“For today. For listening.”
Margaret swallowed lightly.
“You are welcome.”
The maid left quickly, and Nathaniel chuckled. Margaret, meanwhile, watched after her. If she could give them the knowledge that they were listened to, perhaps she was not entirely unfit for her role.
Still, when night fully settled and the house quieted, the space beside her remained empty. She lay awake longer than she intended, staring at the canopy above her. During the day, Ravensmere accepted her. At night, it tested her, and she resolved, as she had each night, that she would rise again and meet it properly.
Nathaniel began leaving before dawn.
At first Margaret assumed it was temporary– estate repairs, tenant disputes, lingering matters that required his direct oversight. Ravensmere was large. Responsibility did not rest lightly.
But the pattern held.
She would wake to the faint sound of boots in the corridor, the quiet murmur of a servant receiving instructions, then the front door closing with careful restraint.
By the time she came downstairs, his place at the breakfast table was already empty.
“His Grace left early,” Mrs. Hill would say, as though it had to be said.
“Of course,” Margaret would reply.
“He may not return until late.”
“Very well.”
The first week, she waited up. The second, she did not.
On evenings when he did return before midnight, their meetings were brief and impeccably civil.
One such evening, she found him in the library, coat still on, papers spread before him.
“You are still awake,” he said, looking up as she entered.
“So are you.”
He set down his pen.
“Mrs. Hill tells me the west corridor has been repaired.”
“Yes. The leak was worse than we thought.”
“You handled it efficiently.”
“I had assistance.”
“You seem to have gained the staff’s confidence.”
“I should hope so.”
He nodded once.
“You have done well.”
There it was again. Praise delivered like a report. There was a lack of warmth in his voice, and she swore that it had been there prior to their wedding day.
“And you?” she asked. “Was the northern boundary settled?”
