“Is my business anything that concerns you?”
I am your wife. Does it not concern me as well?
“I was trying to have a conversation, Gilbert,” she said softly.
“Hmm …” He strode towards the desk where she was sitting and urged her to lean back as he bent down to the desk. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key she had seen him hide there the other day before he pushed it into the hole in the drawer and unlocked it, retrieving the paperwork she had spied on.
“What is that?” she asked. “Accounts?”
“Again, it does not concern you.” He placed the papers in a folded leather wallet before she could see them again.
“Mr Potts spoke of the sale you made the other day of Haymarket Field. Was that where the tenants had their fire?” she asked, aware that as Gilbert stood to his feet, he turned his head sharply towards her. “I am merely concerned for the tenants’ welfare. I did not realize you had tenants as far as Melksham.”
“I have tenants all over. The purchase and sale of lands are important to maintain our position, Diana,” he said distractedly, turning away another time.
“What caused the fire?”
“Good Lord! You are full of questions this evening, aren’t you?” The words were so harsh that she recoiled in the chair.
“I merely wished to understand what had caused the fire. Is that so awful?”
“It is none of your business, Diana. Is that understood?” He walked towards her, almost threateningly, as he towered over her, gesturing down to her with an outstretched finger. It was such a sharp change in manner that she cowered in the chair, looking at the outstretched finger and his flared nostrils.
“Did I say something wrong?” she whispered.
“Do you not remember when I said all I wanted from you was obedience?” He took the arm of the chair and shook it. It was an aggressive action, even if he didn’t touch her. She nodded, unable to find the words. “Then it’s high time you started being obedient, or you’ll find out what a husband’s punishment could be.”
The words horrified her. She clawed to be out of the chair, but her ankle complained, not letting her move, and he blocked her path. “Do not ask after my business again.”
These were his final words on the matter. He walked away from her and headed for the door. She didn’t turn to follow him with her eyes, merely listening for the door that slammed and the front door closing a few minutes later.
“What is going on?” she whispered into the air, as though the flickering candles could answer her. Nothing made sense to her; even a husband like Gilbert could surely not be so fussed if his wife wanted to know what had caused a fire in one of their tenants’ houses.
Diana tried to brush off the fear her husband had caused, but it lingered. As she turned towards her book again, something caught her eye. Gilbert, in his haste, had not closed the drawer properly and had most definitely not locked it again.
She glanced to the door just once, but with the sound of a carriage leaving through the snow that was beginning to melt beyond the windows, she knew she was safe to do as she pleased. She reached down and opened the drawer wider, revealing inside a now empty drawer.
Nearly empty.
At the very bottom, there was a scrap of paper, caught at the side of the drawer between two pieces of wood, as if it had fallen out of the bundle Gilbert had taken with him. She quickly retrieved it and lifted it towards the candlelight, the better to see what was scrawled across the surface.
It was a list of what appeared to be addresses.
Haymarket Field, Melksham.
Avon Acres, Bradford Leigh.
Brokerwood, Frome.
Diana turned the paper over, but there was nothing on the other side. Perplexed by it, she chose not to return the scrap to the drawer but placed it in her book instead, using it to mark her page.
Moving the book to the side, she attempted to return to her writing, but it was difficult this evening. Though the ideas were there, ready to be written, her mind was unsettled, and she could not stop thinking of the way Gilbert had shaken her chair, almost threateningly.
Surely, he would never hurt me.
She had no reason to think he would. The night she had refused to go to his bed, turning away from his kiss, he hadn’t threatened her then. It still bothered her, how asking after what caused a fire would ignite such a response from him.
With her mind unsettled, she knew she could not go back to her writing tonight. There was one person she did want to see, someone whose company she craved, and if she were so fortunate, he would bestow another of those secret kisses to her hand.
