“So your aunt expects babies right away, does she?”
Matthew laughed softly in her ear. “I was hoping you had forgotten about that.”
She joined in his laughter. “How could I? The woman basically told me that I am a brood mare. I am not sure how to respond.”
Matthew cradled her, the falling rain reflecting in his blue eyes. “You are most certainly not a brood mare. But an heir would not be unappreciated. Besides, the fun is in the practice.”
Her cheeks grew warm. Though bodily she was no longer a maiden, in her mind, she was still relatively innocent.
“We shall see.” She pulled herself gently out his embrace. “Shall we go back inside? I am famished.”
He took her by the elbow, guiding her towards the door. “My aunt wants babies before we leave this house. That doesn’t give us much time. I think we should go practice instead of eating.”
“Matthew!” she scolded softly, blushing furiously as he laughed. “Be quiet. Someone will hear you.”
He grabbed her just inside the doorway. It was dark and chilly, the only light from the gray skies outside the door. His blue eyes bore into her.
“I doubt there is anyone in this house that believes I have not yet consummated this marriage,” he growled. “But if there is anyone foolish enough to think that I have not yet taken what belongs to me, then God have mercy. One only has to look at us to know that this marriage, however short it has been, agrees with us both.”
His warmth and closeness made her giddy, her heart thumping loudly against her ribs. She was sure he could hear it.“It does, doesn’t it?” she whispered, watching him nod. “But… well, I was wondering one thing.”
“What is that?”
She made a face as she thought about how she would phrase her concern. “It is my understanding that women; that is, some women, wear a wedding ring to signify that they are, in fact, married. Would it be too much to ask for a small one?”
Gazing into her lovely face, Matthew began to feel the familiar guilt creeping into his veins. But instead of keeping his thoughts to himself about it, he found himself telling her. “You must forgive me for being so poorly planned for this marriage,” he said. “I never even thought to buy you a ring.”
“If you feel strongly about it, you do not have to.”
“I feel strongly that I have been a fool about this entire situation, but you already know that. I must see the king on the morrow but when I am finished, I will take you to the Street of the Jewelers in London and buy you any ring you wish.”
She smiled. “Truly?”
He kissed her on the tip of her nose. “Truly.”
“But what about you?”
“Whataboutme?”
“Men have been known to wear wedding rings as well. Will you not wear one?”
Three days ago, she would have never asked him such a question. But today saw an entirely different situation and she felt comfortable asking him. He paused a moment, thoughtfully, before slowly nodding his head.
“If you wish it.”
“Only if you do.”
His easy smile spread quickly across his face. “How could I not? Every man in London will know I have married the most beautiful woman in the land.”
Her smile, oddly, faded as she continued to look up at him. “And that is another question that has been on my mind. What if I wasn’t beautiful? What if I was the horrible hag you had expected? Would you still wear one? Or do you only wear it because I am beautiful and you want to show everyone how well you married?”
It was an astute query; he should have expected it. She was not only lovely, she was intelligent, and seeing his quick change of heart about their marriage over the past few days, she should have rightly wondered to the cause. It made him feel shallow. Perhaps he was, but there was more to it than that.
“Mayhap that would have been the truth the day I met you,” he admitted quietly. “But over the past few days I have come to see that your beauty is not only on the outside, it runs very deep within. Physical beauty isn’t much without the beauty of soul to go with it and you, my lady, have both. When I say you are beautiful, I mean that you are beautiful everywhere. I told you that I believed you to be a lady of good character. I wasn’t wrong.”
Once again, he managed to say the correct thing. She felt foolish for even questioning him. “May I say, then, that I am very proud to be Lady Wellesbourne.”
“And I am very proud to be your husband.”
