She hesitated a moment longer then made her way up the stairs into the room where Daisy was waiting.
“You’re back early, your grace,” the maid said in suprise.
They spoke less than they usually did as Daisy helped her out of her dinner dress and into her nightclothes..
After a while the maid stepped back with a smile. “Will there be anything else you need this evening, your grace?”
“I should be all right, thank you.”
The maid gave a last curtsy then left her alone.
Veronica took a deep breath then amde her way through the door that led to her new room.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she pushed the door open.
Of course the room was still empty when she entered, Christopher had told her he would be giving ehr a minute before he joined her.
She took a moment to look around the room. It was bigger than her old one had been, but the only thing she could look at was the large bed in the center. Swallowing, she walked over to it. She knew a Duchess’ duty, and yet…
One of her hands came to run over the blankets. They felt almost the same as the ones he had on her bed. It was comforting to have something so recignizable.
She turned down the covers and slid underneath.
Her heart pounded in her chest as the seconds ticked by,
Perhaps she should have told Christopehr not to wait so long. It seemed like he would never arrive.
Then, after what felt like hours, the door swung open. He lingered at the threshold, eyes flickering over the bedroom as if it were some new and possibly dangerous territory.
After the better part of a minute, Veronica said, “are you going to come in?”
“Yes, of course.”
Then another moment passed. He still hadn’t moved.
“Could you please shut the door,” she said again. “The light from the hall-”
“Yes, of course!”
Then he finally stepped the rest of the way inside, all but slamming the door.
Veronica smiled to herself. He was just as nervous as she was, maybe even more so.
She didn’t say anything else until he joined her in the bed. Only then did she reach out, inot the covers between them and take his hand.
Neither of them moved, both afraid of frightening the other off and running the fragile moment.
Hesitantly, his fingers tightened around hers.
Veronica turned int he darkness and caught his eyes. She froze, caught in his gaze.
Christopher opened his mouth to say something, then smiled and turned away.
“Good night, Veronica. Sleep well.”
“Yes, you too.”
She had expected it would be hard to sleep after that, that she would be far too aware of their proximity to even consider sleeping, but it wasn’t anything like that.
