Page 31 of The Wise Daughter

He swallowed. “This fire tonight… I can hardly believe it. I’m so relieved you’re safe.

” Fear and guilt over having nearly lost her made the words difficult to speak.

It was his fault she was entangled in his troubles.

He thought he was saving her and her father by promising her everything she could possibly need, but all he had accomplished was endangering her.

“Nora, I know it isn’t proper to keep you this close. ”

“Not at all.” She released his hand and stepped closer to the door of her new bedchamber.

He had to fix this. He had to make sure she understood just how serious he undertook the responsibility of protecting her, her life, her reputation, her heart. In one stride, he closed the distance between them and took her hand again.

“But there is one way to make it proper.” He gathered his courage and kissed her knuckles. Moments ago, she had held him just as closely as he had held her. She had trusted him enough to escort her here. Surely, that meant something.

He swallowed and forced himself to meet her eye. “We could marry one another right away. No more waiting. As soon as you and I are man and wife, we can put all questions about what is proper to rest, and–” His voice caught. “I won’t have to worry about your safety at night.”

She was silent for several painful heartbeats. “Aaron…” She looked at her feet and frowned. Not an encouraging sign. “I realize that is the plan eventually, but I cannot marry you just so you can watch over me. I have more to consider.”

He swallowed again and tried not to look as hurt as he felt. “I understand that, Nora, but your reputation–”

Her eyes flashed. “I thought you didn’t care about reputations.”

“I don’t. I may not base my decisions on what others say, but I do care about damage I may inadvertently inflict on your reputation. As you said, we’ve been in compromising situations. I’m willing to marry you as soon as we can.”

Her eyes were heavy with the need for sleep. “We’ve just experienced a scare tonight. We’re tense and tired. This isn’t the time to be altering plans.”

“I’m in a perfect mind about this. I’m not asking out of fear.”

“Even if that’s true, I can’t answer out of fear. It’s still too soon.”

“What difference does it make if we are wed in three days or three weeks?”

She looked away, then had difficulty meeting his eyes again. “The truth is, after tonight, I don’t think I can marry you unless we’ve caught the thieves. All of them.”

“What? Why should that matter? Obviously, I would like to catch them right away, but I can’t control how long it takes. I assumed we would face those challenges together, regardless of time.”

“I promise, I’m as determined as ever to root them out. That’s why I was searching the castle tonight. I found a letter I think you should see.” She reached into her night dress and handed him the folded paper.

Squinting and holding the paper up near the light of the fire, he read the entire letter as Nora watched. The lines were faded, and the light was poor, but the meaning was clear. His mother had felt grossly inadequate.

“Aaron, what if someone threatened your mother? What if something similar to this fire drove her away?” She pressed a hand over her mouth before speaking again. “There could be a much larger, longer-standing problem here than we thought.”

A wave of nausea rolled in his stomach. It was a possibility he had never acknowledged but one that had long haunted the farthest corners of his mind.

He folded the letter and tucked it into his nightshirt to read again and ponder later, but as he looked back at Nora, her pale curls gently flowing over her shoulders, framing her soft features, he was struck with her absolute goodness and beauty.

The cost of failing her was too heavy to consider.

His throat grew thick. “Nora, I can’t let you do this anymore. You can’t keep chasing after danger, not when someone wants to harm you.”

“But that was my condition to this engagement. I’m helping you solve this. It’s clear you need someone to ask questions and find answers, and no one else is stepping forward.”

Like a well-aimed arrow, her words were sharp and true. He didn’t care. “Your safety is more important to me than finding the thieves. I’d rather they steal everything in the castle than steal you from me. I won’t let them touch you, Nora. I won’t let you continue to put yourself in danger.”

“That isn’t your choice, Aaron.”

“It is when you are under my protection.”

Her eyes grew steely. “You may be master of your castle, but I must do what my conscience dictates. The choices I have been offered as of late have been few and precious. This is a choice I am clinging to. I am going to help you.”

This was a point of stubbornness from her which he never entirely understood. “Why, Nora? Why is this so important to you? There’s no need to prove your cleverness. I already know how brilliant you are.”

Her lips pressed together in a host of feelings he wasn’t sure he understood.

“I only want to contribute something. You proposed to me because it was convenient. You weren’t motivated by love.

Neither was I. I didn’t think it mattered, but Aaron, don’t you understand?

I accepted you because of all the things you offered me.

I’m a practical woman. I saw no reason to refuse you, but if I can’t offer you something in return, I don’t know if my conscience will allow me to go through with it. ”

“But you do contribute. Remember, there is the matter of my inheritance.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew had made a mistake. “But of course, that is nothing,” he grappled to salvage his words. “You are so lovely and kind, and–”

“Aaron, I haven’t forgotten about your inheritance. There’s a fine line between being practical and being bought.”

“What are you saying?” Her words stung like nettles.

“How can I live with myself if I marry you because I need money?”

Aaron stepped back. Had she never intended to go through with the marriage?

A deep, stabbing pain pierced his chest and radiated throughout his whole being.

Money always factored into marriage, he told himself.

Couples became engaged all the time over much less than what he had offered her, but that was precisely the problem.

He wanted Nora’s heart just as much as she wanted his love.

When she started to push the door closed he seized her hand again.

“Honora Lacy. You are too wise and too clever not to see that my heart is invested in this. Do you not feel the love growing between us? I’ve seen it in looks we’ve shared.

I’ve felt it in the touch of your hand. I know it’s there. You won’t convince me otherwise.”

Her lower lip quivered, the seconds stretching between them.

“Perhaps it is, Aaron, but there is still so much I don’t know about you.

I’m sorry. When I marry, I want to know that it wasn’t because I was desperate or scared.

I want to feel a love that is so deeply anchored, it would not matter if you were a duke or a blacksmith. I want to be sure of it.”

These words cut sharper than any she had yet spoken. “So once again, you need proof.” Knots tightened in his chest.

“Aaron, what if you regret marrying me?”

Overcome, he seized her hands. “I won’t.

I know I won’t because I will choose you everyday.

I don’t know how to prove to you that our marriage will work.

You have to trust me, Nora. At some point, whether by the end of our month or when we finally catch the thieves, you will have to decide whether you choose me in return. ”

He could see her emotions warring across her face. As much as he wanted her to choose him, he didn’t want to pressure her or force a decision upon her.

“I still need time.” She heaved a great sigh. “Right now, we should focus on finding the thieves and whoever set my room on fire. I’m sorry to change our agreement, but I can’t marry you until we solve this.”

His insides were crumbling like his childhood sandcastles. “And if it takes longer than our month?”

She stepped into her new bedchamber and pushed the door until only a small space was open between them. “Then either we will have a longer engagement, or...” She pinched her eyes shut. “I will leave.”

“Nora, please don’t speak like this.” He wanted to argue, to tell her every secret and give her a thousand reasons why they shouldn’t wait to marry, but he saw her determination.

Speaking became impossible. Talk of love and marriage was no longer within his capabilities.

He swallowed back the thickness in his throat. “Do not forget to lock your door tonight. Don’t open it for anyone except your maid, if you are sure you can trust her.”

Nora nodded.

“I’ll come to escort you to breakfast once you are ready.”

This time, there was no nod. Nothing. She looked at him, then closed the door with a soft click.

His mind emptied as he let his forehead rest on the door. His heart ached so dreadfully. He wished he could empty it too. Am I being selfish? Was he thinking of his own feelings more than Nora’s? His father would have been disappointed. His mother most definitely would have been too.

This will take more than catching criminals, his intuition told him, regardless of what Nora thought. He would have to be patient, very patient, apparently.

He pressed his hands against the door and closed his eyes. He could hear her pacing on the other side. What more could he do for her? What more could he give her?

I will not lose, Nora! I will not fail her!

His heart plummeted every time he imagined her leaving. Or getting hurt. The fire had brought the danger too close. Clutching his stomach, he amended his previous thought. He would have to be patient with Nora but ruthless with the thieves.