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Marina had known the news would please her uncle, though she had kept it to herself when she had returned home last night. He had been so worried about her at first, and then so interested in hearing about the success of the sleepy grass tonic that there had been no room to reveal what had happened just before she left the Knotgill townhouse.
“He made a very good offer,” she said shyly, as she poured herself a cup of weak coffee. “Surprisingly, I think I shall be quite content.”
“Surprisingly? Why surprisingly?”
She shrugged. “I had feared that I might not be permitted to continue my studies and my life’s work, but he has agreed to allow it. I believe that him seeing my remedies in action went some way toward helping my cause.”
Bernard’s face clouded over. “Goodness… why did I not think of that?”
“Of what, Uncle?”
“It did not even cross my mind that you might not be able to continue with what you love so much,” her uncle replied, paling. “Why, there are gentlemen out in society who do not even allow their wives to read. Heavens, what a wretch I am! I am so sorry, Marina; I just… did not even think.”
She reached a hand across the tablecloth, though he was too far to touch. “All is well, Uncle. There is no need to be distressed.”
“But I did not consider that you might be forbidden from your talents,” he urged, his eyes misty, his voice thick with regret. “I… have been away from society for so long that I forgot not everyone is like me. Not everyone celebrates the mind of a woman. Not everyone is encouraging of a woman’s intelligence and interests.”
His sadness brought on a flicker of panic in Marina’s chest. There was nothing that made her more uneasy than her uncle’s sorrow, for he did not deal well with guilt. Over the years she had been in his care, she had witnessed a handful of his deep depressions.
She did not know when she had given herself the task of managing his moods, to ensure that he did not fall into a depression again, but she must have been quite young. After all, the first spells of despair had happened not long after she came to live with him.
According to her books, it was common enough for genius and fragile temperaments to go hand in hand.
“Uncle, give me some credence,” she challenged with a forced smile. “Do you think I would have accepted anyone who would not have allowed me such freedoms? I did not actually fear ending up with someone who would not permit it. I was only teasing.”
Bernard met her gaze, searching her face. “No… No, I suppose you would not.” The heaviness seemed to lift from his shoulders, his expression relaxing. “Of course you would not. Yes, quite right! I raised you to know yourself. And I certainly would not have let you marry someone who did not respect your talents.”
“Exactly, Uncle,” she said, relieved. “You see? All is well.”
He smiled at her, but it faded fast. “But… is he not supposed to ask me for your hand?”
“I expect that he will,” Marina replied. “Him asking me first was probably just a courtesy, as I was already there at the townhouse.”
Bernard’s smile returned. “Excellent. Oh, this is excellent, Rini. And he has such a wonderful grandmother. I doubt I could have chosen a better match for you myself.”
“Even if you were to spend weeks solving the arithmetic of my perfect match?” she teased, certain that the potential worry in her uncle had passed.
“Even so!” he chirped, laughing. “Oh, and you shall make a fine mother to that boy. There is great merit in raising a child that is not your own. Indeed, it has been… the greatest joy of my life to see you grow up into such a splendid person.”
He swiped his handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed his eyes.
“As it has been my greatest joy to be raised by such a wonderful uncle,” Marina told him, her own throat choking up. “Truly, I would have been lost without you. I am only the person I am now because of you.”
Yes, she might not have known how to shine at a dinner party or how to dance without tripping over herself or what the rules of etiquette were exactly, but she had been privy to a wealth of other knowledge thanks to her uncle. She had become ‘the equivalent to a doctor’ because he had encouraged her.
She got up from her chair and walked over to his side of the table, where she put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. His arms held her in return, as he sobbed happily into her shoulder and she, in turn, let herself weep into his.
Affection and hugging were not something she did often, uncomfortable with that sort of closeness, but this seemed like the perfect moment to set that aside.
“I wish I had read more books about marriage and weddings and whatnot,” Bernard confessed. “I do not even know what comes next.”
Marina laughed and hugged him even tighter. “Nor do I, Uncle. Nor do I.” She paused, smiling. “But I believe it has something to do with a dress and a church.”
CHAPTER TEN
Marina kept her head down as she walked around the private park, an oval of trimmed grass with a few hawthorn trees that sat in the center of their townhouse’s square.
After news of her engagement had reached the ton a week ago, her quiet toleration of London had become much harder to enjoy. Wherever she went, whether it be a brisk walk to enjoy the sunshine or a quick jaunt to the pâtissier to fetch sweet treats for her and her uncle to enjoy, the whispers and stares had become a bombardment.
