“I know. But I do not wish to frighten your new bride,” his grandmother said. “I can take some before her first visit and try less and less until it is no longer needed.”
Lewis rubbed his face, lost in thought. His chest tightened at the thought of another encounter between his grandmother and Bridget because it might go so horribly wrong, but this was also the first time he had ever heard his grandmother so eager to meet someone new. She was willing to plan and make efforts for the chance to meet Bridget and refusing her would be utterly heartless.
“I suppose that is a plan,” he said. “I will give it some thought and let you know when I believe Bridget will be ready.”
“Whenyouwill be ready,” his grandmother said mildly. “I suspect it is not Bridget who you are truly worried about.”
Perhaps that was a small part of it.
“I can be concerned about more than one person,” Lewis replied. “Now, might we discuss something else?”
“Yes, of course.”
There was nothing else that he particularly wished to discuss but dissuading her from meeting Bridget again was clearly impossible. At least, he could set the matter aside and avoid thinking about the inevitable for a little longer.
And so, he listened to his grandmother describe her day, which was much like all the others. Lewis would have been dissatisfied with such a monotonous life, but to his grandmother, it was a great comfort. During her discussion of flowers, Lewis’s mind wandered to Bridget. What was she doing at that moment? Did she feel that her life was as consistent as his grandmother’s was? Did she want more?
Lewis’s heart fluttered. He needed to give more consideration to what Bridget might want. He needed her to be happy, and he just…
He could not quite discern why.
CHAPTER 29
Lewis cleared his throat. Bridget set asideNorthanger Abbeyand rose to her feet. “Husband,” she said.
“Wife.”
Silence settled between them. Bridget resisted the impulse to fidget with her skirts, as her husband stared at her with what seemed to be judgment. Her heartbeat quickened. Would they discuss her ill-thought encounter with the Dowager Duchess? Bridget had spent the entire week and a half anticipating that confrontation.
“Would you like to accompany me today? I am heading across town to my grandmother’s townhouse and I thought you might enjoy the excursion,” Lewis announced.
Bridget’s jaw nearly dropped open. “Forgive me. I fear that I might have misheard you.”
“You did not. The carriage awaits us.”
Bridget furrowed her brow. “After my last encounter with her, you believe that I am suitable for visiting her again?”
“Yes.”
Bridget pursed her lips together. Even though Lewis never teased, unless it was with her body, she waited with bated breath for him to laugh and tell her that he had only been jesting. He did not.
“When?” Bridget asked.
“Now.”
He turned brusquely and walked from the room, Bridget hastening to keep pace with his long strides. “But why?” she asked.
“Because she wishes it,” Lewis said.
Bridget bit the inside of her cheek. The guilt from her first meeting hung from her shoulders like a stone weight, crushing and persistent. “How do I not upset her?” Bridget asked softly.
“You do your best,” he said shortly. “There is no guarantee that you will not upset her. My grandmother is unpredictable at the best of times. Change of any kind frightens her.”
It sounded like a dreadful way to live, Bridget thought. Change happened so often and so quickly, especially in the city.
The carriage had already been prepared. Soon, she was settled into her usual seat and faced with the inevitability of seeing the Dowager Duchess. Bridget clasped her hands together so tightly that her knuckles ached. On her last visit, she had terrified the poor woman. This time, Bridget must be quite careful; that much was obvious.
However, she could not decide exactly what to do. Lewis spoke likenothingshe did would set his grandmother’s mind at ease. How was Bridget meant to prepare for any confrontation with that knowledge? She was going to fail, regardless of how hard she tried to be the perfect wife who would not disturb the Dowager Duchess’s routine.
