“What’s that?”
“You’re returning to Kent when I go to Oxford. Once I’ve finished my speech and business with them, I’ll join you. I really see no point in staying here any longer than necessary.”
“It’s probably for the best, though I would rather go to Oxford with you. We could spend the night and leave for Kent the following morning.”
“I suppose that would work. I just don’t wish for you to be bored.”
“I won’t be. I’m sure they have shops and places to eat. I’ll be fine, and once I’ve had my fill, I can go back to the room and wait for you.”
Charles was once again intrigued by his bride. Obviously, she’d taken her time and thought this all out. He hadn’t even thought about her being able to visit shops or bakeries. Just that she couldn’t or shouldn’t go with him when he went to Oxford. He’d much rather them travel together than for her to go to Kent without him.
“Go ahead and look into it,” he said.
“I have and I will. Thank you, Charles.”
“No need to thank me. I simply don’t want my wife traveling alone.”
He stirred his tea before taking a sip. It was a delightful blend, one they served in Kent as well. He needed to find out what it was called or if it was blended in the kitchen.
“Would you like to take a walk, or have you things to do?”
“I need to finish preparing my notes. A word of advice, wife; it might be best to stay here for a day or two.”
“I see. So you’re hiding and expect me to do so as well? That is not going to happen.”
Charles sighed. It was next to impossible for Cathryn to let things go. The better he got to know her, the more he noticed. “I was simply trying to spare you from the gossips, but if you aren’t going to be bothered by their whispers and stares, go, have your walk. I have to finish preparing my presentation.”
Rather than reply, Cathryn huffed, lifted her skirts, turned, and quickly walked out of the room.
Chapter Fourteen
The night beforethey left for Oxford it had stormed, and Charles was worried that because of the magnitude of the storm, the roads would be left impassable. Luckily that hadn’t happened, and they were able to leave with the sun shining.
That yellow sphere in the sky changed everyone’s moods, including Cathryn’s. She was humming and looking out the carriage window with great interest. Charles’s mood was lightened because his wife was in a better mood than she had been.
Once he finished his business at Oxford, they would head toward Kent.
“Oh, Charles, this carriage is magnificent. I can’t believe you purchased a carriage for us.”
He had gone and spent the money to have a carriage built for them. It wasn’t that Arthur wouldn’t have let him use one of his, but he felt odd riding around without his brother in a coach that had a ducal seal. It was money well spent.
“I felt it was time to stop using Arthur’s, even though he doesn’t mind, and purchase my own. I’m pleased you like it so much. I will purchase another once we’re settled in our own home.”
“I thought we were going to stay at the manor?”
“We are for the time being,” he replied. Charles wasn’t ready to divulge to his wife that he had a man looking at some properties that he’d been told about or heard of in conversation.There was the one in Somerset and one in Gloucestershire. The latter was the one he was most interested in. The man he hired was going to see if he could find others. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate his brother’s hospitality, but he truly wanted his own home. Living in the manor did give Cathryn and him an entire wing of the castle, but it wasn’t the same.
Roxanne had suggested they could live in the dowager house, located on the far side of their estate. It also hadn’t been occupied since Graham’s grandmother’s death but had been kept up as though she still lived there. She’d taken Cathryn to see it and she had adored it to use her phrasing. It was another possibility. But still, he wanted something that was their own. Not that he wasn’t proud of his family and its history, but he hadn’t been part of it the majority of his life and it felt more appropriate and right to have his own home. Not one that Arthur or the rest of his family gave him.
Cathryn drew him out of his thoughts with her enthusiasm. She could find joy in pretty much everything. He envied her for that.
“Charles! We’re here! We’ve arrived in Oxford.”
He nodded. “Very well. We’ll go to the hotel first, so you can settle in, and I can go on to the university.”
“Are you nervous?”
“No,” he replied without a hint of emotion in his voice.
