The Bridgertons Happily Ever After - By Julia Quinn Page 0,61
those bloody rocks in her hand and shake them before her husband’s face and say, “See? See? I haven’t been mad all these years!”
Gareth had long since given up on the jewels. They probably didn’t even exist, he told her. Someone had surely found them years earlier. They’d lived in Clair House for fifteen years, for heaven’s sake. If Hyacinth was going to find them, she’d have located them by now, so why did she continue to torture herself ?
An excellent question.
Hyacinth gritted her teeth together as she crawled across the washroom floor for what was surely the eight hundredth time in her life. She knew all that. Lord help her, she knew it, but she couldn’t give up now. If she gave up now, what did that say about the past fifteen years? Wasted time? All of it, wasted time?
She couldn’t bear the thought.
Plus, she really wasn’t the sort to give up, was she? If she did, it would be so completely at odds with everything she knew about herself. Would that mean she was getting old?
She wasn’t ready to get old. Perhaps that was the curse of being the youngest of eight children. One was never quite ready to be old.
She leaned down even lower, planting her cheek against the cool tile of the floor so that she could peer under the tub. No old lady would do this, would she? No old lady would—
“Ah, there you are, Hyacinth.”
It was Gareth, poking his head in. He did not look the least bit surprised to find his wife in such an odd position. But he did say, “It’s been several months since your last search, hasn’t it?”
She looked up. “I thought of something.”
“Something you hadn’t already thought of ?”
“Yes,” she ground out, lying through her teeth.
“Checking behind the tile?” he queried politely.
“Under the tub,” she said reluctantly, moving herself into a seated position.
He blinked, shifting his gaze to the large claw-footed tub. “Did you move that?” he asked, his voice incredulous.
She nodded. It was amazing the sort of strength one could summon when properly motivated.
He looked at her, then at the tub, then back again. “No,” he said. “It’s not possible. You didn’t—”
“I did.”
“You couldn’t—”
“I could,” she said, beginning to enjoy herself. She didn’t get to surprise him these days nearly as often as she would have liked. “Just a few inches,” she admitted.
He looked back over at the tub.
“Maybe just one,” she allowed.
For a moment she thought he would simply shrug his shoulders and leave her to her endeavors, but then he surprised her by saying, “Would you like some help?”
It took her a few seconds to ascertain his meaning. “With the tub?” she asked.
He nodded, crossing the short distance to the edge of its basin. “If you can move it an inch by yourself,” he said, “surely the two of us can triple that. Or more.”
Hyacinth rose to her feet. “I thought you didn’t believe that the jewels are still here.”
“I don’t.” He planted his hands on his hips as he surveyed the tub, looking for the best grip. “But you do, and surely this must fall within the realm of husbandly duties.”
“Oh.” Hyacinth swallowed, feeling a little guilty for thinking him so unsupportive. “Thank you.”
He motioned for her to grab a spot on the opposite side. “Did you lift?” he asked. “Or shove?”
“Shove. With my shoulder, actually.” She pointed to a narrow spot between the tub and the wall. “I wedged myself in there, then hooked my shoulder right under the lip, and—”
But Gareth was already holding his hand up to stop her. “No more,” he said. “Don’t tell me. I beg of you.”
“Why not?”
He looked at her for a long moment before answering, “I don’t really know. But I don’t want the details.”
“Very well.” She went to the spot he’d indicated and grabbed the lip. “Thank you, anyway.”
“It’s my—” He paused. “Well, it’s not my pleasure. But it’s something.”
She smiled to herself. He really was the best of husbands.
Three attempts later, however, it became apparent that they were not going to budge the tub in that manner. “We’re going to have to use the wedge and shove method,” Hyacinth announced. “It’s the only way.”
Gareth gave her a resigned nod, and together they squeezed into the narrow space between the tub and the wall.
“I have to say,” he said, bending his knees and planting the soles of his boots against the wall, “this is all very undignified.”