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That was an interesting idea. “What if you’re not capable of carrying it?”
Rush looked up at him then. “When you know you are, then it will be time to ask her to marry you. Don’t ask before.”
So Rush had known what he’d meant. “No one trusts me with responsibility, ever.”
Rush gave a thoughtful nod. “My brother Gris did.”
That was true. “He doesn’t know me all that well.”
“Gris is not a man to ever underestimate. If he trusted you, it’s because you’re worth trusting.”
Ethan blinked in surprise. The Smiths were as plainspoken as they were strong and, in this moment, he liked it immensely. “And what do you think of Natalie?”
“Fine woman,” Rush grunted. “But she needs a strong man. I can see why you’re hesitating to make sure.”
Ethan rumbled out a protest, suddenly liking Rush’s plain-speaking a great deal less. Had he just insinuated that it was a failing of Natalie’s that kept them apart? “She’s got plenty of strength. She just keeps it hidden.”
Rush’s brows lifted. “Then you’re fine to proceed with the match.”
Ethan fell silent, realizing he’d stepped into a trap. He had no real intention of proceeding with the match, so why had he asked the questions at all?
“She’s returning to London in a few weeks. How long do you think I ought to stay here at Upton Falls?”
“Leave whenever you wish,” Rush said. “I don’t think Gris needed to send you here to begin with and Gyla has been silent for weeks. If the man isn’t dead, then Gris scared him off.”
Ethan gave a curt nod, but a frown pulled at his lips. He agreed for the most part, and what was more, he wanted to return to London. Being here in the country was beginning to make him lose his faculties.
But some innate sense he didn’t understand told him that danger was closer than he knew. “Why don’t you come with me?”
“Leave Upton Falls?”
“Just for a little. You don’t have to plant yet. You and Abby can stay with me. You can see your family, meet Gris’s new wife and baby. We can look deeper into Gyla’s whereabouts together.”
Rush grunted. “And Natalie?”
“She’ll be coming to the city in a fortnight. It will give me time to think.”
Rush grimaced as though he knew that time to think meant that Ethan had serious doubts. He did. What he didn’t tell Rush is that he’d never intended to marry Natalie. Still didn’t. Mostly.
Natalie woke the next morning, the sun high in the sky. Was it noon already? She rose, attempting to rub the grogginess from her eyes, and then she stretched, pushing away from the bed.
A tray with tea and biscuits sat waiting on her side table, so she poured out some tea and took a generous sip before reaching for a biscuit.
That was when she noticed the note with her name scratched upon it resting just on the other side of the tray. She recognized the handwriting as her uncle’s.
Taking a bite of her biscuit, she unfolded the paper, her brow scrunching as she read the words.
He informed Natalie that Lord Somersworth had been called back to London, but he looked forward to seeing her once she journeyed to the city.
She turned the page over hoping for…something more. He’d left? Just like that? With no goodbye?
A cry of irritation and hurt fell from her lips. Their entire relationship had been a series of wildly inappropriate meetings from start to finish. He chose to be proper now?
That didn’t bode well. Her stomach twisted as she chewed on her lip. He’d kissed her last night. What was more, she’d begun to realize that she cared about him. Liked him more than disliked, and now…now he’d left with hardly a word?
Her heart twisted. That was a rake for you…
After taking two more bites of biscuit and several gulps of tea, she dressed in her warmest clothes and headed out the door. She’d walk to Upton Falls and ask some questions for herself.
