Convenience

Part 48

She hadn't been expecting him to be honest about what had transpired.

"Yes. True." Beatrice agreed.

He nearly smiled at her. David leaned back slightly so that he could study her expression as he raised a brow.

"I know why he proposed our marriage." She said calmly.

David tried not to let his thinking show. He wondered whether he ought to bail right now before he told her anymore. "And you could have done something about that status at any time, given, as you rightly pointed out, we have lived separate lives, with no real contact between us for nearly five years." He told her, frowned, and his head tipped forward to look at her.

Beatrice felt colour flood her cheeks.

"You could have sought a divorce at any time." His eyes narrowed, as he considered why Beatrice hadn't taken that simple route. He lifted his eyes to study her with open curiosity, "So why didn't you?"

Once again their gazes held.

She hedged. "Being married to you had some benefits." Beatrice told him bluntly. She knew she sounded stilted. 

He snorted. Hardly, he thought. "Like what?"

"Like not having to beg when I went to the bank for my first loan." She replied matter of fact.

"You used my name?" He smiled. Ok, so she at least had benefited in some way from the association. That was good.

"I used my married name." She corrected him.

His eyebrows rose. "So what you're saying is that you used my reputation in the business world." He was impressed. She was principled, but she wasn't above using whatever she had within reach to help her achieve her goals. If his name helped, good on her!

"Yes. I saw no reason not to gain some benefit from the association." She told him without any sign of embarrassment.

David shook his head, then chuckled at her temerity. He really did like his wife. Letting her leave, five years ago, he should have gone after her. "Didn't they ever ask why your husband wasn't providing the finances to support your business venture?" Surely people she approached would know that he had the funds to support his wife's ventures.

"Yes." Beatrice nodded. "They did."

He tipped his head back so that he could look at her. "And you said? In response?" He found he was genuinely curious. What he was learning was that his wife was resourceful. Another word to add to his list about her character.

"I said that I wanted to make a go of this on my own." She said quietly. It was terrifying and daunting, back then. Leaving. Putting up her house, her grandfather's house. Moving. Everything. In a new location. No friends. Starting up her business. Just her.

"And they bought that?" David was incredulous. Surely it couldn't have been that straightforward. He wished he could have been a fly on the wall, watching her in action would no doubt be a sight to behold.

She snorted, looked over at him and then chuckled as she told him bluntly. "I guess they knew I'd be good for repayments as my husband could afford to bail me out, if I started going under!"  In fact one of the banks had actually said that, when they agreed to loan her the money she needed!

David chuckled again, but his eyes frowned. "I see."

It must have been really hard, to handle everything on your own. He had help. Lots of people around him, helping him to get his business back on the right track. He could speak to various people, get their advice, investigating everything before he took any decisions. She handled everything, on her own. Obvious, her business was small, but she was smart. She kept it manageable. And did well. His wife is an incredible woman. Most of the people in his circle could barely recall what his wife looked like. Unofficially they had separated five years ago. He made no secret of the fact he was still legally married. But everyone knew he was separated. He and his wife were estranged. Some had seen photographs of her, and a few had met her at the funerals. But five years and no wife on his arm had soon convinced people that they were well past the separated stage and just hadn't gotten around to formalising a divorce.