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“I have said it before but I will say it again. You are too good to an old man.”

Elizabeth knew exactly how to change the mood. And she was amazed at herself that she was comfortable doing so.

“You just like staring at my bosom.”

Peter Napier watched his wife say this with a smile and not a trace of a blush. This new, confident Elizabeth was a joy. Especially as she was utterly correct.

He leaned back and napped in the afternoon sun, his wife by his side. Elizabeth in turn watched her husband take 40 winks, a smile on his face. It had been a revelation to her, men were so easy to keep happy.

--

The staff cleared away the remains of dessert and they walked slowly through to the drawing room. A small glass of port was waiting for Lord Napier on a side table.

“I wish to talk about something important. Will I be safe when you are dead?”

Peter knew this was a serious talk, Elizabeth tried to avoid talking about life after he was gone.

“You mean physically?”

“Yes. And coercion as well, although that would be after a physical assault.”

Elizabeth’s matter of fact tone made Peter flinch.

“You have told me I will be a wealthy widow, I have seen from the records you have shared that is true. You know the general perception of women in society. They are unable to handle any business matters and that they need a man to manage that for them. And the easiest way to achieve that is to marry me.”

“They will not get control; the Trust is absolute.”

“What do you think my life will be like if I am forced or tricked into marriage and then my ‘loving’ new husband finds he cannot get his hands on the money?”

Napier winced.

“I will send an express for Lawrence to attend us immediately. I am not sure we have considered this aspect sufficiently.”

“Thank you. But the reason I brought this up is entirely different. The door to my sitting room was left ajar, not a big deal, just a simple oversight. But I heard two of the maids while they were dusting in the hall. One of them was talking about her brother who had been discharged from the Army having lost an arm in battle. He is struggling to survive, to feed himself, as no one would hire him. They kept working their way down the corridor and their voices faded.

“The analogy is tortured I know, but it resonates with him. I was discharged from my family, discarded, and was struggling to survive. A lucky stumble by you as you left your doctor’s offices ultimately saved me. I confess I have not thought of anything else since I heard the two maids speak. A fit healthy man, less an arm admittedly, but hale other than that? What do you think about me hiring a small group of similarly wounded men who are not groomsmen or footmen but are very explicitly my guards.

“In my endless traipsing around London in the week before we met, I noticed that there are several gunsmiths in the heart of the city. While you are with me, I do not feel threatened. But I never want to feel as terrified as I did before I met you.”

Elizabeth had asked for nothing since they had been married. She had revelled in the security of the estate and enjoyed spending time with him. She was setting a punishing pace as she worked her way through the library. Peter Napier knew that she was the very antithesis of a gold-digger. He realised as he sat listening to her, that he wanted to spoil her. His lack of mobility had stopped him from visiting every jewellery store in Bath or London. Now he had a chance to spoil her.

‘What did you get your new wife for a wedding present?’

‘A squad of men, all of whom are missing limbs!’

He had to smile at the thought of the conversation. But he totally understood her concern. She would be the target of every knave, rogue and ne’er-do-well in the country.

“I will get Carlyle to ask the staff so we can find out which maid it was.”

Carlyle was the butler. Peter was rewarded with an extended kiss.

“Thank you. It is an odd feeling, I feel safer already.”

And Peter Napier was reeling from the passion behind the kiss. If that was his reward every time he made Elizabeth happy…

“How do we handle this?”

It had been easy to find the maid, and through her the brother. But he was in no condition to present himself to the Baron in the man’s own study.