“I am sure you will come round in the future.”
“Keep your certainties for other things. If Edwin wants a shooting range, he can always ask Abigail.”
“I realize we have reached a conundrum.”
“What you have reached is a unified use of common sense by Abigail as well.”
“It is an argument that was lost from the beginning,” Leo conceded.
They were in the breakfast room before they both went to ride into the city. Leo had to attend assembly in Westminster, and Prim had a meeting with the Mayor of London regarding the building of a new hospital.
“I should be back by dinner,” Leo said as they were getting ready to leave the house.
“Be sure to be back before dinner.”
“I will.”
Prim paused and looked at them through the mirror that hung in the big entrance. The common description of them when they attended balls, or went out for walks, or promenaded was that they looked like a lovely couple. And they did, but it was not Leo's dominating looks or her beautiful softness.
What was radiating and attracting the attention of others was the light that shone from within. And the fact that neither of them allowed anyone in this world diminish that light.
“Prim,” Leo demanded her attention through the mirror, “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
It was so amazing to be married to a person who could double as your best friend in almost anything. She still couldn't believe how far they've come. Not just as the forgotten diamond of a Season turning into a Duchess or the rakish brute finally settling down. Not even because of the scandals that Aaron had scattered in their lives, now an old memory.
No. Prime was thinking about them, as people. Leo and Prim. Two people who simply never thought that they could deserve love, the carried deep wounds for years. Now Prim looked at them and realized that both had an abundance of love in their hearts.
Later that night, the dinner was set in their little, intimate drawing room. Only this time, three sets were waiting. Leo looked at the extra set of plates on their bed, and he frowned.
“I still can't believe I agreed to this,” he told Prim.
“And this is where you're sorely mistaken. You are functioning under the impression that your agreement was of paramount importance. In reality, what happened was that you were merely informed. An act of magnanimity on my part.”
“I don't see how this is fair.”
“And yet it somehow is.”
“I hate it when you are right.”
As if summoned, the butler appeared and gave Leo the calling card. Leo read the name and returned the card as he stood up.
“It was not that I was expecting enthusiasm,” Prim said, “but it would be better if you wiped that snarl off your face.”
Leo was looking at her when Bridget entered the room, looking impeccable as always. But she didn't wear that air of privilege that Prim had noticed the first time they met at the opera. She was now more grounded and aware of how her actions could make others feel
“Good evening,” Bridget said.
She stood at the edge of the intimate dining hall not knowing what to do with yourself.
“Please do come in,” Leo said.
Both women looked at him as if he had grown horns. And who could blame them? Leo was usually withdrawn at best when it came to Bridget
For him to invite her to the table was a development that neither had anticipated.
Bridget couldn't hide her excitement as she took her place at the table. Prim was also smiling not only because Bridget’s heart would finally settle, but because she saw Leo on his own path to heal past wounds.
