Melody regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before finally asking, “Can we please skip this game and you just tell me what is truly bothering you?”
Winston had a choice. He could walk away and ignore his sister’s question. Or he could tell her the truth and hope she could provide some additional insight on the matter. Coming to his decision, he shared, “Mattie’s father impliedthat she would likely marry a man that wants a mature woman, such as a widower.”
“And you disagree because you wish to marry her?” Melody pressed.
He reared back. “Of course not!” he protested. “I have no designs on Mattie.”
Melody’s lips twitched. “My apologies,” she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I spoke out of turn.”
“You did,” Winston declared. “It baffles me how Lord Wythburn is so oblivious where Mattie is concerned.”
“Does it now?” Melody asked coyly.
Winston looked heavenward. “I don’t know why I try to talk to you,” he said. “You seem to have concocted an entirely false scenario in your head about Mattie and me.”
Melody laughed. “It is fascinating to me that you cannot see what is right in front of you.”
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling exposed under Melody’s scrutiny. He decided it was best if they changed subjects and steered the conversation away from himself. “I would much rather speak about you.”
“Why?” Melody asked, tilting her head slightly. “I assure you that I am not that interesting.”
“I disagree,” he countered.
Melody glanced down at Matilda, running her hand through the goat’s fur as she spoke. “I suppose I have been reading a lot as of late, resigning myself to the fact that I will inevitably have to get married.”
Winston could hear an undeniable sadness in her voice and it concerned him. “Do you not wish to marry?” he asked gently.
“Oh, I do,” Melody rushed to respond. “But when I do get married, I will have to give up a part of myself.”
“Not if you find the right one,” Winston argued.
Melody offered him a weak smile. “It is not that simple,I’m afraid,” she said with a hint of resignation in her voice. “What I do, how I occupy my time, will fall under scrutiny.”
Winston lifted his brow. “Now I am curious as what you do to occupy your time.”
“The usual pursuits, I suppose,” Melody remarked dismissively. The way she spoke her words made him think there was so much more to it. It caused Winston to wonder what she was truly passionate about. But was it fair of him to press her when she clearly did not want to talk about such things?
Their conversation was interrupted by a footman coming to a stop in front of them and bowing. “My lord, your father wishes to speak to you in his study,” he announced.
Winston tipped his head in acknowledgement before he stood up. “I shouldn’t keep Father waiting.”
Melody placed a hand on her forehead, shielding her eyes from the sun. “Will you promise me one thing?”
“Depends on what it is,” Winston replied cautiously.
“There are cracks in everything, but you mustn’t let it distract you from the beauty of it all,” Melody remarked. “But I want you to promise me that you will chase after the happiness that you truly deserve.”
Winston didn’t deserve to be happy, but he didn’t want to tell his sister that. She wouldn’t understand what he had been through, what he had done. No, he couldn’t burden her with his troubles. “All I can promise is that I will try… for now,” he said.
“Very well,” Melody responded, lowering her hand. “It is time for me to return to the library. I have a book waiting for me.”
“Anything of note?” he asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Melody gently moved Matilda from her lap before she rose. “Not particularly,” she replied. “It is just one of the many Russian novels I have been reading.”
Winston’s brows knitted. “Youspeak Russian?”
“It is just one of the many things you do not know about me, Brother,” Melody said playfully.
