She arched a brow. “You can read people well.”
“Just one of my many quirks, that’s all.”
“And you’re modest too,” she replied.
He reached out to her and pulled her toward him. “Why don’t we see if we can get some more sleep.”
“You’re right, we should. Can we go on a walk if the weather holds?”
“We can do whatever you wish,” he replied.
“Maybe there are some saddle horses we could use and ride instead.”
“I’m sure there are. Now sleep, my dear. Sleep.”
Sleep didn’t elude either one. Charles heard a soft knock on the door. Grabbing a sheet, he wrapped it around himself and went to the bedchamber door. Frazier stood on the other side.
“I took the liberty of having breakfast brought to you. It just arrived and I had it put on the small table in front of one of the windows.”
“Thank you. I’ll wake Lady Cathryn now.”
“Is there anything else you need?” the valet asked with a smug grin on his face.
“No, that’ll be all for now.”
“As you wish, milord.”
Charles waited until his valet had shut the door behind him. Walking over to the table, he saw breakfast looked scrumptious. He snatched a piece of bacon and walked back to the bed. Cathryn was already sitting up, her legs swung over the side of the bed. She had grabbed a robe and was putting it on. “Did I hear something about breakfast?”
“Yes, indeed you did.”
“Good. I’m famished,” Cathryn replied.
“As am I.” He walked over to a chair near the entrance to the bathing chamber and picked up a robe. Dropping the sheet, he put it on.
Sitting down, she poured them both a cup of coffee. While waiting for it to cool, Charles watched as she took off the lid keeping her plate of food warm.
“This looks fabulous,” she said as she slathered strawberry jam on a piece of toast.
He grunted in agreement, picking up his fork and taking a bite of egg and then sausage. He then picked up his coffee and took a sip. Still hot, but drinkable.
“I asked Frazier to see what the availability of two horses might be. We could ride the estate. That is, if you’re not too sore from our activities.”
“No, I’m not. I just need to take a bath.”
He wasn’t sure if she was saying that for his benefit. Women were complicated creatures.
*
Charles was unfamiliarwith the estate grounds. There was a lot going on as this was truly a working estate. At a far end, away from the manor house, there was a mine in use for coal. From what he understood, his great-grandfather had started the venture. It had continued, bringing quite a profit to the estate. It also kept a large number of people employed. They would visit the mine site another time. Today he wished to learn the layout of the land with his bride. His valet, Frazier, had given him a quick run-down on the layout of the estate so he would know a little more about how things were set up. His thoughts were interrupted.
“Charles, we’re at the orchard.”
He reined in his gelding and stood to admire the multitude of fruit-bearing trees. “Ah, so we are. It’s massive.”
“How many trees would you guess there are?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t even stand to guess. A couple hundred, if I had to guess.”
