“Do you really love me?” Annaliese asked before he’d done more than stretch his legs out in front of him.
He smiled. “I must admit that I do.”
She turned her attention to the ocean, considered it for a long moment, then returned her attention to him and released a sigh, something he found less than encouraging.
Bracing himself for the worst, he was surprised when Annaliese reached out, took hold of his hand, and gave it a squeeze.
“I’ve realized, and only recently,” she began, “that besides thinking about kissing you often, that I love you as well.”
All the air seemed to get sucked out of his lungs for the briefest of seconds until he realized that she wasn’t exactly looking like a lady who’d just declared herself as being in love. He gaveherhand a squeeze.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t want to be a conventional wife.”
“Iknowyou wouldn’t want to be a conventional wife.”
Annaliese blinked. “And even knowing that, you still think you’re in love with me?”
“IknowI’m in love with you, and one of the reasons I love you is because of your unconventional attitude, something I was just discussing with Norma Jean.”
“That almost sounds as if you were engaged in an in-depth conversation about me with your sister.”
“That’s because I was, and it turns out that Norma Jean is incredibly old for her years and lent me some sound advice, along with her thoughts on why you’ve seemed unsettled of late.”
“I am unsettled.”
“Because you believe I want a traditional wife?”
She nodded.
“But I don’t want that, nor do I understand why you think every ladyhasto have a traditional marriage when your own sister certainly doesn’t have that with Rhenick,” Seth said.
Her eyes widened. “I didn’t even think about that.”
“You should have because Drusilla never considered giving up her position at the academy when she agreed to marry Rhenick. And I know Rhenick never expected her to do that anyway as he knows that the academy makes Drusilla happy.”
He gave Annaliese’s hand another squeeze. “That’s all I want to do, Annaliese. Make you happy, just as you make me happy by simply being you.” He shook his head. “No one has ever literally snapped me out of my thoughts before, thinking, what with my odd mind, that my thoughts are too important to interrupt. But you don’t seem to hesitate to interrupt my thoughts, one of the first things I found fascinating about you.”
“But I’m afraid you’ll end up resenting me if I begin spending scads of time creating an aviary, or an animal sanctuary,or organizing my notes on insects into a proper book, or any of the other many, many things I’d like to experience in life.”
“And to that I’ll counter with this—Will you resent me when I disappear underneath what I’ve decided to name an iron mule once we get back to Chicago?” Seth asked.
“Of course not.”
“Then why would I resent the time you spend pursuing your passions?”
“Because ladies aren’t supposed to pursue those after they get married.”
Seth waved that aside. “I’ve never been influenced with the current dictates of the day, and I certainly would never expect you to give up your interests for me. You have too much to offer the world, and you mark my words, it’ll be ladies like you who end up changing the way the world views women in general, as well as paving the way for girls like my sister to excel at whatever it is they want to pursue in life.”
“I have a feeling your sister will blaze her own path without any help from me.”
Seth smiled. “Norma Jean is a force to be reckoned with and has already told me that she expects to assist me with my iron mule.”
“She’s clearly been craving your attention.”
“Something I certainly didn’t realize, but now that I know, I’ll make sure to set aside extra time for her, just like I’ll set aside time for you if you decide you’d like me to help you with your aviary and animal sanctuary.”
