Nathanial:

She didn’t take a seat as he expected she would. “Sit,” he commanded.

Standing with her head bowed, staring at her feet, Leah shook her head. “The chairs are dirty.”

“Okay. Whatever. I assume Mother Abigail never taught you proper etiquette?”

Christ, he knew just by looking at her that she had no idea what he was talking about. Sighing, Nathanial ran his hands through his hair. “Manners?” she asked, finally.

“Yes.” He threw his hands in the air. “I chose you over Bridgett because I thought you’d be a little more intelligent. Was I wrong?”

That wasn’t entirely true – he didn’t choose Bridgett because she’s so beautiful…she would attract attention, and he didn’t want a repeat of his first marriage. There was no danger that he’d fall in love with this plain girl and no danger that any of his friends would find her attractive and try to worm their way into his marriage.

“Bridgett is very pretty, si—Nathanial. And very smart. Mother Abigail made sure to educate her properly so she’ll be a good wife. Me--” she shrugged --“not so much. A girl destined for the brothel doesn’t need good manners, but I will try my best to please you.”

He waves his hand in the air. “Never mind. It’s nothing you can’t learn in an afternoon. People cannot know that I bought you. Ever. It will ruin me. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she said meekly.

“I need a wife – you are just for show, to keep my father happy. You can do what you like, come and go as you please, but you will not take any men to your bed. Are we clear?”

“Yes.”

“When anyone asks, and they will ask, we met when you walked into me on the street, and I spilled my coffee all over you. A little meet-cute for the press. They’ll eat it up. When we’re around others, we will act like the perfect couple. Happily married and madly in love.”

She would be no trouble at all. She was so meek and agreeable that it bordered on irritating, but she wasn’t raised like the women he was used to, and he’d have to adjust his expectations very quickly if they were going to pull this off successfully. “Do you have any questions?”

“I do,” she said and looked up at him for the first time. Her soft, golden-brown eyes were full of questions and fear. “Why would you buy a wife? Someone like you can have anyone he wants. Why did you come here?”

Nathanial smiled. She was afraid of him and scared to ask the question, but she stood her ground, despite her fear. “That is a fair question…and I will not answer it for you.”

A small frown creased her brow. “That seems unfair, given that I just became your wife.”

He stood up, looking down on the frightened young woman. “Well, I paid for the privilege. You don’t need to know every little thing about me. This is not a real marriage. You will make no demands of me. In return, I will give you a comfortable life. In five or six years, provided you’ve given me an heir, I will grant you a divorce and you can go on with your life.”

“A child?”

“Hmm.”

“What will become of my child if we divorce?”

He shrugged. “I will reward you handsomely for your time and services. You’ll never want for money or comfort again, but you will give me custody of the child.”

“No,” she said flatly, jutting her chin out defiantly. “If I have a child…I will never abandon it.”

She had a little fire in her after all. “I did not say abandon, Leah, I said you’ll give me custody. Any children we may have…you can see them when you want. I’ll never keep a child from his mother. I’m not a complete asshole.”

That seemed to satisfy her. Nathanial barely knew his own mother. As a child, he saw her once a week if he were lucky, and he remembered the hurt deep down in his soul, the all-consuming longing to win her love. It took him a long time to accept that his mother was incapable of loving anyone. If this woman wanted to be a mother to their children, love them as they deserved to be loved, he wouldn’t deny his kids.

A knock on the door interrupted whatever else she might have had to say. Mother Abigail stuck her head through the door. “Is everything all right in here?”

“Yes,” Nathanial said and stood up. “Leah and I just took a moment to get acquainted--” he pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to her --“I trust our business here is done.”

Abigail handed him a folder in return. “Marriage certificate and her personal documentation.”

Nathanial took it without a word. He opened it and went over the papers inside. Including her documents, the folder also contained a record of her stay in the home, the photograph that was in the book. His eyes fall on her birth name. Leah Mackenzie Adelfort. His insides went cold. This couldn’t be. He looked at Mother Abigail, his eyes flashing danger. “How much did the family pay you to hide this girl?”

“Her family? They’re all dead, Mister Hawthorne, as you can see…her parents’ death certificates are--”

Anger raged through Nathanial. “I don’t want to hear it. They needed her gone, didn’t they?”

Abigail shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s been thirteen years…and if you tell anyone…well, Mister Hawthorne, you have a skeleton or two too, don’t you?”

Nathanial narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t threaten me, old woman. I’m not someone you want to tangle with.” She had him by the short and curlies for now, but she didn’t need to know it. “You are right, it doesn’t matter anymore--” he turned to his young wife --“let’s go, Leah.”

He took her by the elbow, and like an obedient puppy, she followed him, her head bowed. “Aren’t you saying goodbye, Leah?” Mother Abigail asked with pretend-sweetness.

Leah stopped and turned to Mother Abigail. “Goodbye. Thanks for nothing, you old hag.”

Nathan started laughing but quickly stopped when he saw Abigail draw back her hand to hit Leah. He grabbed the old woman’s wrist and bent her arm back until he heard a satisfying pop. Abigail let out a loud bellow of pain, grabbing her injured arm. “Use some of my money to get that seen to,” he said, then leaned in close so no one but Abigail could hear him. “And keep my name out of your mouth, or next time it will be more than a dislocated elbow.”

Leah stared at him with big, fearful eyes, and for a moment he was afraid he took it too far, but when he asked her to follow him, she did so without hesitation. “You broke her arm,” she said when they were outside in the filthy alley.

“I didn’t. I dislocated her elbow.”

Leah stopped, and Nathan turned to look at her, a frown between his eyes. “What?”

“Will you do that to me? If I disobey?”

It took a moment for her words to sink in. God, he was stupid – of course her mind would go there. “No.”

“It’s okay if you will…I just need to know.”

“I don’t hurt women.”

“He hurt her--” she gestured at the building --“so if that’s what’s waiting for me, I’d rather just know and--”

Without even thinking about it, he gripped her face between his hands, forcing her to look at him. “I will not hurt you.”

“Okay,” she said and started following him to his parked car waiting on the quiet side street.

Nathanial opened the door for her, and noted how she carefully sat down, pushed her knees together, and swung both legs into the car. He smiled and closed the door. Someone taught her the basics, at least, and she never lost it.

He got in on the driver’s side and noticed how pale she was. The spattering of freckles across her nose stood out starkly on her white skin, and her hands curled into tight fists on her lap. “When is the last time you were in a car?” he asked softly.

“The night my parents crashed.”

He thought as much. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” He leaned over, ignoring the way her body tensed and how she pushed herself into the back of the seat. He gripped the belt and pulled it over her chest, buckling it.

Still tense, she turned her head to stare out of the window, watching the buildings flash by. Thirteen years, Nathanial mused. They’ve been searching for her for thirteen years, and here she was. Well, at least his father would be pleased with his choice. She might have gotten a little rough around the edges after years in that hellhole, but certainly had the right pedigree. “How are we going to explain to people where you’ve been?”

“What do you mean?” She looks at him with her sad, brown eyes. “Can’t we just say I’m an orphan or something? Just a regular girl? Won’t that satisfy people?”

“Leah…” he took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her.

“Look at the road!” she squealed, and gripped the edge of her seat.

Startled, he jerked the steering wheel to the right, almost drifting into oncoming traffic. He corrected and got back into his lane just in time. “Jesus, don’t scream like that,” he said and tried to still his galloping heart.

Perhaps now wasn’t the time to talk about it. They drove in silence, Leah refusing to relax until he pulled up to an unassuming building and stopped the car. “I have a meeting to go to,” he said. “And you have an appointment inside.”

“Whu-what appointment?”

“A personal stylist. Just let them do whatever…don’t talk about money, they won’t expect you to complain about it. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

“I…why?”

“Because, Leah, you have to look the part. The moment we walk into a hotel and I announce you as my wife, the press is going to descend on us.”

He didn’t expect she’d argue with him much more, and he was right. Taking a deep breath, she unbuckled her belt and started to get out of the car. “Hang on--” he pulled her back and pulled a string from his jacket --“I forgot.”

He tied the string around her ring finger and tied it off. Her fingers, like the rest of her, were teeny-tiny. Smiling, he put the string back in his jacket. “They think you’ve just come back from a convalescent home where you spent the last three months recovering from Malaria. It will explain your rather…unkempt appearance.”

Tears of humiliation flooded her eyes, but none of them spilled over onto her cheeks. She just nodded and got out of the car. He could see her shaking with fear as she walked up to the front door and opened it. Nathanial waited another minute to make sure she didn’t run away, then pulled out of the parking lot and left for his meeting.