“I know you will do wonderfully,” Nathan said, and Cook beamed. “Let’s add more food to that tray,” he added. “A little bit of everything.”
“Very good,” Cook said, and she began to cut slices of ham from the hock on the countertop, part of which had been served earlier for breakfast.
“And the house?” Cook enquired. “Does she like it? I know that your mother worked very hard to make it so beautiful.”
“Yes, she likes the house,” Nathan agreed quickly. The Duchess had seemed impressed by the hall, but that was all of it she had really seen. A knot began to form in Nathan’s stomach:didRosalie like the house?
“Of course, she may have her own tastes,” Cook considered. “And she may prefer to redecorate. Did she mention that to you?”
“No, she did not.” Nathan felt a blush creeping up his neck. With each of Cook’s questions, it was dawning on him that he knew almost nothing about the woman he had married. Only that she liked to read romantic novels and was a bit of a daydreamer.
“Well, that should be enough,” Cook said, sitting back to admire her handiwork. The tray was now full to bursting with every imaginable food. Cook seemed to have emptied the larder for it, and Nathan felt a twinge of relief.
“Thank you,” he said, as he picked up the tray. “I sincerely appreciate it.”
“Let me send for a footman,” Cook said, her eyes growing wide to see him carrying the tray. “You shouldn’t have to do that.”
“Nonsense, I am happy to,” Nathan said. “Anyway, I need to make sure she actually eats.”
Knock knock knock.
Rosalie started and looked up. She was lying on her bed so lost in the book she was reading that she wasn’t fully aware of where the knocking sound was coming from. Was someone actually trying to come into the room? Or had the knocking been in her imagination?
She shook herself and sat up, blinking as she looked around the room.
How long have I been reading?she wondered as she saw the sunlight cascading through the windows.I was so entranced that I hardly noticed time passing.
She stretched, and as she did so, she noticed the gnawing, empty feeling in her stomach. She was hungry. How long had it been since she’d eaten? Not that long, not more than two days. That was nothing; she could go much longer, she knew.
Knock knock knock.
This time, she knew she hadn’t imagined it. The knocking was hard and sharp, and Rosalie frowned at the door that led to the hallway.
“I told you I don’t want to be disturbed, Clara,” she called out. She stood and went to the door, just to make sure that it was still locked and the key firmly in place. To her relief, it was still securely locked.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Rosalie’s eyes went wide. The knocking was not coming from the door right in front of her. The sound was coming from behind her…
“I don’t particularly care if you don’t want to be disturbed,” she heard a brusque male voice say, slightly muffled. She whipped around just in time to see the large mirror on the wall swing forward as a secret second door opened, and the Duke of Carramere entered, a thunderous look on his face and a tray piled high with food in his hands.
“I’ve brought you food,” he snarled, “and I’m not leaving until you eat it.”
Chapter Six
“What are you doing in here?” she cried, shrinking back from the Duke as if he were some kind of fearsome creature instead of a man simply holding a tray of food.
“I told you,” he snapped, his eyes blazing, “I came to bring you food. It has been far too long since you’ve eaten, and I won’t have it said that I starved my wife—or any other blasphemy people want to think up about me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about that door?” she asked, crossing her arms across her chest and not directly responding to his appeal to make her eat.The longer I can avoid that, the better.
“You didn’t give me any chance,” he said, moving farther into the room. “You’ve been locked in here for the past day. I couldn’t exactly tell you anything without barging in.”
“And yes, that’s exactly what you’ve done.”
“To make sure you eat!” He looked astounded, and even a little worried, as he crossed to the bed and set the tray down on it. “You have to eat.”
Rosalie bristled at once. “I don’t have to do what you say!”
