“All right,” he said, his voice almost taunting as he spoke. “A walk sounds lovely.”
Emilie stared at him for only a split second before she pushed herself up off the blanket. But this time, Archer was certain, right before his wife had begun standing, it was surprise that had flickered across her face.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“The grounds are quite lovely,” Emilie tittered, waving her hand widely to gesture out toward the sea.
Archer was walking beside her, just as he’d been for nearly the past twenty minutes.
Already, they had explored the hedge maze and the rose garden. The entire time she had been talking nonstop, making her voice as high as she possibly could in an effort to grate on Archer’s nerves.
Emilie had been certain when she’d extended the invitation for a walk that he would turn her down. And she’d barely been able to conceal her shock when he’d said that a walk sounded like a good idea.
Even then, Emilie had been certain that he would grow tired of her after only a few minutes. She’d had a plan to ensure that was exactly how it played out.
But now, twenty minutes later, Archer was showing no sign of tiring of her. In fact, the more she blathered on about whatever absolute nonsense her brain was grasping at, the more amused he seemed to be.
“Aye, they’ve been lovely all me life,” Archer grunted, once again giving Emilie barely any response at all.
He wasn’t much of a conversationalist, her husband. He seemed to prefer to respond in one-syllable words or just a single grunt to show that he was still listening.
And yet, he did not tire of her idiotic prattling?
“The soil seems good for plantin’,” Emilie continued, her eyes roving wildly as her mind scrambled to come up with the next topic.
I have to make him tired of me, but how?
Emilie searched her mind as Archer gave another grunt of acknowledgment.
What all had she learned about her husband so far?
The truth was, she hadn’t learned much at all. Avoiding him for the last few days had set her back in more ways than one.
Because not only had Emilie now missed out on an untold number of opportunities to move forward with her plan, but she’d missed out on opportunities to learn how to annoy him even faster.
And she needed to act quickly. She’d realized it while she was on the picnic blanket, with the twins staring up at her as she read. She was getting attached to them.
Too attached to them.
Attached enough that when she got her annulment and left Castle McGregor, she would genuinely miss them.
Emilie had not anticipated that. She liked children, loved them even. With the cold greeting that Aurora had given her and the fact that Emilie had felt certain she’d be back at the abbey in less than a week, she didn’t think she would have time to actually care for the children.
But now she did. And that was a dangerous position to be in.
I need to focus,she reminded herself.What can I say that will make him think I’m stupid? How can I make him think I’m so stupid, that he doesnae want to be married to me anymore?
The idea struck her quickly. She’d just given herself a perfect setup, with a comment on the soil.
“Take the abbey, for instance,” she prattled on with a newfound vigor.
Her voice cracked a bit. It was becoming strained with the fake, high-pitched voice that she was putting on. But that did not slow her.
“Most of the time, it was dreadfully borin’,” she continued. “And the soil there, it wouldnae grow a single thing! At least, nae anythin’ pretty. It seemed to grow crops just fine. But flowers?”
She waved her hand dismissively in front of her face, forcing herself to giggle. It was something she’d seen some of the other novices do when the delivery men arrived at the abbey.
At the time, Emilie had thought that it had made them look silly. But she drew inspiration from them now, keeping her abbey sisters close to her heart as she blathered on.