Page 97 of To Protect An Heiress
The marquess reached out and tucked Meredith’s hand protectively in his arm. “I am very glad you have overcome yours.”
Meredith’s gaze shifted out the window. Thankfully, the nightmares had ceased, thanks in large part to her husband. His strength and confidence bolstered her own. “I sleep beside my protector—though there are nights when I get very little rest.”
The marquess lifted his brow suggestively. “Complaints?”
“Never.” She laughed and shook her head.
“What of Harriet?” Trevor asked “Does she suffer from nightmares, too?”
“Faith made no mention of any. Though she did have some startling news. Apparently Harriet has decided to strike off on her own.”
“What do you mean?”
Meredith shrugged. “She told Faith and her brother, Griffin, that once Faith’s child is born she will be leaving them.”
“To go where?”
“It has not yet been decided, but Harriet has answered several advertisements for positions of employment far out in the countryside. I think one post was even in Scotland. Two were for families seeking a governess and one was a companion to an elderly dowager.”
Trevor whistled. “Though I do not know her very well, I find it difficult to imagine Harriet surviving as a servant. She has too much pride and far too sharp a tongue.”
Meredith once again conceded that her husband was an excellent judge of a woman’s character. “I think everyone agrees employment as a menial in a household does not suit Harriet. But after that mess with Wingate, I think she feels she needs a fresh start. How else can one recover when her fiance abandons her in the middle of the biggest scandal of the decade?” The marquess snorted. “He really did turn out to be a total cad. She is better off without him. Yet I am not sure she understands all that is involved with being employed.”
“It will be difficult, though I remember she was very fond of her nephew, Griffin’s natural son. She might do better as a governess. I cannot imagine her at the beck and call of some elderly, spoiled dowager.” Meredith shook her head. “Wherever fate takes her, I wish her well.”
“That is very generous, considering your past difficulties with Harriet.”
“In my position I can well afford to be so generous, for I have everything a woman could possibly want or need.”
“Truly?”
Meredith curled her hand along Trevor’s cheek and smiling lovingly into his handsome face. “Of course I have everything, my dearest. I have you.”
