“Aye. When will I have another opportunity to purchase fine new things, in London no less?”
He could see she was teasing but he cocked a stern eyebrow at her. “So that’s your plan, is it? Marry me and spend my fortune?”
She laughed softly. “Fortunate for me that you did not suspect my true motives before we were wed. Now it is too late.”
“We’ll see about that.”
She continued to giggle. He reached out, grabbed her behind the head, and kissed her soundly. She tasted so good that he kissed her again, this time long and hard. The warmed milk in her hand almost ended up on the floor; Matthew caught it before it could spill, though some drops ended up on him.
“Sorry,” he set the cup aside, wiping the liquid off his hand. “I got carried away.”
She licked her lips, tasting his passion on her. “You have my permission to get carried away any time you wish.”
He wriggled his eyebrows at her. It was an open invitation and he knew that he was a fool not to take it.
“Would that I could take the time to spend with you right now as we did yesterday,” he touched her cheek gently. “But the duties of the day are already dictated. I would not rush through our time together and make so little of it. Time spent with you, coming to know you, is time that deserves all of the respect I can give it. And I cannot do that right now.”
She nodded in understanding. “Then it is best that you go about your duties and leave me to mine, for I would keep you here all morning.” She stood up, her cheeks turning a delightful shade of pink as she fumbled for the correct words. “I cannot explain this, Matthew. I cannot explain why I have nofear or reservation about you and why what happened between us yesterday, which should have rightfully distressed me, did nothing of the sort. I feel as if I have known you my whole life, as if you are something that has always been with me and I feel you as a part of me. I want to spend all of my time with you, whiling away the hours as if nothing else in our world exists. We respond to each other so easily, so readily. Can you not sense that?”
He reached out and took her hand, a warm, soft thing. “Of course I can,” he said huskily. “Do you think this has been easy for me the past few days, knowing I should be focused on my duties but finding myself unable to think of anything other than you? My brothers think I have gone mad. Maybe I have. But if this is madness, then I happily accept it.”
Alixandrea was coming to realize that Matthew always knew the right thing to say. He wasn’t like her uncle, hard and selfish, or like most men she had come in brief contact with. There was something beyond the surface, something deep.
“As do I,” she said. “Let us be mad together.”
They stood there a moment, grinning at each other. It was silly and completely wonderful. Matthew knew he had to get back to his duties and did not relish the thought of leaving her, even if only for a few moments. He was dangerously close to forgetting his duties completely, just as Mark had accused him.
Maybe his brother had been right. Frankly, he did not care if Mark was right or not, but he did know what was expected of him. It was a struggle to focus.
“As much as I would like to stay here and gaze at your beauty for the rest of my life, I am afraid I have more pressing tasks elsewhere,” he said. “I will send Caroline and a few servants to help you organize your cases.”
“Caroline was already here,” she said. “She helped me dress this morning. Which reminds me.…”
“What?”
“Jezebel,” her smile faded. “Have you… what have you done with her?”
His smile faded also, his professional persona taking over. “She is still in the vault under orders that no one but Wellesbourne guards be assigned to her. Strode is not allowed near her.”
“Have you seen him since yesterday?”
“In the stables. One of your carriage horses is lame and he has been tending the animal.”
“I have not seen him since I arrived here, but that’s not unusual. He is not a house servant.”
“He will be going with us to London.”
Her eyes widened. “He will? But… but won’t that be risky? If he discovers that we’ve been married…”
“I would rather have my enemy close than leave him here at Wellesbourne to usurp my soldiers and open the gates for an invasion force.” He could see how worried she was and he took her in his arms, gently. “Have no fear; your manservant will not last long against me. He will trip himself eventually and I will be there to pounce.”
She gazed up at him, her body warm and fluid as she delighted in his embrace. “But what of Jezebel?”
“She stays in the vault, accused of making an attempt on your life. There she is, and there she will remain until I decide otherwise.”
“And then what?”
His eyebrows lifted. “And then I send her back to Whitewell. She’ll not stay here.”
