Glitter - Abbi Glines Page 0,54

her clearly.

She paused but for a moment then I heard a small sigh before she said, “Ashington, then. I didn’t realize you were out tonight. I needed fresh air. I do hope that it is okay.”

It was more than okay. She had given me exactly what I had sought. Time with her alone, again. This afternoon had been much too brief.

“I want you to be comfortable here. You may do as you please. There is never any reason to ask,” I assured her.

Her head tilted to the side and long red hair spilled over one shoulder. “Did you also need some fresh country air?” she asked.

I nodded once. “Indeed. It is hard to ignore the gentle call of the night whilst in the countryside.”

“I thought the gardens were lovely in the daylight, but there is something magical about them tonight with only the full moon to illuminate their beauty.”

Today I had led her to the gardens on our walk to continue our conversation I had hoped to deepen. Miriam was so taken with the flowers she had been distracted and I had, in return, enjoyed watching her enjoyment.

“I am told my mother loved these gardens. After her death, they remained the same. My father never had them changed. My stepmother hated it out here, however.” I stopped then. This was not information that I needed to share with Miriam. Perhaps my future wife but Miriam was not that just yet.

“They must be very special to you,” she said simply.

“They are the thing I love most about this place,” I replied. For that was the truth. Here was something that had been my mother’s. Something my father hadn’t changed.

Miriam was silent, staring off into the darkness for a moment, and I watched her. The delicate line of her chin and soft plump form of her lips were quite near perfect. Did she realize that? She didn’t seem the sort of female that understood her physical beauty and the power it wielded. Or was that an act? There was so much I didn’t know about Miriam Bathurst.

“What was your childhood like?” I asked her, thinking of how differently her life must have been. Not because of the difference in wealth and title but because of the fact she had both her parents. I understood from her earlier words that she wasn’t close to her mother but what of her father? Was her relationship with her mother strained only because she was sent off to marry a wealthy man to save her family from poverty? There were so many things I did not know and the more I was around Miriam, the more I craved to know her.

I saw her shoulders drop just a touch, but it was enough to give her away. Then she looked at me. “The truth? It was difficult. Whitney made life bright and happy. The rest of it wasn’t a story one wants to share,” she said. I remembered her words earlier today about her sister bringing love and joy into her life. I had hoped she hadn’t meant her childhood had been difficult, but it appeared it must have been.

“How is that?” I asked, not wanting her to stop there but fearing I was pushing too hard for information she wasn’t ready to give.

“I wasn’t a boy,” she said halting my thoughts, and I stared at her confused by her words. “My father wanted a boy and I wasn’t a boy. My twin brother was the boy he wanted and he didn’t live past three days old. I was the child that he wished had died instead.” Her words were almost a whisper.

I remained silent. More from the horror of what I had just heard than anything else. Did she truly feel that her father had wanted her to die? My struggles with my father paled in comparison. How could someone as bright, witty, and beautiful feel as if they were unwanted by their own parent? My father had made me feel as if I were a disappointment, but I had never believed he wished me dead. No child should grow up believing something so horrible.

“What of Whitney? Did he want her?” I asked, needing to find a small fact that would clear away this belief that she was unwanted. The idea of Miriam living with that kind of horror bothered me deeply.

She shrugged then. “He didn’t much care for her either. She wasn’t a boy. However, he ignored her and that was a blessing. I was