but Mr. Finch wouldn’t see her. And she was seen in the company of another gentleman yesterday in the churchyard.”
“Miss Barrows spends quite a lot of time away from her duties at Buxby Hall,” said Simon with a frown. “It is a wonder Lady Lovell allows it.”
“I’ve told you, she isn’t a companion. I don’t know why Mr. Finch believes differently, but she is simply visiting her great-aunt,” said Mina, but when Simon’s frown deepened, she waved it away. “It doesn’t matter anyhow. What ails him is likely the same thing that was ailing her yesterday. Miss Barrows made a good show of being at ease, but she was distraught over something. It broke my heart to see him turn her away.”
Simon puffed out his cheeks, his gaze drifting to the side. “It’s a shame. I’ve never seen Finch show interest in any woman before, and Miss Barrows seems a good sort. She would make him a fine wife.”
Stepping back from the stall, Mina took Simon’s arm once again, and he cast a glance in her direction, his smile tightening.
“Not that I find her remarkable,” he said.
Mina wrinkled her nose. “That is an odd thing to say, Simon.”
He swallowed, his lips pinching together as his gaze darted towards her and away again. “I only mean to say that though I admire her, I do not hold her in special regard. She seems a good sort for Finch. That is all.”
“I knew exactly what you were saying before, but I am at a loss now.” Mina gave her husband a puzzled look to match her tone.
Simon drew her to a stop and turned to face her. “You are lovely, my darling.”
Mina’s brows pinched together, and she stared at her husband and the determined manner in which he complimented her. Yet again. While his incessant gift-giving had faded some, honeyed words now filled that void.
“That is the sixth time you’ve said that today, Simon, and it is not yet noon,” she said.
“I cannot help but say it often, for it is always true.” He gave her a sparkling smile, but that tinge of worry colored his gaze, making Mina’s stomach sink yet again. She had thought this foolishness was over, yet here they were again.
But then Simon drew her close, capturing her lips in a kiss that was tender and heartfelt, sweeping all other thoughts away as Mina wrapped her arms around him. Bundled up as they were, she missed the feel of his hands brushing her skin, but even as muted as it was, Mina’s heart swelled in the euphoria her husband’s love elicited.
A loud, pointed clearing of a throat had the pair leaping apart, and Mina’s face blazed as they turned to see Mr. Finch standing there with his gaze fixed on the ground, but with a bemused smile that said he’d witnessed more than enough of their display.
“It is ill-mannered of you to carry on like that,” said Mr. Finch, the laughter in his tone muting any bite his words might’ve had. “The time is long past when you two should be merely tolerating each other’s company.”
Simon narrowed his eyes with a smirk. “Not at all, though it is long past the time when you should return to London.”
Finch chuckled at that, but as Mina watched him, she saw little hints of something more beneath the jovial expression. A melancholy in his gaze. Resignation in his shoulders. Perhaps Miss Barrows was correct about the fellow, and between that revelation and seeing how happy he made Simon, a hint of guilt tickled her stomach as she thought back on her behavior towards Mr. Finch: she had not been a very kind or attentive hostess.
*
Though Finch had spoken in jest, there was some truth to his earlier statement. Having witnessed many marriages, he was familiar with the sad decay that followed the first heady months. Even the love matches often ended in cold silence and resignation, and Finch was more pleased than he could say to see that Simon had lucked into a marriage that grew stronger with each month.
In quick order, the grooms had their mounts readied, and Finch pretended not to watch as Simon fussed and fluttered over his wife. Anyone seeing Mina atop her horse would know she was a capable rider, yet Simon assisted her up the mounting block and straightened her skirts, making certain she was comfortable before mounting his own.
It was a little moment and something clearly commonplace (since the grooms relinquished their duties to