Chapter 22

Despite her every intention to try, Harriet had to admit that she was not entirely able to escape the magnetic pull of Hugh's presence, the way his gaze seemed to follow her after mealtimes or the way her own eyes drifted towards him whenever she spotted his imposing figure about the manor. Even harder to ignore was the way her heart ached and her pulse raced when she again rejected one of his requests to spend time together.

Her ability to avoid him ended bluntly one late morning. She was sat in the garden, a book forgotten on her lap. Abigail had decided to spend the morning with friends, and as such Harriet knew she could not use her sister-in-law as an excuse again.

So she hid in the gardens, hoping that her husband would busy himself with the heaps of paperwork she knew he had.

"Harriet."

She was wrong, she realized when his voice reached her ears and she looked up hesitantly. His voice was low and he moved to sit down next to her, the heat from his body radiating towards her.

"I know this is all new and strange for ye," he said softly. "I know that ye are still finding yer way in this new life we are meant to build together... but I want ye to know that I am here for ye. I will do whatever it takes to make ye feel at home - and at peace here."

Harriet swallowed at this, her throat suddenly tight with emotion. Still, she managed to flash him a smile.

"It is new," she admitted. "And I know that... that I haven't been the best wife, but... I am trying," she said. "I am trying to make this as normal as I possibly can."

Hugh flashed her a melancholic smile and Harriet looked up at him. There was something about the look in his eyes that sent an uncomfortable fluttering to her stomach and she jumped to her feet quite quickly.

"I... I was going to take a walk."

She did not wait for a response, immediately rushing to the garden, trying her best to get as far away from him as possible. To her surprise, she quickly found that the sweet scent of blooming roses and the gentle rustling of leaves in the breeze was not enough. It could not soothe the tumult of her thoughts or the aching confusion that gnawed at her soul.

She soon made her way to her room, where she remained quietly until the bell rang for dinner. For a few seconds, Harriet considered faking another headache - but she knew that it would not do. It would only serve to concern her husband even more.

That would make her ability to avoid him even more difficult.

So, she made her way downstairs slowly and joined her husband and Abigail at the table. Dinner was tense - and uncomfortable. Harriet could do nothing but pick at her food, pointedly avoiding Hugh's gaze across the table.

"Oh, and then Jessica said that Magdalene and Harold were going to get married soon, even though Jessica has only barely made her debut. Is that not grossly unfair?"

Abigail, unlike Hugh and Harriet, was chattering away eagerly - her youthful innocence shining through in every word. Though she smiled at Abigail's innocent gossip, Harriet wondered if she could plead fatigue and excuse herself.

Before she could do that, however, Hugh's chair scraped across the floor and he rose to his feet.

"Thank ye for the pleasant meal," he said, nodding at Harriet. "I, however, have some work to do. If you'll excuse me."

With that, he made his way to his study and Harriet frowned. As much as she had been trying to avoid her husband, she could not deny that she didn't like the fact that he now seemed to be avoiding her as well.

She sat for a few minutes longer, making small talk with Abigail before standing.

"If you'll excuse me, Abigail," she managed to get out. "I am rather... rather tired too. I think I need an early night."

It did not take long for Harriet to fall asleep.

She woke hours later, with the morning sun casting a warm, golden glow through her room. Hugh was absent for breakfast and Harriet quickly agreed to Abigail's request for a walk through the gardens.

This was how the two women made their way across the lush green lawns, arm in arm.

"Hugh and I have been through so much together," Abigail said suddenly and Harriet turned her gaze towards the younger woman curiously. Abigail flashed her a smile before continuing.

"I know this seems to come out of nowhere," she admitted. "But it is true. My mother... she died shortly after my birth, and my father followed soon after. It was Hugh who raised me, even though he too was only a child."

She sighed deeply. "I didn't truly understand the loss, but Hugh... he did. And despite that, he was suddenly thrust into the role of head of the family, the sole protector and provider for me..."

Harriet felt her heart constrict with sympathy and her hand tightened instinctively around Abigail's. "I am sorry, Abigail," she said, her voice a whisper. "I cannot even imagine the pain and uncertainty you must have grown up with..."

Abigail nodded, a sad smile playing about her lips. "It was difficult," she admitted. "But Hugh... he has always been my rock, my anchor in the storm. He worked tirelessly to keep us afloat, to make sure I had everything I needed to thrive. To grow."

She turned to face Harriet, and a serene smile appeared around her lips. "He sacrificed so much for me, Harriet... and it was a difficult road for him. "It was never easy - coming here from Scotland. Hugh... you can hear that he still clings to his roots, and well that... that hasn't made his life easier. He's never been accepted in the ton, and still... I have been his main concern."

Harriet merely looked at her, and Abigail continued with a soft sigh. "He has always been afraid. Afraid that neither of us would make a good marriage, and as such he has hidden me from most of the ton - from bad influences as he always says. I..."

Abigail smiled at Harriet gently. "That is why I am so glad that he found you, Harriet."

Harriet felt her cheeks flush at this, but Abigail continued. "You are a good woman. I see that - you are soft and kind, and that... that is what my brother needs. Someone soft. Someone kind."

A sigh left her lips and she gazed at Harriet, the worry evident in her gaze. "And he... my brother is a good man. He is the kind of man who would move heaven and earth for the people he loves. He will stand by your side through thick and thin, no matter what life brings. And you... you are his family now."

Harriet felt a flush creep up her neck, her cheeks growing warm under the intensity of Abigail's gaze. She wanted to protest, to insist that she was not Hugh's family - that their marriage was one of convenience, one born from a scandal and not one that should be taken too seriously.

But the words stuck in her throat, trapped behind the sudden, dizzying realization that perhaps...just perhaps...there was something more to her affection for her new husband than she had been willing to admit.

Before she could give voice to her churning thoughts, however, the sound of approaching footsteps caught her attention, the familiar cadence of Hugh's stride sending a jolt of panic and excitement racing through her veins.

Harriet's first instinct was to flee, to make some hasty excuse and retreat to the safety of her bedchamber before he could corner her with his gentle inquiries and searching gazes. But something held her in place, a newfound resolve that whispered that perhaps it was time to stop running, to face the truth of her own heart head-on.

And so, with a deep, steadying breath, Harriet turned to greet her husband, a tentative smile playing about her lips as he strode towards them across the sun-dappled lawn.

"Good morning, ladies," Hugh said, his voice warm and rich with affection as he bowed over their outstretched hands. "I hope I"m nae interruptin" anythin" important."

Abigail grinned, her eyes twinkling with barely contained glee as she glanced between her brother and her new sister. "Not at all, Hugh. Harriet and I were just taking a turn about the gardens, enjoying the beautiful weather and each other"s company."

Hugh's gaze shifted to Harriet, his eyes softening with a tenderness that made her breath catch in her throat. "I'm glad to hear it. I know how much Abigail has been lookin" forward to spendin" time with ye, Harriet. She"s been singing yer praises from the moment she met ye."

Harriet felt a flush of pleasure at his words, a warmth that had nothing to do with the morning sun. "Well, the feeling is entirely mutual. Abigail is a delight, and I feel very lucky to have her as a sister."

Abigail beamed, her face aglow with happiness as she looped her arm through Harriet's. "Why don"t we all have a picnic by the lake? It's such a lovely day, and I'm sure Cook would be happy to prepare a basket for us."

Hugh hesitated for a moment, his gaze flickering to Harriet as though seeking her approval. She felt a sudden, irrational surge of shyness, a flutter of nerves that made her tongue feel clumsy and thick in her mouth.

But she forced herself to nod, to meet his eyes with a smile that felt only slightly strained at the edges. "That sounds lovely, Abigail. I"d be delighted to join you both for tea."

Hugh's face split into a grin, his eyes crinkling at the corners with genuine pleasure. "Excellent. I'll go and speak to Cook, have her prepare somethin" special for the occasion."

He bowed once more before striding off towards the house, his tall, broad-shouldered form quickly disappearing from view. Harriet watched him go, her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to make sense of the swirling emotions that churned within her.

She knew, deep down, that her feelings for Hugh went far beyond the bounds of mere friendship or sisterly affection. The way her pulse raced at the sound of his voice, the way her skin tingled at the brush of his fingers against hers... it spoke of a deeper connection, a bond that went beyond the practical considerations of their arranged marriage.

But the thought of giving voice to those feelings, of opening her heart to the possibility of love and all the vulnerability and risk that came with it...it terrified her, made her want to retreat behind the walls of her carefully constructed defenses and never emerge again.

And yet... as she sat beside Abigail on the sun-warmed grass, sipping fragrant tea and listening to Hugh's rich, rumbling laughter as he regaled them with tales of his boyhood adventures... Harriet couldn't help but feel a sense of rightness, of belonging that she had never experienced before.

Here, in the dappled shade of the ancient oak tree, with the two people who had so quickly become the center of her world... Harriet felt a glimmer of hope, a whisper of possibility that perhaps, just perhaps, she had found the family she had always longed for, the love she had never dared to dream of.

It was a frightening thought, a prospect that filled her with equal parts exhilaration and dread. For to open her heart to Hugh, to allow herself to fall for the man she had married out of duty and necessity...it meant risking everything, putting her very soul on the line in a gamble that could shatter her beyond repair.