“Some of each,” he replied.
She nodded and went about taking a plate and filling it with his choices and handing it to him. “There’s also a bottle of wine, if you’d like some.”
“I guess we’ll have to make do.” He leaned forward, opened the bottle of wine, and poured them each a glass.
While Charles was doing that, his bride made her own plate with the food provided. Even though it wasn’t typical breakfast, her husband’s valet had thought of them. They both sat there in a comfortable silence and enjoyed their food.
Once everything was put away, Charles beckoned Cathryn to sit closer to him. After she settled in, he took her hand and kissed the back. “I bet you didn’t realize how exciting life would be when we married.”
She giggled, which made him feel better. He’d been worried she might regret marrying him.
“I must admit it has been far more appealing than going through what my mother would have had me endure. My decisions have been mine and mine alone. Not her nagging and convincing me on how and what should be done.”
“Good, that’s what I want to hear.”
The next thing he knew, she was kissing him on the cheek. “I’ll never regret marrying you, Charles. You’re an amazing and caring man. Remember that.”
He didn’t want to burst her happiness, but he hoped she’d feel the same after seeing him in one of his outbursts.
Rain began to hit the roof of the carriage. The curtains had remained closed, but Charles leaned over and opened one covering the door next to him. The sky was a dark gray, and therain was coming down at a steady pace. Then the carriage came to a halt and Frazier joined them.
“I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t bring rain gear. Coachie is well prepared.”
“Of course, you can join us. I would hate for you to become ill because we didn’t,” Cathryn said.
“That’s very kind, milady.”
Charles, who had been peering out the window at the weather, turned toward them. “Is this weather going to hinder our travel?”
“We should be fine as long as the roads don’t become untravelable.”
The three continued to look out the windows at the rain pelting the carriage. After not too long, Frazier and Cathryn were fast asleep. Charles, on the other hand, still stayed wide awake. He could not remember when he had slept soundly in the middle of a storm. Having a tree come down on the roof of his cottage during a storm while on Wight had been the start of his habit. He’d been lucky. Lightning had split a tree near the cottage and sent it falling onto the roof. After that he never slept during a storm. Not intentionally.
He needed to get them settled as soon as possible. Spending time in York was still a good option, but with her parents looking for them, he wasn’t sure what to anticipate. He would talk with his valet about it all as soon as they had a chance. His bride would like to have a place to call home. Once they settled for a while, he would make inquiries into properties for sale in London.
The storm pressed on but the closer they got to York, the lighter the rain. Eventually, the rain stopped, and the sun began peeking its way through the clouds. They needed to stop and change out teams. The four pulling now were exhausted, no doubt.
While the team was being changed at a coaching inn, everyone went in and had a hot meal. Stew with crusty bread and cheese seemed to do the trick. Finally, they were on the road again, heading to York. Charles knew they wouldn’t make it today. They could either keep going or when they arrived at the next coaching inn to change out the team, they could spend the night and get an early start the next morning. He was anxious to make it to York.
Chapter Ten
The drive andhouse were lit up the evening they arrived at the estate in York. Word had been sent to the staff to expect them. Never had Charles been so glad to put his feet on solid ground. The first thing Cathryn wanted was a long, hot bath before she did anything else.
The housekeeper led them through the house to the duchess’s suite, showing Charles the door separating his suite and his wife’s. He kissed Cathryn, telling her to come to his suite when she finished, and they would see about dinner.
Cathryn followed the older woman to the bathing chamber where a young chambermaid was preparing the bath. The maid picked up a bottle of bath salts and poured it into the water. It was vanilla and orange.
As Charles stepped into the hot, steaming water, he wondered if his wife was enjoying her bath. He certainly was. He submerged himself up to his neck and lay against the back of the tub and closed his eyes for what he thought were a few minutes.
He woke up when Frazier threw a bath cloth, hitting him on the side of the head. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Long enough for your bath water to begin cooling,” the valet replied.
Grunting, he picked the cloth out of the water, found the soap, and began scrubbing the dirt off his body. His hair was next, and he submerged himself to wet it. Once that was taken care of, he stepped out of the tub and took the towel Frazierpassed him and began to dry his body. He then sat through Frazier shaving his beard.
He then dressed and went to sit in the drawing room. Dinner would be served, and Cathryn would enter at any minute. He was looking forward to spending some private time with his bride. If they weren’t too tired, he intended to have her stay the night with him. The marriage needed to be consummated. Thinking about that brought a hum through his body. Especially his cock which had a mind of its own whenever she was around, or when he thought of her.
When Cathryn entered the drawing room minutes later, she literally took his breath away. Dressed in an emerald-green silk gown, she showed poise and confidence like he hadn’t seen in her before.
