He waited for her to soften, but she did not. She continued to glare accusingly as if he had stolen something rather than gifted it.
“You disapprove of it, I see.”
“I did not say that.”
“You would not have come here if you approved.”
A flicker of reluctant acknowledgment passed through her eyes.
“It is too much, as I said,” she said. “And too soon.”
“It is cloth and thread.”
“It is expensive.”
“It is an investment.”
“In what?”
“In your family’s future. It hardly makes a difference to me, but it clearly means a lot to you.”
“We have managed without assistance.”
“You should not have had to.”
The words left him before he softened them. For a moment, she simply looked at him.
“That is kind,” she said quietly. “But kindness does not change the fact that it is too soon for such gifts.”
“I do not see the use in waiting when it can be done today.”
“That is precisely what unsettles me.”
He considered her more carefully. There was no pride in her tone, no wounded vanity, only caution. Of course, he had not thought twice about paying the coffers and having the Fairleighs being given entirely new wardrobes, but it meant more to her.It was a luxury that, in her eyes, she could be punished for eventually.
He did not plan on giving her any gifts with strings attached, but she did not have to believe that without reason.
“You believe I am overreaching, is that it?”
“I believe this arrangement has scarcely begun.”
“It began the moment you agreed.”
“That does not grant you responsibility for my entire household.”
“It grants me responsibility for what I promised.”
She hesitated at that.
“I said I would ensure your family’s security,” he continued. “I did not speak idly.”
“I never thought you did.”
“Then why question it?”
“Because I have spent years ensuring we asked for nothing.”
He studied her face more closely now. There it was. She had made a habit of making her own way.
