Had Orlando finally grown tired of her?
They never established how long this arrangement would last, and she was not even certain if lovers did decide on such things, but it had been two months since he started sharing her bed and maybe that had been enough and he was done.
But she was not. Blythe needed Orlando and couldn’t begin to contemplate what her life would be like if he were gone.
The very idea brought tears to her eyes.
This was ridiculous of course. She was overwrought for no reason, or so she tried to tell herself.
Just because there had been an oddity of one night did not mean that he intended to end their association.
But what if that was exactly what it meant?
Unable to remain alone in her brother’s home, Blythe called for the carriage and had the driver take her to Matron Manor. Certainly, someone there could convince her that she was overreacting.
Thankfully it was Elizabeth who greeted her and after tea had been delivered and behind closed doors for the privacy she needed, Blythe confessed everything to her friend, who already knew what had happened in Brussels.
“Does he know that you are in love with him?”
“No, of course not.” Blythe had only come to that realization herself.
“Why haven’t you told him?” Elizabeth asked.
“Because ours is a…we are lovers…he has never mentioned…”
“Neither have you.”
“No, of course not.”
“And, you have made it clear that you value your independence and freedom.”
“I did not want him to think that I would expect marriage because that often sends a bachelor fleeing.”
Elizabeth chuckled. “In that, you are correct. But, as a widow, I do not think he would have that fear. It is not as if he ruined you.”
Ah, but he had. At least for any other man.
Elizabeth tilted her chin and studied Blythe. “A curiosity. If Dr. Valentine were to ask you to marry him, would you?”
“He would not.”
“That is not an answer. Would you accept or deny him?”
Her heart pounded against her chest at the very idea of such a question coming from Orlando. A part of her want to recoil because she did not want to be property again. The other part of her would accept because she loved him that much. If the question ever came, which she did not expect it to, she would either need to give up Orlando or her freedom.
“You need to determine what that answer would be and then take the advice that I am about to impart.”
“What?” Blythe asked.
“In these matters the only way to ever know for certain is to sit down and ask. Nothing irritates me more than couples who do not speak from the heart and spend their time wondering what the other may be thinking.”
“I did not speak from the heart in Brussels,” she reminded Elizabeth.
“You were not free to do so then. Your husband was alive. There is nothing to prevent you from doing so now.” She stood and shook out her skirts. “It is either that or spend your days sick with worry. That is up to you, Blythe.”
She had just been dismissed by her dearest friend.
“Decide on what you truly want then tell Dr. Valentine,” Elizabeth said again. “Now, I am off to a luncheon. Let me know what you decide.”
