It was just . . .
So many possibilities crowded Leah’s mind.
Perhaps Madeline was the result of Fox’s entanglement with a notorious courtesan?
Perhaps she was the result of an illicit liaison with a duke’s wife? And the duke had cast off his duchess’s bastard, demanding the child be raised quietly elsewhere.
Was the girl somehow tied up in Fox’s newfound wealth? In the rumors that chased him from India?
Regardless, if Madeline were the result of a previousmarriage, Fox would openly call her his daughter, would he not?
None of this made sense.
When Madeline finally drew breath, Fox jumped in. “Madeline, I think I saw Mr. Dandy in the dining room as I was coming downstairs. I suggest you look for him there. He might even let you pet him again.”
“Oh! That is a mostexcellentidea.” Madeline shot from her chair and ran off to find her cat.Excellentbeing yet another new word.
Fox pushed back his plate and clasped his hands on the table, blue eyes meeting hers. Leah was quite sure he had noticed her obvious turmoil.
“So . . .” he began.
“So . . .” Leah repeated, her hands wrapping around a mug of tea. Words buzzed and bounced against the confines of her skull, bumblebees of thought that struggled to find an outlet.
Fox ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “To begin, I must apologize for last night . . . for leaving you to sort a bedchamber yourself. I realized too late that I had forgotten to request the servants make up a bedroom for you, given the nature of our . . .” His voice drifted off, but his meaning hung in the air between them.
The nature of our marriage, he meant to say. The fact that their marriage was anarrangement. In name only.
He swallowed. “Anyway, I apologize for my thoughtlessness and any embarrassment it may have caused.”
His words had the sound of a rehearsed speech.
Leah hated herself for feeling a thrill of gratitude. That he had apologized. That he had thought enough about it to rehearse his words.
And how pathetic that such a wee bit of consideration soaked into her parched soul like summer rain.
She wanted to slap some sense into herself.
This would be an unbearable marriage if she allowed her heart to gobble up such meager scraps of his attention.
How was she ever to navigate this?Couldshe navigate it?
Taking in a deep breath, Leah spread her palms on the tabletop. “Apology accepted.”
Swallowing, she reached for her notebook. Anything to divert the painful path of her thoughts.
She cleared her throat, staring at her notes. “I have spent the morning cataloging what must be addressed, both with the estate and with the household.”
“So quickly? Your expression informs me that it is dire.”
She lifted her head and met his blue gaze. The light from the windows high overhead bathed him in golden sunlight, burnishing his hair. Abruptly, he seemed akin to Apollo, fallen to earth and molded into human form.
And this man had married her.
She tore her eyes off of him, looking back to her notes. “I dinnae know if I’d call itdire. More likegravewith a possibility ofruinous.”
“Ruinous? Is the castle as derelict as that?”
“Nae, but your pocketbook will likely be once repairs are made and staff are hired. And that’s before considering needed furnishings.”
