“If it pleases you,” he said.
She hesitated, but instead of saying more, she hurried away. Daniel watched until she vanished from view, then lathered his face, hair, and everywhere he could touch with the soap, paying keen attention to his chipped nails and the dirt beneath them.
Almost thirty minutes later, he stood in the small office garbed in clean clothes that seemed ill-suited to his frame, a fire blazing in the hearth, drinking the last of the chilled lemonade after quickly consuming the sandwich and orange that had been waiting for him on the tray on his desk.
My wife is considerate.
Withdrawing a sheaf of paper from the top drawer, he selected a fountain pen and wrote a note.
If you are familiar with one Mr. Daniel Stannis, and have business with him, please attend to him in the town of Crandell, Hampshire.
He would make plans to travel to the town square and have this notice posted to London, Manchester, and Leeds. While Daniel would not suffer to be the fool and worry endlessly about his past, he would still take decisive actions in helping his brain to figure out who he was instead of merely relying on fate. Perhaps someone who would be able to better help him understand his financial standing would see this notice and reply, even if they were a damn creditor or debtor.
A knock sounded on the door, and he glanced up, setting the pen and note aside. “Come in.”
The door creaked open, and his wife sauntered inside, two young girls tucked to her side. Daniel stood when they dipped into graceful curtsies. He went around the desk and bowed.
“Mr. Stannis, please allow me to introduce my youngest sisters. This is Miss Sarah Heyford and Miss Annabelle Heyford. Girls, this is Mr. Stannis.”
“Pleased to meet you, sir,” they chirped prettily.
“Pleased to meet you, Sarah. Anna and I had an adventure earlier escaping Hetty.”
He winked, carefully omitting their assistance with Nellie. Anna chortled, and Sarah smiled. She seemed more tentative than Anna, who skipped over and handed him a piece of paper. It was a charcoal drawing of their family.
“I made this before you came,” she said, “But look…I added you.”
Ah, that she had done, and he peered down into her expectant features, unsure of how he should precisely respond. Daniel cleared his throat. “I am pleased to be here…”
Georgianna’s lips quirked, and her eyes gleamed rather mysteriously, as if she knew he fibbed and would rather be anywhere else but this dingy manor. She shooed the girls outside and closed the door behind their departure. Daniel sat on the edge of his desk, casually stretched his legs before him, and waited. She seemed as if she were wrestling with herself, even started pacing before the door, her anxiety seeming to increase with each jerky step. He was a patient man, so he waited without rushing to conclusion, though he did wonder if she fretted about his earlier request to sleep in the same bed.
Her delicate face was set in determined lines. Squaring her shoulders, she faced him, reached into the deep pockets of her gown, and withdrew several banknotes. Georgianna hurried over to his side and placed them on the desk, then stepped back, lifting her regard to his.
“You appear as if you will head to the executioner block soon.”
She expelled a shaky laugh, and the tension about her shoulders eased. “My cousin said these were the only items found with you.”
He glanced down. A diamond lapel pin and a wad of bank notes. Plucking them up, he counted them. “Sixty pounds. Not a small sum by any means.”
“Yes.” She jutted her chin out, the move quite defiant. “I…I was going to use the money without mentioning it to you. However, the more I thought about doing so, the more wretched I felt.”
Daniel vaguely recalled the doctor mentioning these. He stared at his wife, a curious wrench going through his chest. Given the state of their home, he fully expected her to use the money. Not only was she kind…Georgianna was honorable. He separated the notes into two piles and handed half to her.
Georgianna’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“Are you not my wife?”
The pulse at the soft hollow of her throat fluttered madly. “I…yes.”
“What is mine is also yours, Mrs. Stannis. There was no need to feel any guilt in using this money. I also gather you had your reasons for keeping it from me, hmm?”
She stared at him warily. “I felt it owed to me…given the nature of our last argument.”
Ah, the mistress.
“I would not have blamed you if you spent it all.” He added a few more notes to those he held out to her. “This is forty pounds. It should be able to purchase a few necessary items until I have considered our financial situation from all angles.”
She took the money with fingers that trembled. “I will make a note of my spending in the household ledger. Thank you.”
