“I know of no other young lady who would have been as brave as you were, after the spectacle you made of yourself in the Willoughbys’ garden. At the time, I wholeheartedly believed all hope was lost.”
This—Bethany exhaled—was the mother she was more accustomed to.
“I didn’t face them alone.” Her fears had been easily endured with Chase at her side.
Herhusband. A person who was also quickly becoming her best friend.
“It was important that all of us pull together. Josephine has never failed to help her friends. And Blackheart certainly did his part.”
They had worked wonders, Bethany conceded, but it wasn’t the same as having Chase at her side.
“Now, run along, dear. And wear your hair loose again, like you did at Heart Place. Makes you seem less like somebody’s governess.”
In the short drive to Byrde House—to her new home—her mother’s comments only summoned half the insecurities they’d done in the past.
She stared down at her hands. Her family loved her desperately, it was just that their love came with certain expectations—expectations that she be the person they’d always seen her to be.
That sort of love had made it difficult for her to try to be anyone other than the girl she’d always been—the peacekeeper, the comforter. If she tried something new, if she’d ever taken a risk and then failed, she would have disappointed them.
That love had trapped her inside the woman they had wanted her to be.
Was that why she hadn’t ever been able to flirt? Because that was Tabetha’s gift. Was that why she’d never attracted any proper suitors?
Bethany had been content in many aspects of her person—such as the desire to help those that she loved, the desire to maintain a calm and peaceful home, the desire to comfort anyone who might be in pain.
She had always liked herself in those ways. But she’d also been dissatisfied.
And now…
Being with Chase was showing her pieces of herself she’d kept hidden inside. Feminine pieces. Assertive pieces.
In her own eyes, even if not anyone else’s.
The carriage drew to a halt, and she experienced a pleasing warmth when, rather than one of the footmen, her husband’s face appeared in the open door.
“Perfect timing!” His eyes crinkled as he smiled in at her. How many years had she dreamed of such a scenario?
She reached for her reticule and leaned forward. “And how is that?”
Rather than offer his hand, he placed both on her waist and slowly lowered her onto the pavement.
Such a simple touch had her tingling inside. Happiness. This was happiness.
“Would it be scandalous if I kissed my wife on the street?” It was almost as though she’d made him tingle too.
“You’ve done far worse.”
He rolled his eyes. “In that case.” There was no need to complete his sentence when he showed her what he had in mind with a very deliberate kiss.
Mr. Ingles cleared his throat from the opened doorway and Chase’s shoulders shook beneath her hands. “My butler disapproves.” He chuckled, his breath mingling with hers.
Bethany drew back and tucked her hand around his arm. “We do not want to draw the ire of your butler,” she whispered. Nor did they need to attract any unwanted attention.
Although Mr. Ingles was frowning, as any good butler would upon witnessing their behavior, she sensed a glimmer of approval in the man’s eyes.
Chase handed off his hat and cane and then guided her straight up the stairs and directly to his chamber.
“Do we have time…?”
