The question is,hadhe killed her?
And if hehad—which Aurelia could not dismiss entirely out of hand, no matter how much she might have wanted to—then… wouldshebe next?
CHAPTER NINE
Sebastian glowered at the vase of dried flowers on the breakfast table as if they might wither still beneath his shredding gaze.
The changes had at first been subtle, but now he was beginning to notice them. Aurelia was making her presence known in the manor, altering small things as it fit her fancy. Just yesterday, he had overheard her requesting fabric samples so she might look at replacing the drawing room curtains.
Replacing the bloody curtains!
He knew for a damned fact that the current curtains were in perfectly adequate condition, and he had chosen them himself a decade ago. Admittedly, he could see that she wanted a lighter shade to brighten the room—or at least, that was the reason she had given, and he could see her point, he supposed—but that was not an excuse to run rampant about the house.
The sooner he sent her away to another of his estates—one she could change to her heart’s content—the better.
But for that, he first needed to get her with child.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, irritated at himself for the delay. It ought to be easily achieved; he would visit her chambers after dark and lie with her until the deed was done. Then he would retire. That was marriage; they both knew the necessity of it.
So why was he hesitating?
The door slammed open, and the lady herself walked into the room, now dressed in a pretty sprigged muslin morning dress. When her eyes met his, she flushed and looked down.
Odd.
“I can come back later,” she said, hands clenched by her sides.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” he muttered. “Sit, and let’s have an end of it. You are permitted to take breakfast here. It is notthatwhich I object to.” He scowled at the flowers. “It is theotherchanges I am less fond of.”
She frowned and followed his gaze. “The flowers? But I dried and pressed them specifically.”
“Why? Was the room lacking a sense of decay?”
Hands on her hips, she looked at him pointedly. “They’re pretty. And because they’re dried, they require no watering or replacing. I thought you would be pleased. But if you prefer, I can select some blooms from the gardens to be dug up and brought in, and lined up forHis Grace’sselection.”
Devil take it, those hips. And that wicked mouth.He ought to have her pinned, panting, and quiet for once.
“That would be no better. Must we have flowers at all? What is their purpose?”
“They elevate the room.”
“Perhaps in your eyes.”
“Yes, I suppose it is in my eyes,” she said contemplatively. “But are you so blind to beauty that you would argue they contribute nothing to the room’s prettiness? This is a very well-appointed room; I had thought you’d designed it.”
He scowled at her, unwilling to discuss Kate, or even address the fact that he had been married before, and settled for, “I oversaw some changes here several years prior, and I would rather not see them overturned.”
Aurelia’s clear eyes met his, then danced away. Her nervousness irritated him. What did she think he would do, jump out and eather? He disliked her managing attitude, but he was hardly about to cause a scene over it.
“Eat,” he said gruffly. “And do not accuse me of being blind to beauty.” If he was, then he would have given Aurelia no second thought. It irritated him that when she was around, he kept looking at her like a winged insect to a pyre. She had the kind of face that inspired dreams—and not necessarily the sweet, wholesome ones contained in the books she often kept pressed against her bosom.
Another reason he should delay on his plans no longer: hewantedher. As her husband, he was at liberty to have her.
But having her without her explicit encouragement felt wrong; his skin crawled.
“How are you settling in?” he demanded, his tone all wrong—too sharp, like he was wielding knives rather than a white flag. “I mean,how are you settling in,” he repeated in a more managed voice this time.
“Tolerably, sir. I had a guest at my dinner.” Her face abruptly glowed as she looked up and met his gaze. “She and her father moved to the area recently, although her father is ill and cannot make visits of this nature. We should return the favor and pay them a call.”
