Nathaniel looked out of the carriage window. He carried that answer into the evening, turning it over whenever the house fell quiet.
A week later, they traveled to the village together. Evelyn needed supplies; Nathaniel wanted to inspect the school. The village children gathered around him.
One boy asked, "Are you really a duke?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a castle?"
"I have a house."
"Is it a castle?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because my house is a house."
The boy frowned. "That is disappointing."
Evelyn laughed. Nathaniel looked at her. "Do not encourage them."
A little girl approached Evelyn. "Are you a princess?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I married the wrong man."
Nathaniel looked at her. The child giggled. Evelyn smiled innocently.
"I am beginning to regret bringing you here," Nathaniel said.
"You brought me."
"Exactly."
On the way home, Evelyn fell asleep. Nathaniel looked across the carriage. Her head rested against the cushion; a strand of hair had fallen across her face. He reached out, then stopped. He lowered his hand. He told himself it was because he did not want to wake her; that explanation sounded convincing for approximately three seconds.
When they arrived, Evelyn woke. "You were watching me."
"I was not."
"You were."
"I was considering."
"You say that often when you're caught."
"Caught doing what?"
"Looking at me."
He stepped down from the carriage. "You are getting arrogant."
"You have grown obvious."
She followed him inside. They let the subject rest, though the unfinished thought followed them upstairs. But something had changed: the arrangement was supposed to be simple; instead, Nathaniel had begun looking forward to breakfast. Evelyn had begun leaving books in his study. They had begun laughing together. Neither marked the day the bargain began to feel like a household, but both had started making room for the other without being asked.
The change became impossible to ignore on the morning Nathaniel found Evelyn in the stables. She was standing beside a gray mare, arguing with the stable master.
"You must not sell her."
"I did not say I was selling her."
"You said you were considering it."
"I am considering it. She is lame."
"She is old. She is frightened."
"She is all three."
The stable master looked toward Nathaniel as though requesting divine intervention. Nathaniel folded his arms.
"What is happening?"
Evelyn turned. "Your stable master wants to get rid of this mare because she cannot work."
"She can barely walk."
"Then don't make her work."
Nathaniel looked at the horse. "She costs money."
Evelyn stared at him. "So do you."
The stable master coughed. Nathaniel looked at Evelyn.
"That is an impressive comparison."
"You are both expensive."
"Unlike me, she has stopped being useful."
The mare lifted her head. Evelyn stroked her nose. "That's cruel."