Mail Order Match Maker by Kirsten Osbourne

hoped that meant he’d forgiven her for sending Higgins out to check on him.  She knew she was going to have to tell him the whole truth of her past soon so that he would be able to understand her.
    Mary came then and called them in to supper.  Harriett took her seat beside Max and squeezed his hand under the table.  “Are we okay?”  She studied his face as she asked the question, worried he’d hold a grudge against her for having him investigated.
    Max nodded, not meeting her eyes.  She sighed heavily, knowing that they wouldn’t be truly all right until she told him everything, but wanting to wait just a bit longer.
    Max watched Harriett through dinner, liking the way she interacted with his family, but hurt to the core by the way she’d had him investigated.  What had she been thinking doing that?  Had she really trusted him so little right up until the day she’d married him?  What had she been looking for anyway?
    He watched as all his nieces except for Rose vied for Harriett’s attention.  Violet sat on her other side , thrilled about how she’d reacted to the portraits she’d painted of each of them.  Rose was caught up in the attentions of her three young gentlemen, but he was afraid Mary would take Harriett’s advice which would make Rose very difficult to live with until she turned eighteen.  Of course, Harriett had made a lot of sense.  Rose shouldn’t have three suitors over at a time vying for her attention.  The girl needed someone to put the reins on her.
    Harriett glanced over at Max with a smile.  “I think we need to have a house party for your family.”   She loved the idea of having all of her new nieces over and getting to know them better. 
    Max shook his head adamantly.  “No way.  The last time I had them all over, Lily slid down the bannister and because it had just been polished, it was too slick and she rammed her head into the wall next to the front door.  We ended up having to go to the doctor to get four stitches in her head that are, thankfully, hidden by her hair.  So no.  No more parties with all the nieces.” 
    Harriett saw Lily flush with embarrassment, glancing over at one of the three boys there dancing attendance on Rose.  She gave Max a slight shake of her head to let him know he needed to stop.  “I’m sure she’s grown up a great deal since then.”  She noticed for the first time then that Lily was in a dress with her hair pulled back stylishly.  She must have dressed especially for the boy.  “I’ll have them over anyway.”  Her eyes met Mary’s.  “How would a week from Saturday be?”  Harriett couldn’t believe her own voice.  She’d never once dreamed of defying Arthur, and yet here she was openly ignoring Max’s wishes.  She realized then that she wasn’t afraid of her new husband in any way.
    Max stared at her for a moment, surprised by her open defiance.  He sighed.  “My own wife and she won’t listen to me at all.”  He looked at Fred who was sitting at the head of the table, as if commiserating with him.
    Mary smiled.  “Well, you’re being silly.  Of course all the girls can come over on Saturday, Harriett.  Do you want Fred and me to come as well or just the girls?”   Her eyes seemed to dance at the idea of getting a day with just her husband.
    “Why don’t you and Fred take a day for yourselves?  The girls and I will be fine together.”  Harriett smiled across the table at her new sister-in-law , loving the idea of an afternoon with her new nieces, no matter what Max said.  She needed to get out more and meet people and do things.  She’d locked herself away for ten years, and that was over starting now.
    On their ride home, Harriett b rought up a subject that concerned her.  “How would you feel if I re-opened my mail order bride business?  There are so many men here that need to be matched up with suitable women, and I don’t have a lot to do.”
    He looked at her in surprise.