Matilda made a harsh noise, partway between a scoff and a laugh. “Someone said they saw her head out into the gardens, so we have a great deal of ground to cover. I do hope the mud does not ruin your nice boots.”
“I would not care if it did,” Nathaniel told her, hoping that her sarcastic jest meant she was warming up to him. “First, let me steal some light. I shall meet you out on the terrace, for propriety’s sake.”
Matilda rolled her eyes. “Now,he thinks of propriety. Well, hurry. It is cold out there, and I shall blame you if she gets even so much as a sniffle.”
I shall blame myself more than you ever could, I assure you, he knew as he took off toward the refreshment room where he was certain he had seen a lantern glowing.
* * *
“You will catch your death, sweet Leah,” Jonathan said, slipping his cloak off his shoulders as he walked toward her. “Please, now that there is no one to see, take this and warm yourself.”
Leah stood up sharply, glancing behind her. A tall blockade of boxwood prevented her from escaping around the side of the manor, and Jonathan blocked her path back up the terrace while a low wall would need to be vaulted if she hoped to jump down into the gardens and run for freedom that way.
“If you are trying to scare me, it will not work,” she said, her teeth chattering.
Jonathan frowned. “Why would I want to scare you? I do not want you to fall ill again, that is all. When I heard you were unwell, I knew it must have been that night on the terrace. I knew you would catch a cold.” He shook his head. “I have not stopped thinking about it, wishing you had just taken the cloak.”
“Where is your wife?” She hugged herself, so he could not force the cloak into her hand.
Jonathan shrugged. “I neither know nor care.”
“Did she finally realize that she did not marry the gentleman you claimed you were?” Leah shot back, the cold biting at her skin. “You are destitute now, are you not? And I suppose she has become accustomed to a certain way of living.”
Jonathan smiled, pausing to sit on top of the low stone wall. “I always thought that it was wealth and success that made a man, but I have recently discovered that is not true.” He dropped his chin to his chest. “The loss of my wealth, not that it was ever considerable, has been… oddly liberating.”
“You should not have made everyone believe you were a man of great fortune then it might not have felt like so much of a loss,” Leah said. “Liars are always found out.”
Jonathan raised his head, gazing softly at her. “I know that. Indeed, I have come to realize that it is my penance for hurting you.” He smiled. “I had to lose everything to understand what meant the most. It is not houses and trinkets and the latest fashions and a pretty but dull young woman on my arm.Loveis everything, Leah. Love is the only thing that matters and the only thing that will see a man through the very worst of times to raise him up to better times again.”
“So, I ask again, where is your wife?” A chill splintered through Leah’s heart, for she did not trust the gentleness in Jonathan’s voice nor the warmth in his eyes. It was like a block of ice in the center of a snowball.
Jonathan laughed. “I might askyouwhere your “beloved” is.” He paused, sliding his hands into the lapels of his waistcoat. “But I already know the answer to that. He is not your beloved anymore, is he? I had a feeling it would not last. Still, one man’s missed chance is another man’s dearest hope.”
“He is in the city with his brother,” Leah replied, a note too quickly. “I wanted an evening with my friends, so he insisted I come here without him. Nothing has changed. He is still my beloved.” At least in that, there was no lie.
An ominous tutting sound escaped Jonathan’s lips. “There is no reason to be embarrassed, Leah. I already know that your courtship with Nathaniel has come to an end.” His twisted smile stretched across his face. “He is here this evening, but as you evidently did not know that, you have just confirmed my suspicions.”
“He is… here?” Leah strained to look behind Jonathan, hoping beyond all hope that Nathaniel might suddenly appear and rescue her… but the terrace lay empty as far as the eye could see; no one was foolish enough to step outside in such bitter conditions. No one but her.
Jonathan put a finger to his lips, shushing her. “Do not speak of him. I might not have much to my name, but at least I am not a common brawler with a criminal father.” He pushed off the wall and began to move toward her. “But together—you and me—we can create a brighter future for ourselves.”
