"You can do whatever you wish," he said. "The household is yours to manage, if you want it. The library is at your disposal. The gardens could use someone with actual opinions about roses." He paused. "Or you could write."
Harriet looked up sharply. "Write?"
"Poetry. Stories. Whatever inspires you." Sebastian set down his wine glass and leaned forward. "You have talent, Harriet. Real talent. I've read your work, I’ve read it for seven years and I know how good you are. If you wanted to pursue it seriously, I would support that in whatever way you needed."
"No one publishes female poets."
"Some do. And even if they didn't, you could write for yourself. For me. For our children, someday." He caught her hand. "The point is, you have choices now. You're not trapped. You can be whoever you want to be."
Harriet was quiet for a long moment. "You really believe that? That I'm talented?"
"I believe it absolutely."
"You're biased."
"Hopelessly. But that doesn't make me wrong."
She laughed, a watery sound, and Sebastian realised she was fighting back tears. "I used to dream about this, you know. Having someone who believed in me. Someone who saw what I could be, not just what I was supposed to be."
"And now?"
"Now I have it, and I don't quite know what to do with myself." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "You're going to have to be patient with me, Sebastian. I'm not used to being supported."
"Neither am I." He pulled her closer, until she was tucked against his side on the settee. "But I'm told it gets easier with practice."
"Who told you that?"
"A very wise woman. Just a few hours ago, in fact."
"She sounds insufferable."
"Utterly. I'm completely besotted with her."
Harriet laughed again, properly this time, and settled more comfortably against him. They sat like that for a while, watchingthe fire burn low, talking about everything and nothing. Plans for Thornwood. Places they wanted to visit. Names they might give children who didn't yet exist.
"I'd like to travel," Harriet said, at one point. "I've never been abroad. Mama was always too worried about the expense, and then the debts made it impossible."
"Where would you like to go?"
"Italy, I think. I've read so much about it,the art, the ruins, the light." Her voice grew dreamy. "I'd like to see the Colosseum. And Venice. And the countryside in Tuscany."
"Then we'll go. This spring, perhaps, when the weather turns."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that." Sebastian pressed a kiss to her hair. "I've always wanted to see Italy. I just never had anyone I wanted to see it with."
Harriet was quiet for a moment. Then she tilted her head up and kissed him, slow and sweet.
"Thank you," she murmured against his lips.
"For what?"
"For being you. For making this seem possible." She pulled back to look at him. "I spent so long believing I would never have this. A real partnership. Someone who wanted to build a life with me, not just acquire me."
"You deserve all of it. You deserve more than I could ever give you."
"That's objectively untrue."
