“If it was just this incident, I would say you were right, but it hasn’t just been this, has it? You do all kinds of ill-advised things, and who knows what you’ll come up with next? I won’t be going, and that’s final.”
Prudence drew a deep breath.
The truth was, though it was a great surprise to her to realize it, his words came as a relief.I didn’t want him to go. Not really. If he’s going to stay, that means we’ll get to know one another better after all, and we won’t have to rush the process. That seems like a good thing, even if it’s not something I knew I wanted. I suppose I made the right choice in going up that tree today, if it means that Leonard will remain here with me instead of going away.
She schooled her expression carefully to make sure he wouldn’t see any of those thoughts on her face. “Of course, you must do what you feel is right,” she said.
He groaned. “You’ve left me little choice, you know,” he told her. “It would be for the best if you were able to admit the position you’ve put us in.”
“I won’t apologize,” she told him firmly. “Not for helping this poor little cat. Oh, Leonard, just think what might have happened had I not been there. It could have been awful. It’s a blessing that I was able to help when I was.”
“It’s a cat,” he pointed out rather harshly. “Cats are well known for being more adept in trees than humans are. I have a feeling the animal would have done just fine for itself if you hadn’t been there.”
“You can’t fault me for wanting to help it just the same,” she said. ‘Or, perhaps you can. The way you keep calling itthe animal, it’s as if you think…” She trailed off.
“As if I think it’s an animal?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow. “What would you have me call the cursed thing, Prudence? It’s not as if it has a name. It’s not as if it’s ours for pity’s sake.”
“It could be ours,” she insisted. “In fact, I think it will be, for I intend to keep it.”
He stared. “You’re not keeping that thing in the house.”
“Thisthingis a very sweet little kitten, and it’s clear that it doesn’t have a home, or it wouldn’t have been climbing our trees in the first place,” she shot back. “Now, you don’t have to like it, Leonard, and you don’t have to stay here. You’re still at perfect liberty to go off to the country if you don’t want to share quarters with my new pet. But Iamgoing to keep him.”
“So now you tell me how things are going to be in my household?” he asked. “All this time, I’ve done my best to make you feel welcome and at home, and this is the thanks I get? You treat me as if I’m the guest here, and you are the lord of the place?”
“No one here is a guest,” Prudence said hotly. “If I want to keep a pet, I’ll do so because this is my home as much as it is yours.”
She understood how forward she was being. She knew that she was out of line and that there was every chance he would snatch the cat from her and tell her in no uncertain terms that shecouldn’tkeep it. She might even be punished for the way she was speaking to him, and if she was, she would probably deserve it.
But there was no other way to get through to a man like Leonard. He didn’t listen to reason. He wouldn’t care if she tried to tell him how she felt about things. The only thing she could do to ever get her own way from him was to insist on it. There was nothing else that would work.
She clutched the cat to her chest, determined not to allow him to take it from her.
She let out a sigh. “You are impossible,” he murmured. “And you’re determined to remain that way, aren’t you?”
“Out of all the things a person might insist upon, I don’t think a little cat ought to be such a problem,” she told him. “You just want the argument; that’s all. You could simply allow me to keep the cat, and nothing else would need to be said about it.”
“And no doubt that’s precisely what will happen in the end,” he said, rolling his eyes. “But really, you are too much, Prudence. Have you ever not had your own way about anything before in your life?”
I didn’t want to marry you. I didn’t have my own way about that.
Just a few days ago, she might have said that out loud. She would have enjoyed testing his patience, seeing the look on his face as he was backed into a corner by their verbal sparring.
But today, she found that she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She didn’t want to risk upsetting him or making him angry. Worse yet, she didn’t want to make him think that she regretted their marriage.
I don’t regret it. I’m glad to be married to him. No one could ever say that it was an example of me getting something I wanted. I didn’t want it, but I do want it now.
My goodness… Caroline was right after all. Ihavegrown to care for my husband. I’m grateful that he isn’t going away to the country, and I’m glad to be married to him. How on Earth did all this happen when none of it was ever the plan?
“I have my way about most things,” she told him.
“I can see that,” he agreed. “Very well, you can keep the cat. And I’ll ask you here and now to promise me that you won’t go climbing in any more trees.”
“Will you believe me if I promise you that?” she asked him.
To her surprise, he laughed. “No, I won’t,” he told her. “I know you well enough by now to realize that you’re going to do whatever you want, regardless of what I think about it and regardless of what you say to me. There isn’t any point at all in extracting a promise from you, and I know that perfectly well. But I’m going to ask you to give me a promise anyway. Maybe the next time you’re tempted to do something foolish, you’ll remember this conversation, and even if it won’t stop you, it will make you pause. A man can hope.”
Prudence couldn’t help it—she smiled, too.
