do so was knowing Mr. Finch was well worth the wait. Even if he could not see it.
Puffing out her cheeks, Felicity let out a heavy breath.
“Is something amiss?” he asked, slanting her another glance.
Plenty, but nothing she would tell him at present. So, Felicity shook her head.
But Mr. Finch watched her with a worried brow. “Are you certain? You would tell me if something or someone was bothering you?”
Felicity waved a hand, dismissing that. “Of course, but truly, things have been pleasant of late.”
Except for Mr. Finch agitating her, things had been perfect. The bachelors of Bristow seemed to have accepted her dismissal, and even Alastair Dunn had been surprisingly quiet. Straightening, Felicity cast her thoughts back through the past fortnight and realized it was more than that. Since his reappearance, Mr. Dunn had not gone more than a day or two without some token or sign of his “affection,” but it had been well over a sennight since he’d bothered her.
Narrowing her eyes, Felicity studied Mr. Finch’s profile. “Things have been wonderful, in fact. Mr. Dunn seems to have accepted my rejection.”
“Good.” The word was short and spoken like an off-handed reply that mattered little to the speaker. Yet the corners of Mr. Finch’s eyes crinkled, and a hint of a smile tickled his lips.
Felicity pulled him to a stop and faced him. “You had something to do with that, didn’t you?”
Tucking his hands behind him, Mr. Finch shrugged. “I may have given him an incentive to leave you be.”
And the other fellows in Bristow, no doubt.
Felicity blinked at him, her brows drawing close together. “I was handling matters.”
Mr. Finch rocked on his heels and nodded, his gaze dropping away from her. “But you didn’t need to do it alone. I saw something I could do for you, so I did it. That is all.”
“That is all?” she parroted, her words clipped as her heartbeat picked up its pace. Felicity stared at the fellow, though he did not meet her gaze. Straining her nostrils, she took a deep breath and shifted her shoulders, easing the tension that had gathered there, and dear, sweet logic came to her thoughts, reminding her that he needed time. Mr. Finch could not change overnight.
Patience. Time. Bit by bit, she would help him see the truth of who he was.
But those calming thoughts were drowned beneath his words echoing in her mind, and the last strand of her forbearance frayed. The world blurred, and Felicity turned on her heel and marched away from him; she needed to leave before she said something foolish.
Mr. Finch called after her, but Felicity pointed her toes towards Buxby Hall and moved as quickly as the snow and ice would allow.
“What is the matter?” he asked, hurrying around to stand in her path.
“Pigheaded fools!” she replied while trying to step around him, but Mr. Finch took hold of her arm and faced her once again.
“What—”
But Felicity didn’t let him finish that question. “I swore I would not force matters. I vowed to allow you the time you needed to discover the truth. But so help me, Mr. Finch, I cannot remain silent when you refuse to see the world as it is.”
His brows rose. “And what do I need to see?”
“That my world is better with you in it.”
Mr. Finch dropped his hand from her arm and straightened, watching her with wary eyes. There was something in his posture and expression that made him look like a child uncertain as to whether he was about to receive a reward or punishment, and Felicity’s heart broke anew for him. But it did not quench the frustration flaming inside her.
“You believe you are unworthy of being my husband, but what gives you the right to make that decision for me?” she asked, jabbing a finger at him. “I could accept your rejection if you did not care for me, but I refuse to accept your twisted view of your worth. I view you as more than good enough. So isn’t that enough?”
Mr. Finch’s gaze dropped to the ground, and he murmured her name in a tone that spoke of more arguments to be made.
“No,” she said, cutting off his ridiculous objections. “Do you not see how perfectly you fit into my life? From a practical standpoint, you are excellent with money and investments with a broad education that would serve us well in managing my uncle’s estate. But the truth is, I don’t require a husband. I can live a