Miss Pendleton (Update to C.222 END) - Chapter 152

Laura sometimes feared her husband’s love. It was so vast, so deep, so intense. Especially when Ian was seized by such passion, it felt as though he would devour her, heedless of anything he could see or hear.

Yet, within Laura, there was an emotion that surpassed fear: happiness. No matter the shape or magnitude of her husband’s love, she could embrace it all. Laura’s way of loving was earnest and tender, but in depth, it was no less profound than Ian’s. The only thing she truly feared was the possibility that he might one day stop loving her.

He called himself the fortune a man could attain, but to Laura, Ian was that person—the rarest husband a woman could have.

Laura was not ignorant of society’s ways. It judged a husband’s worth by his wealth. No matter how much a man loved his wife, without money, he was deemed incompetent and irresponsible. By this measure, Ian was a good husband. His wealth ensured Laura’s comfort, and his noble lineage meant that most people in Yorkshire bowed their heads before her.

But to Laura, Ian’s status held little significance. In fact, she had resisted his heart for so long precisely because his possessions were so overwhelming. Had he been an ordinary middle-class gentleman, she might have been engaged to him within a month of meeting her. Loving him would not have felt so audacious then.

For Laura, Ian’s perfection as a husband had nothing to do with external conditions. He was a remarkable man, and his love was equally remarkable by his very existence. No other man could love a wife with such delicacy and devotion.

Before their wedding, Ian had leased two storage rooms in Whitefield’s library for two months. When a spacious, sunlit area was created, he adorned it with beautiful wallpaper and furnished it with a desk, chair, and bookshelves crafted from the finest wood. It was a study, prepared solely for her as a wedding gift. On the day they returned from their honeymoon, Laura, presented with her own study, wept in Ian’s arms—overwhelmed with gratitude and joy.

Ian was a man of sharp intuition. The same intuition that had helped grow his family’s fortune was, after marriage, devoted to making his wife happy. He had an uncanny ability to find gifts Laura didn’t even realize she desired.

A fine fountain pen for Laura, who worked with uncomfortable quill pens; fresh flowers filling the study with fragrance daily; a dessert cart he personally wheeled in during afternoons when her focus waned; gentle massages to ease her tense muscles.

There was one reason he understood her heart so well: love. Loving her with singular devotion, he focused his keen intuition on Laura, peering into her soul.

Laura prioritized his happiness over her own feelings for a reason. She wanted to repay the love he gave her—or, to be more honest, she wanted him to keep loving her.

She wanted to be loved like this forever. To be his one and only for a lifetime.

Excessive happiness breeds anxiety, and this rule applied to Laura as well. Sometimes, she grew uneasy, fearing his love might fade because she was too happy.

Clunk.

The gently swaying carriage came to a halt. Even amidst Ian’s kisses, Laura sensed they had reached their destination: the parsonage.

Read full content of this chapter on r e d c a t t y . c o m