Winnie was close to Nathaniel, and Wilhelm had not been soft.
Furthermore, there was no sound coming out of Nathaniel’s earphones.
He initially did not plan on eavesdropping on Winnie’s phone call, but when Wilhelm asked that question, he couldn’t help perking up his ears.
Alas, Winnie chuckled softly. “Not at all. Nothing bad happened between us.”
“Really?” Wilhelm sounded a tad skeptical. “Did the man pick on you?”
At that, Winnie couldn’t help bursting into giggles. “Of course not. If I don’t want it to happen, no one can take advantage of me, much less pick on me. Even if someone picked on me, I’d retaliate viciously instead of running home with my tail tucked between my legs.”
“I’d hope so! If that man dares to pick on you, I’ll never let him off the hook, nor will the entire Speiser family.” On the phone, Wilhelm’s voice became solemn in an instant.
The familial warmth and affection had a smile blooming on Winnie’s face.
“Got it, my beloved brother. I’ll tell him what you said later. I’ve got a friend with me right now, so I’ll talk to you another time. See you at the airport.”
She then said a few more words before hanging up the phone.
Seeing that, Nathaniel removed his earphones.
After doing so, he first apologized to Winnie. “Sorry, Winnie. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation earlier, but I didn’t turn on any music, so there wasn’t any sound coming out of my earphones.”
Winnie cast a look at him. “I understand. Besides, this is a public space, not a space that belongs to me exclusively. If you must apologize to me, then I must say sorry to you too. I shouldn’t have answered a call in a public space.”
“No, no, that wasn’t what I meant. I seemingly heard your family asking about your relationship with Mr. Fairchild.” Nathaniel flashed her an embarrassed smile.
Winnie bobbed her head in affirmation. “You did.”
“Then… do you mind me prying into your private matters?” Nathaniel ventured.
They still had to wait for a long time for their flight, and Winnie didn’t want to be lost in her thoughts. If there’s nothing to divert my attention, I probably won’t be able to help myself from thinking about Christopher again.
It was a traumatic incident for her, and she didn’t want to be trapped in it forever without being able to step out.
She shook her head at Nathaniel. “Nope. But if it infringes my privacy, I’ll decline answering.”
In response, Nathaniel grinned. “Of course. That’s your right.”
“Go ahead, then.”
As Nathaniel stared at the alluring Aplothian countenance before him, his heartbeat inexorably sped up.
He started, “As far as I know, your family didn’t know about your marriage with Mr. Fairchild at first. Marrying him was likely an expedient measure at that time. Pardon my intrusion, but does the Speiser family acknowledge this marriage? It seems that even the duke’s heir is having a political marriage with another prominent family. What about you, then? Are you free to marry anyone you like?”
Winnie didn’t answer his question right away. Instead, she asked in return, “What about you? As Lord Joseph’s third son, are you free to marry anyone you like?”
Nathaniel gazed at her earnestly. “Of course! When it comes to marriage, my parents granted me the greatest freedom. I’ll only marry a woman I love, for love must be present in my marriage. As for a political marriage for the sake of the family, it falls on whoever inherits the earldom. I’m merely a businessman who loves finance and has nothing to do with politics. My family needs me, but not to that extent.”
Winnie bobbed her head. “If so, we share the same sentiments. It must be out of love that I choose to marry someone. Despite being a pureblooded member of the Huxley family, you don’t need to have a political marriage, so it goes doubly for me. After all, I’m only an adopted daughter of the Speiser family. My family name is Garland, and I’m not even a citizen of Yartran.”
“Oh, that’s true.” A wave of disappointment inundated Nathaniel, but still, he couldn’t resist querying, “What if… Just hypothetically speaking… What if your family were to ask you to enter into a political marriage with another family now? Would you decline? After all, the Speiser family has few daughters, as hardly any girls were born in your generation.”
Winnie pondered for a while. “That does seem to be the case.” That’s why Wilhelm and the others dote on me so much.
She then continued, “But that isn’t a reason for political marriages. The Speiser family is sufficiently strong that it has long since been unnecessary for them to consolidate their social status through political marriages. Besides, I’m already married now. How could I possibly be part of a political marriage anymore? If my family were to propose that I do so, I would undoubtedly turn it down.”
Nathaniel frowned as he regarded her. “Then, are the two of you… I mean, are things really fine between you and Mr. Fairchild? After all, I heard that…”
Winnie’s brows furrowed. “What did you hear?”
Pausing for a moment, Nathaniel admitted, “I heard that he’s currently in the hospital. If things were fine between the two of you, why would you leave him at such a time?”
Why would I leave him at such a time? A deep frown marred Winnie’s face. It turns out that no matter what we talk about, we’ll still make a full circle and speak about something related to Christopher in the end.
She exhaled deeply. “Sorry, but I can’t answer this question.”
“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize. I’m sorry for having asked something I shouldn’t have asked.” Nathaniel immediately apologized to her.
However, he was largely certain that something must have happened between the couple.
This is good news for me. Once, Mother wanted to introduce the adopted daughter of the Speiser family to me, but I declined the political marriage before I’d even met her. Later, when I discovered the truth and learned that she was “Gator” and also the Aplothian daughter adopted by the Speiser family, I regretted it to the core! I should be happy now that something had happened between her and Mr. Fairchild. But at the sight of her despondency, I simply can’t muster any joy. With such a beautiful face, she should always be wearing a smile.
At that thought, he instinctively stood up and murmured, “Sorry, but please excuse me.”
Winnie nodded. “No worries.”
Five minutes later, Nathaniel returned with a cup of steaming hot coffee.
He handed the coffee to Winnie. “Black coffee with milk. This should be your preference, right?”
Winnie was surprised. She remembered that she had only drunk coffee twice in front of him. “I didn’t expect you to remember such a tiny detail.”
“Why, of course! It has always been exceedingly difficult for me to ask you out. We only had coffee together twice, and you had black coffee with milk both times. It’s simply too easy to remember,” Nathaniel quipped with a grin.
“Ah, I see.” Lifting the cup, Winnie took a sip of the coffee. “It tastes superb.”
“Enjoy it, then. No matter what, live in the moment. Enjoying life is the most important thing. Let everything that makes you unhappy be a thing of the past,” Nathaniel said, trying to comfort her.
A hint of utter dejection marred Winnie’s countenance, and she muttered, “A thing of the past? But some people and things are destined to be vibrant and vivid. They’re impossible to be forgotten so easily.”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Silly Bride novel (Winnie and Xavier)