“Ah, and is it working?”
Yes.Each flower, each little note, pulled at the strings of her heart. And this morning—Harriet suddenly laughed. Lord, oh, Lord, this morning had been... she couldn’t even put into words whatthathad been.
“What are you laughing about?” Rohan asked, and Harriet realized with a start that she had completely lost the thread of their conversation.
“I caught Leeds practicing his smile in the mirror this morning,” she admitted.
Rohan blinked at her. “I truly don’t know how to respond to that.”
Harriet’s lips quirked. “No need.”
“Well, that answers my question then. His wooing is obviously working, even if it is a bit unorthodox. Who practices smiling in the mirror?”
Her gaze trailed over all the people roaming about the street. “People who don’t often smile.” She glanced back at Rohan. “Has Chester settled in?”
“He has,” Rohan said. “I also saw your father yesterday. He resembled a thundercloud. Are you still not speaking?”
She shook her head.
“You accepted Leeds but did not forgive your father?”
“Leeds at least asked for my hand. And assumed reasonably that my father would have told me to expect it. What my father did...”
“I don’t know much about fathers—God knows mine was never present—but I suspect your father did what he thought best, no matter how skewed. He didn’t make that poor of a choice for you, did he?”
Harriet peered into a passing shop. “Let’s change the subject.” She wasn’t ready to delve further into the topic of her father.
“Very well. Your husband seems to care for you, if that is any consolation against strained relationships. If it’s not, there is always his wealth. And he has no gambling debt or any skeletons that I could dig up.”
Harriet shot her friend a surprised look. “You investigated him?”
“Of course.” He patted her head, and Harriet swatted his hand away. He laughed. “While I won’t interfere with your decisions, I at least want to make sure you are cared for.”
“Well, thank you, but I already asked him about the gambling rumors. Those gossip rags are the worst.”
“When have you ever paid attention to the gossip rags?” Rohan asked. “They say you are a mouse.”
That again.
“You have a point,” Harriet murmured. “In fact, he allocated my dowry into an account for me to use as I wish.”
“An admirable gesture.”
“So I thought as well.”
Rohan nodded. “Your husband has no obvious vices. His closest friend is the Duke of Calstone, and his favorite pastime is boxing.”
Boxing? No wonder his arms felt so strong. “So not a speck of dirt.”
“If there are any specks, I have yet to find them.”
“Well, that’s that then.” Harriet sighed. “No need to keep digging. All I need now is the reason why he married me.”
“You still believe he has one he hasn’t told you?”
“Oh, I know he hasn’t told me all, since I asked him plainly and he said I’d have to wait for his answer.”
Rohan laughed. “Leeds seems to be quite the interesting man.”
