Her husband shifted his squirming bundle, and then settled onto the deck chair next to hers.
“You cannot sit there,” Louisa warned.
“Why not?”
She’d had to rent a lounger from the purser’s desk. “Because it is reserved.”
His Lordship looked around incredulously. “By whom?”
“Some other passenger. It doesn’t matter who. The deck steward will come by shortly and evict you.”
“He wouldn’t dare,” he said, playfully joggling Emily in his arms. “I have a child.”
A crew member had removed Mrs. Waldo from the dining saloon and she’d been holding a child, but maybe noblemen needn’t worry about being bounced from chairs they hadn’t paid for.
In New York, money had made the world go around, but on an English ocean liner, a peer held the ultimate power.
Louisa shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
She returned her focus to the book in her lap, hoping he’d get the hint. Ignoring her cold shoulder, he shifted to read the title, “ ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.’ ”
A girl couldn’t studythe Principals of Political Economyevery day. Sometimes, she wanted nothing more than to lose herself in a gripping tale. “I enjoy reading detective novels because Mamma would never allow them.”
Her husband wrinkled his nose, saying, “Rebelliousandbookish. Just my luck.”
He liked to tease Louisa, but offered no real criticism of her choice of books or her misbehavior. It was ungrateful to disobey her mother, who’d sought to shelter her from the worst of the world, for Mamma hadn’t wanted Louisa to read about murder and misery when she might use that time to improve herself in some meaningful way. But Louisa was a wife and was now entitled to freedoms, opinions, and knowledge that were forbidden to unmarried girls.
She gestured at the book she held. Everything she’d learned about England, she’d gleaned from Sherlock Holmes, whose storylines felt modern, up to the minute, and not sanitized for delicate sensibilities. “Is London really like this?”
“Like what?” His Lordship asked.
“Dreary, dark, criminal. With sneak-thieves and swindlers waiting to accost me at every turn. It rains a lot there, I’m told. Am I to be waterlogged and forever on my guard?”
She had imagined it a great adventure to marry a marquess and move halfway around the world. Now she was afraid. She couldn’t bear to think she’d made a mistake.
Her husband offered cold comfort, saying, “London can be bloody awful, but the countryside is lovely.” He extolled its virtues, telling her how much she would like living in Granborough. “There is plenty of room to ride your bicycle, and you’ll be busy playing Lady Bountiful of the county.”
Louisa listened, calmly and quietly. She’d noticed something about His Lordship’s plans—they were always framed as‘I shall do this’or‘you will do that’.Never‘we’.Never them, together. What did he intend to do with her when they reached England?
She would not allow him to pack her off to the country, separating before they’d had a chance to begin. She had not been brought up to expect everything, only to end up with nothing as though she should be grateful. Louisa refused to be a passive participant in her life or his.
Lord Granborough retrieved his pocket watch and checked the time. “Now, where is Mrs. Waldo?” He pivoted in the lounge chair to see the woman in question emerge through the ship’s door. “Ah, right on time. Were I a gambling man, you’d owe me five dollars.”
The harried woman—now refreshed—headed toward them. She marveled at the tranquil baby cuddled against His Lordship’s chest. “How did you get her to quieten down?”
“I merely whispered that you loved her and would soon return to her.” After transferring Emily safely into her mother’s arms, His Lordship was eager to take his leave. “I’d better go,” said he to Louisa. Ever the gentleman, he tipped his hat. “Enjoy your coffee, dear.”
She glanced at the forgotten cup and saucer, so kindly provided and carefully delivered simply because he’d feared she might be cold. She looked to Gladys Waldo, who’d been granted half an hour’s relief because Lord Granborough sensed the woman needed help, and to little Emily, who’d wanted the security of a steady hand in an uncertain world.
Mrs. Waldo seemed to read her thoughts, saying softly, “His Lordship is a good man.”
“Yes,” said Louisa, stunned, “he is.”
But was that goodness worth the gamble?
***
He returned to their stateroom suite, taking refuge in that luxurious enfilade of rooms where everything was ordered and in its place. He was still reeling from his interaction with his wife. Louisa didn’t like being alone with him. She did not enjoy it when he took her to bed, though he’d been careful and considerate each time.
