Her Secondhand Groom(66)

“You’re likely right. All right, I’ll just go back to explaining what the peculiar Mr. Nills is doing.”

“No need,” Mr. Nills said, dropping what sounded like her spectacle frames and the lenses they once held. “That no-good, two-bit, quack didn’t bother to mark them. No matter. I’ll just start with a six and go from there.”

“Sorry, Juliet. I thought by bringing you here we’d get you some smaller lenses, not bigger ones,” Drake whispered in her ear.

She rolled her eyes. “He’s not talking about the thickness being six inches, it’s a measurement of some sort but not thickness.”

“All right. But just so you know―”

“Why doesn’t the doting groom have a seat so I can be about my business,” Mr. Nills intoned, presumably to save Drake from saying something to embarrass himself.

Drake coughed. “Right. I’ll just be over here.”

Mr. Nills moved his chair in front of her and for the next forty-five minutes waved different lenses in front of Juliet’s eyes. “I think these will do.” He held two lenses up in front of her eyes.

“These will do” was an understatement. Those lenses were by far better than the ones she’s been wearing. Lighter, too.

“If you’d like to hold them up to your eyes, I’ll show you which set of frames I can fit them into.”

“You mean I have a choice?” she asked, astonished.

“Not much of one, but yes.” He waited until her fingers were gripping the lenses then let go. He walked across the room then came back with about six different sets of frames. “I have the appropriate shape lenses to fit them in either the circular frames or the rectangular ones.”

Juliet leaned down to look at the six sets of frames in front of her.

“What of these,” Drake asked. He waved a pair of the frames around that required lenses that weren’t rectangles or circles, but more of an awkward five-sided shape. Most odd.

Juliet stared at him. “Do you have cotton in your ears? Mr. Nills said he only had the lenses to fit these.”

Mr. Nills sighed. “Actually, Lady Drakely, I do have the lenses to fit the ones Lord Drakely suggested. I didn’t think to suggest them, however, since men are typically the ones who choose those.”

Juliet scowled. She understood why a man would be more prone to select those unusual-looking spectacles. They were what women would consider hideous, and a man would consider interesting. “No, thank you. I’ll choose one of these pairs.”

“Are you sure, Juliet? You’d get to have green lenses.”

She ignored him. “I think I should like the silver rectangles.”

Drake waved her off. “Reconsider. Just think of how much fun it would be to walk around with the world tinted green.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Here, won’t you just try them on?” He extended the spectacles to her.

“No, and I’d suggest you not put them on, either.”

Of course, like a child who’d just been told not to go somewhere, Drake slipped those silly-looking spectacles on. “You can’t imagine yourself wearing these?”

She pursed her lips so she wouldn’t smile at the ridiculous image her husband was creating in front of her. “No.”

“Pity.” He took them off and immediately began rubbing the pads of his thumb and forefinger over his closed eyelids.

“Get a headache, did you?”

He scowled.

“I bet you’ll listen to me next time.” She laughed and handed the lenses she’d been holding next to her eyes to Mr. Nills, who handed her her new pair of spectacles.

“There won’t be a next time,” Drake said, practically shoving those ridiculous spectacles into Mr. Nills’ hand.

Juliet stood and adjusted her scarf then walked over and picked up those two, inch-thick lenses she used to wear and dropped them into her pocket.

“A souvenir?” Drake asked.

“No. I thought Edward might like them.”

Drake’s brow puckered. “Who?”

“Caroline’s son.”

“Oh,” he said, nodding. “I bet he would like those. He’s too young to play with them now, but I imagine when he gets older, he’ll have an excellent time using them to start small fires at Watson Estate. Won’t his Papa love you?”

Who cared if Alex loved her? She only cared if Drake did. She started at the thought, then cleared her throat. “Oh, he won’t do anything to get into trouble with them.”

“That’s what you think.” Drake picked up her old, empty frames and slipped them into his breast pocket. “Just think though, you can give them to him to play with now, and Caroline won’t have to worry about him choking on them.”