Bristow but the village as a whole. To educate and lift their lowest members would bless the entire community, yet Mrs. Baxter was determined to hinder the project.
“I am certain you think you know best, Mrs. Kingsley, but you’ve been in Bristow such a short time…” Mrs. Baxter’s voice had an infuriating nasal quality that made her condescension all the more vexing. She feigned concern for the children and their families, for Mina’s own ability to helm the school, and for anything else that might wrestle control away from Mina.
And all because Mrs. Baxter was bitter over the Bristow Literary Society’s success. In truth, Mina was still surprised at how well-received it had been, as neither she nor Mrs. Pratt was among the social epicenter of the village, but Mrs. Baxter’s reaction to it was nothing short of vexed. And more than a little appalled. Heaven forfend that anything in Bristow happens without her seal of approval, and now the village children would be punished for it.
That odious creature…
Mina’s thoughts jerked back to the present and she realized Simon had left again. Her shoulders drooped, and she puffed out her cheeks. Glancing over her shoulder, she wondered when he’d disappeared, for Mina desperately wanted Simon to hold her and assure her that all would be well. His touch was a balm she needed at present.
And like he’d been summoned from her desires, her husband strode back into the room. Mina reached for him but stopped as he held up a thin wooden box.
“It’s for you,” he said when she stood there blinking at it.
Such words may inspire fits of rapture in other women, but they made Mina’s heart sink like a stone. “Another gift?”
“Of course. And there’s plenty more where it came from. I had planned on giving it to you in a more romantic setting, but I couldn’t wait another minute.”
She ought to be grateful (didn’t every wife long for such grand gestures?), but a shiver tickled Mina’s spine, scurrying along her skin as she stared at the offering, not daring to touch it. Hardly a day passed without some token, and the initial excitement upon receiving them had faded as the desperation in Simon’s gaze grew.
The box rested in his hands, whispering that something was amiss with her husband, echoing the worries tickling the back of her thoughts—ones she’d refused to give voice to before. But it was difficult to deny the determined nature of his generosity. Almost as though Simon wished to convince himself of his feelings.
With a hand at her back, he guided her to the sofa, and Mina tried to shake away that thought. Simon loved her. He showed it in so many different manners that she couldn’t doubt his heart. But his heart had changed once without warning; could it not change again?
Mina dropped onto the sofa beside him. After the day she’d had, she was in no state to handle such turmoil. She wanted no presents. She simply needed her husband to talk to her. Hold her.
Carefully, he placed the gift on her lap, and Mina sent him a questioning glance. He merely smiled in return and sat down beside her.
“Open it,” he prompted.
Mina looked into his eyes and saw all the good things she hoped to find, but buried beneath them was that strain. Worry, perhaps? And it only grew as she watched him. Turning her attention to the box, Mina pulled open the lid and gasped.
Lying inside the velvet interior was a rivière necklace made of amethyst. The rosy purple stones were the loveliest shade she’d ever seen in such gems. Each one was clear and sparkling, making it the most gorgeous and by far the most expensive piece of jewelry she owned. It was fit for a queen.
“Simon,” she whispered his name, uncertain as to what more she could say.
“Do you like it?”
“Like it?” Mina gaped at the question, turning to meet his eyes, and there it was. Though Simon beamed at her, there was a tension to the edges of his lips. A strain in his gaze. It was a smile tinged with unease.
“I found it among the family jewels a few weeks back. It made me think of you.”
Mina blinked at him, and he continued, his words coming at a clipped pace, “If it doesn’t suit you, you needn’t keep it. I thought you liked that shade…”
Simon babbled on, and Mina was speechless. She should ignore it, but the unease kept niggling at her. Something was amiss, and