“My point is, I believe we are safe here. It’s just a concern I have.”
“Well, if we are safe here, then let’s forget all about it tonight.” Adele yawned. “I am quite tired.”
“Sleep, my love. We can talk more tomorrow.”
“I don’t have to sneak out or anything, do I? I belong in this bed with you now that I am your wife.”
He smiled at her. “Yes. And I quite like the sound of that. My wife.”
“My husband.”
He kissed her and pulled her into his arms. She rested her head on his chest.
“Sleep, my Adele.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Three days afterthe wedding, Hugh walked into the mistress’s bedroom, where Adele was at work packing her new gowns into trunks for transport to Swynford House.
“You can ask a servant to pack everything for you, you know,” said Hugh.
“I know. I prefer to pack everything myself.”
“Actually, you might as wellunpack. I have just found out I may be detained in London longer than expected.”
“What?” She turned to face him.
“A legal matter has come up. I must stay in London until it is resolved.”
“What legal matter?”
Hugh shook his head as if to say it was nothing Adele needed to worry her pretty little head about, and something about that hit her the wrong way. “Hugh, I need not know the particulars, but you must know by now that I am not the sort of docile wife who just nods and smiles when you speak. I should like to know what detains us in London past our planned departure date.” Adele looked at the shawl she held in her hand. She’d been in the process of folding it when Hugh had walked in. She tossed it on the bed in disgust now.
He sighed. “You are right. I apologize. It is the matter of a plot of land in Kent adjacent to my property. A distant cousin of mine bought the land some time ago and never did anythingwith it. He intended to build a house, I believe, but died before the plans were completed. The plot of land has been tied up in a legal struggle among my extended family. I intend to buy them all out.”
“Do you know who the land rightfully belongs to?”
“It belongs to me. My cousin left it to me in his will. It is adjacent to Swynford House land, after all. But one of my cousins has found some arcane legal argument that he is using to contest the will, and now everyone is trying to get their hands on it.” He sighed, looking tired. “It is quite a valuable piece of land. If I have to pay all my relatives off to get my hands on it, so be it. To what end, I have not decided, but my solicitor thinks we have a good case for it. So I need to sort out the legal documents related to the sale. I do not think it will take long, maybe a week or two.”
“Very well.”
“You are disappointed.”
Adele could not deny it. She was anxious to get out of London. She’d been feeling a little restless recently, likely due to the lack of real responsibilities in a house that had enough servants to take care of her every whim. At least in the country, there would be some household management tasks for her.
“You may also be pleased to learn that Mother intends to leave at the end of the week.”
That certainly caught Adele’s interest. “Are you serious?”
“She prefers the house in Surrey and intends to go there now that the weather is warm. She dislikes London in the summer, which I do not blame her for one bit. I think she also is grudgingly accepting that you and I have made a successful match and that the social repercussions are not nearly what she imagined.”
“Just as we were coming to an understanding.”
“Were you?”
Adele thought so. She and Helena had in fact had a few pleasant conversations since the wedding. Adele sensed Helena was trying to make amends, although she also guessed that Helena still thought Adele was not good enough for her son, and Adele was not ready to forgive her for that sentiment. So tension remained. Adele thought it would ease with time, or she hoped it would, because she could not imagine being at odds with her husband’s mother forever.
“She may even like me a little,” Adele said.
