He turned and pressed a lingering kiss to her palm.
This man.
He knew her.
He heard the quiet thinking of her brain. The odd yearnings of her heart.
He looked at her once more and then lowered his head.
Lottie stretched upward and met him halfway.
This was deliberate now.
She appreciated that he was tall, but not too tall. He didn’t loom. His height was not of the neck-cricking variety.
Just perfect for her. In every way.
Eventually, they madetheir way back to the waiting carriage.
Alexcouldslow down, Lottie realized, particularly if kissing were involved. He stopped her so often for another kiss, they took an age to reach the coach.
And then once they were ensconced in the carriage, the curtains drawn, he continued his slow exploration as the coach rolled at a gentle pace back to Frome Abbey.
She had always supposed that Alex’s kisses would be like every other aspect of him—timed and analyzed and, most likely, rushed.
But, no.
He leisurely kissed her jaw. He lingered on her neck and eyelids, stroking his thumbs over her cheeks.
Lottie had never felt more alive. More aware.
This is love, she thought. To have someone treasure you.
She wanted to laugh from sheer giddy delight.
Nothing much was said between them. The words would come later, she knew. The whispered confidences. The hushed laughter. The quiet plans for a future that they might embark on together.
They would talk.
For the now, it was enough to simplybe. To exist within this cocoon of unhurried quiet.
They slid apart as the carriage rounded the last corner before Frome Abbey. Lottie pulled the carriage curtains open.
She frowned.
Ahead, two coaches stood before the main entrance to the house.
“Whoever has come?” Alex asked, leaning forward.
But Lottie recognized the carriages even from a distance.
Margaret and Lord Frank had unexpectedly returned home.
20
How has it come to this?” Margaret shook her head, her voice hurt and bewildered. “My heart feels so . . . betrayed. Wetrustedyou, Lottie.”
Lottie stared into the middle distance, eyes fixed on the drawing room mantel, her own heart sinking lower and lower in her chest.
