Better Deeds Than Words (Words#2) Read Free Page A

telepathically.
    “I see,” she said at last, taking a sip of her wine and sitting back in her chair.
    She did? What did she see? What had just happened?
    “Would you like to hear about how I met my husband, Aubrey?” Patty asked. Daniel relaxed, his shoulders settling noticeably.
    “I’d love to hear about him.”
    She pushed her plate to the side and pulled her wine glass forward before clasping her hands on the table in front of her and embarking on her story.
    “I went to Queen’s University,” she said. “Queen’s was a very forward-thinking school in my day. Did you know that it was the first non-maritime university to accept female students?”
    “No, I didn’t know that,” I said.
    “Well, my parents insisted I attend university. Not that I resisted. I’ve always loved learning. Anyway, Bradford was my history professor at Queen’s.”
    Suddenly I understood exactly where this story was going. This wasn’t simply a nostalgic courtship tale. I glanced at Daniel. He raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly.
    Patty had married one of her professors.

Chapter 3
    Precious Time
    I have no precious time at all to spend,
Nor services to do, till you require.
Nor dare I chide the world-without-end hour
Whilst I, my sovereign, watch the clock for you…
( Sonnet 57 )
    “B RADFORD W AS A W ONDERFUL T EACHER ,” Patty said. “He was quite a bit older than I was. I think I was twenty-two when I was in his class, so that would have made him thirty-one. But, goodness, he was devilishly handsome. He scared the liver out of me, but I never let him see that. Everyone knew he was engaged to be married. That didn’t stop me from mooning over him, mind you.”
    When she stopped to take a drink of wine, I was afraid to move. I could hardly believe my ears.
    “I thought I was being discreet in my admiration. We’d meet to discuss assignments and essays, and we’d end up chatting for hours. I flattered myself enough to think he found me interesting, but never once allowed myself to believe he saw me as anything more than a star student. You can imagine my surprise when he sent a bouquet of roses to my house on my graduation day.”
    Patty’s eyes had glazed over. She was somewhere else, seeing her husband in her mind’s eye.
    “He’d broken off his engagement. Told me he’d been counting the days until my graduation, hoping and praying I wouldn’t take a beau before he’d have a chance to tell me how he felt. He’d wanted to tell me his feelings many times, but he knew any admission would complicate our relationship. Once I’d graduated and he wasn’t my professor any longer, he couldn’t wait another moment. The whole thing caused quite a kerfuffle, especially in those days. We courted that whole summer. Had a wonderful time together. We were married on September first.”
    Patty’s eyes came back into focus.
    “So, you see, Aubrey,” she said, “I’m quite familiar with complicated relationships.”
    “Were there any repercussions? Did he get in trouble?” I asked, looking first at Patty and then at Daniel.
    “He hadn’t truly done anything wrong, my dear. Unfortunately, he did break his fiancée’s heart. And there was a lot of talk. But after we were married, we moved to England. He got a position at Oxford. We stayed there until nineteen sixty-seven. Gwen and Gail were born in England. He was so pleased when Daniel decided to go to Oxford to get his degree.”
    Daniel leaned over to refill our empty glasses.
    “At any rate, that’s the skeleton that rattles in my closet from time to time. You’re not the first to find yourself in a complicated relationship, and you most certainly won’t be the last.”
    “Thank you for telling me,” I said. Daniel smiled, his eyes kind.
    He continued to gaze at me from time to time as Patty shared more tales about her life in England with her husband and their years of traveling before they had children. She regaled me with stories of Daniel’s