to her stomach, Mina felt like slouching back onto the sofa as the pressure in her chest eased. “You’ve done nothing, dearest.”
Simon’s expression fell, and she shunted aside the gift, scooting closer so that she could wrap her arms around him and burrow into his hold.
“Nothing, Simon,” she whispered. “You had not a thing to do with my foul mood, except for abandoning me when I needed your embrace.”
Leaning back, her husband gave her a pair of raised brows, his gaze desperate to believe her, and Mina closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his with a reassurance that spoke better than words. Her heart lightened as he met her touch with eagerness, meeting her earnestness with a matching fervor.
Thank the stars above. Mina’s heart was able to beat its regular pace once more. She had been in such a foul mood of late and hadn’t realized how much of it had seeped into her marriage. Rubbing her hand along the curve of his jaw, Mina slowed the kiss and met her husband’s gaze.
“I apologize if I’ve hurt you, my love,” she murmured, pressing another touch of her lips to the corner of his. They quirked up in such a pleased manner as he relaxed into her embrace that she couldn’t stop herself from kissing them.
Simon relaxed into the sofa, bringing Mina with him and wrapping an arm around her as she rested her head against his shoulder.
“It is not you who has been vexing me,” she murmured, bringing her hand to rest on his chest. “Mrs. Baxter has been in fine form the last few weeks, subtly undermining my efforts with the village school and wrestling away control.”
“You make it sound as though she is staging a coup.” Simon’s chest rumbled with a silent chuckle, and he pressed a kiss to her head.
“We would easily quell France and dispatch Bonaparte if our soldiers had her at their head,” she mumbled.
Mina had intended to give only the barest of details when she began recounting their latest interlude, but the more she spoke, the more came out, and soon she was scowling and recalling all the additional times Mrs. Baxter had lashed out.
“And the most infuriating thing is that I do not care who leads our efforts. But if I leave it to Mrs. Baxter and her coven, they will abandon the school at the first opportunity, leaving the poor children without an education.”
Simon’s arms drew her close, and Mina felt another kiss on her head. “Only you would subject yourself to such ill-treatment and then lament that the true tragedy is the children's suffering.”
Mina leaned up to meet his eyes as her brows pulled tight together. “I will survive Mrs. Baxter’s venom, but the children need this—”
Another kiss stole away her words, and when Simon released her again, he remained close, his words a whisper. “You humble me, Mina.”
She breathed in Simon’s natural scent and the strong herbs from his cologne and contemplated whether or not they could simply bolt the bedchamber doors and remain here together, away from the world.
“My beautiful wife,” he murmured.
Mina flinched at the words, but she rested her head back down again so he would not see the doubt in her eyes. Beautiful was not a familiar description when applied to her. Papa and her brothers were known to use it at times, but even they tended towards “pretty” or “fetching.”
Susannah Banfield was beautiful. Though Mina thought the woman hideous in all other aspects, even she could admit Mrs. Banfield was a gorgeous creature. Her features were unparalleled, with sparkling eyes of brightest blue and golden tresses that never failed to hold the perfect curl. To say nothing of her figure, which was called divine more often than not.
Mina Kingsley was Mrs. Banfield’s antithesis. She did not despair over her looks, but “beautiful” denoted something extraordinary, unique, and better than others; not everyone could achieve such lofty expectations. Mina had long ago accepted her limitations, and there was nothing demeaning about embracing her plain features and unattractive figure. There was little to be done about her outward appearance, and whether it was lovely had no bearing on who she was as a person nor her happiness with the lady she’d become.
Yet Simon adored using that descriptor. Ever since that…moment? Interlude? Mina was never quite certain how to describe those horrid days when she’d thought her marriage was ruined beyond repair. But since that time, Simon peppered such compliments into his conversations with a