Ophelia looked at her outstretched fingers for what felt like a few seconds too long and then shook her hand. “Mrs. Montgomery.”
Had Ophelia emphasized the name? Abigail couldn’t tell if she was being paranoid or observant. Nathan didn’t seem to react as he motioned them both to sit. Ophelia took one of the chairs and Nathan the other, leaving Abigail to take a place on the settee, staring at them as if they were a firing squad.
For a little while, it was only small talk between them. They spoke of the weather and the roads during Ophelia’s journey from Cornwall. It was a strange thing. Abigail had always seen Nathan as so certain of himself, and yet he seemed nervous as he managed the conversation. She could see how much he wanted them to like each other.
And she couldn’t help but smile, despite the fact that she had no idea if his acrobatics were working. Ophelia was still entirely unreadable no matter where the conversation moved. She did watch Abigail, though. Reading her, she thought. Just as Nathan had done back at the beginning.
Abigail smiled at Ophelia. “You’ve been away from London a while, I think. Do you have any plans for your time here?”
“Just a wedding,” Ophelia said with a light laugh. When she smiled, it did soften her considerably. “I think you have lived mostly in London, though, haven’t you? At least since your marriage to Erasmus Montgomery.”
Nathan stiffened. He leaned forward. “You know, there’s really no need to discuss—”
Abigail kept her gaze on his sister and interrupted. “I don’t agree, Your Grace. I think it’s very important we address this subject. It is the elephant in every room I enter, and your sister has a special interest in the topic because of her own past with the man.”
There was a slight flutter of emotion of Ophelia’s face, but she wiped it away almost immediately. Still, that brief glimpse of pain was one Abigail recognized. She’d certainly felt it, herself. That was their common ground, after all. At least some of it.
“I can understand why you would want to know more about my past with Montgomery,” Abigail continued. “So did the others.”
“The other wives,” Ophelia said softly.
“Yes. You will surely meet Pippa and Celeste, as they are great friends to me and to your brother. Their husbands are the best of men.”
Ophelia wrinkled her brow. “How could you all become friends, I wonder?”
Abigail smiled. “It is a unique sisterhood that we entered thanks to my feckless husband and his wicked actions. We bonded over our anger and our loss at first, and came to truly care about each other later. There are things I can say to those two women that no one else in the world would understand because we’ve been through a common ordeal. As have you. So I hope you know you are welcome in our circle.”
Ophelia seemed to consider that offer. Then she leaned forward. “I suppose you and I will also share a different kind of sisterhood. Since you are to marry Nathan.”
There was an edge to her voice that carried a warning. It was one Abigail didn’t ignore, nor would she avoid this confrontation if that was what Ophelia desired. They might as well get it out into the open.
Though judging from the way Nathan had leaned back in his chair, covering half his mouth with his knuckles as if he was physically trying to keep himself from intervening, he was less comfortable.
“Yes,” Abigail said slowly. “It is true that you and I will share a different bond because of my marriage.”
“Was that by design?”
Abigail blinked. “By design? You mean…I would marry him to get to know you?”
“No.” Ophelia arched a brow. “That you would marry him to benefit yourself. To save yourself.”
“Ophelia!” Nathan snapped.
Ophelia turned toward him with a scowl. “You asked me to be nice. I am asking nicely.”
Abigail straightened slightly. “You are as protective of His Grace—of Nathan—as he is of you. You two are very lucky to have each other.”
Ophelia’s attention shifted back to her. “You don’t have brothers?”
She managed to keep from flinching. “No. Only a sister.”
“And where is she?”
Abigail cleared her throat, fighting against the pain that answer still caused in her. “She died.”
The hardness on Ophelia’s face fell away in an instant, revealing nothing but empathy and sadness, a touch of guilt. In that moment, Abigail saw the potential to be friends with this woman. If she could get past her trust barriers, a woman like Lady Ophelia would likely be a very good friend.
“I am sorry,” Ophelia said softly.
“Thank you. I am as well.” Abigail leaned forward. “My engagement to your brother was sudden, and yes, it was born out of a scandal caused by imprudence. However, it was never by design. And since I have endured a very unhappy marriage, I am compelled to do everything in my power to make sure I don’t repeat that. Despite the fact that I think your brother is occasionally an overbearing arse…”
Nathan barked out a laugh at that, and Ophelia’s eyes grew wide as she smothered a smile.
“…that does not mean I wish to torture him.” Abigail glanced at him. “Much. We will have to find a way to come to terms and not hurt each other. That is all that I have in mind when I think of a marriage to him.”
Nathan’s expression softened at that statement and her heart lurched a little. They had avoided discussing the definition of what this marriage would look like in the whirlwind of what had caused it to come to be. This was the first time either of them had dared hint about it.
But she felt the truth of her own words with every beat of her heart. She didn’t want to be unhappy, and she certainly didn’t want to cause unhappiness in another person. So she would have to do her best, try her best and hope that Nathan would do the same over the years to come.
She realized that Ophelia was now staring between her and Nathan, a contemplative expression on her face. She smoothed her hands against her skirt before she stood up. “You have been very honest, Abigail, and I deeply appreciate it. But I find myself a little tired after travel. I think I shall excuse myself if you don’t mind.”
Abigail followed her to her feet. “Of course not. There will be plenty of time for us to get to know each other better over the next few weeks. I very much look forward to it.”
Ophelia nodded, then squeezed her brother’s hand and slipped from the room. Nathan stared after her for a moment and then let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry she turned the conversation to such delicate topics.”
Abigail shrugged. “I’m not. I’d rather have her be direct like that than to have her secretly hate me and never say a word so I might correct any misconceptions she might have.”
“Well, that’s very kind of you, but that isn’t what I meant.”
She swallowed because his gaze had suddenly become very focused. “What did you mean then?”
He moved to the door and slowly closed it. Her heart began to throb, because a closed door had come to mean a great deal for them. But he stayed there, as if he were trying to respect the distance between them.
“I meant she mentioned your sister. She mentioned Ella.”
She recoiled at the mention of Ella’s name. She knew she’d never given it to him. She rarely spoke of her at all. But he was looking at her like he knew, like he understood. Her hands shook as she clutched them together before her.