The Duke Didn't Want Love — He Wanted a Practical Wife. Then Her Carriage Arrived 40 Minutes Late
Chapter 18
Theme:
Font Size:
24px
Fenwick asked whether small contractors would be expected to carry the costs while the review continued. Avery answered that confirmed unpaid work would be settled on its merits; he had instructed Mercer accordingly. The answer was practical and unromantic, but the carpenter's face eased slightly.Then Ruth Elwood rose, holding her hands tightly before her. "Your Grace, might I ask something?""Please.""If Miss Morland had not visited our cottage, would you have listened when we told you the roof was not finished?"Avery looked toward Helena; she did not move. He turned back to Ruth, because the question had been hers, and it deserved an answer given to her."I ought to have believed you the first time," he said. "I cannot honestly promise that I would have done so then. I had made it too easy not to know what was happening." The room remained painfully quiet. "I left people who depended on me unheard because it was easier to trust the man who spoke for them." He swallowed. "I was wrong. My title does not make that wrong smaller. I shall expect you to tell me if the arrangements I have described are not carried out; you should have had that right all along."Ruth did not rush forward with gratitude. "We shall see how the roof stands when it rains," she replied."That is fair."Helena felt tears rise—not because the words were elaborate, but because Avery had said them to people who could offer him no advantage: he had acknowledged something that might diminish him in their eyes, and had done so without looking to her for approval.When the meeting ended, she asked Marian for a few moments near the terrace. The glass doors remained open, and Lady Marian was seated just inside. Avery followed Helena into the cool air, stopping at a respectful distance."I saw the work at the cottage when we passed," she said, "and I heard what you told them.""They deserved to hear it.""Yes. That is why it mattered."The wind moved a few leaves along the stone. Helena wanted to tell him she had already forgiven everything to end the ache between them; the words would have been easy, and not entirely true."I am not certain I know how to trust you as I did," she said."Then let me earn it in the days ahead," Avery answered, "and be free to tell me when I fail.""What if I discover that I cannot?""Then you must not marry me. I will not make your safety depend upon saying yes."She looked at his face, searching for the hurt pride she had learned to expect from powerful men: there was pain, but no demand."I should like us to try again," she said. "Not to pretend that nothing happened, but to learn whether the trust we lost can become something sounder."His breath caught. "Would you allow me to ask for your hand again?""You may. But we must both understand that an engagement is a promise to consider a marriage honestly, not permission to stop listening."