‘Change his name,’ Frederick said firmly. ‘He must have belonged to a soldier, for he is speaking Portuguese. Some Hindi as well, I think. I will ask Oliver, when he returns to England, but I am not sure that we want to know what else he can say.’
‘Oh, dear.’ Why was it that, even when she tried to do the right thing, it all went wrong? ‘I did not mean anything by it,’ she said.
‘You could not have known,’ he agreed. ‘At least, I hope you did not.’ Was it her imagination, or was there a faint smile on his face as he turned away from her to look out the window? She could not be sure.
She glanced out of the window as well, watching the city disappear over the horizon. He had assured her that the journey to his house was a short one. Even stopping for lunch, it was less than a day’s ride into the country. Despite his early threats of a lack of entertainment, a trip back into town for shopping or society would be an easy one, even without his assistance.
Though she had not yet seen the property, she hoped for the best of both worlds. It would be not quite so remote as her father’s land. She would have to forgo some of the long and reckless rambling she had enjoyed growing up. But neither would it be quite so boring in the long winter months when she was forced to keep to the house. He likely had a library with books she had not yet read, and attics and cellars to explore. If the neighbours were not friendly already, she would labour industriously to make them so. When all else failed, there was London.
At the very least, it would keep him out of the way. Since he was still absorbed in the running of his silly club, he could go back into town and enjoy himself, leaving her to her own devices. Perhaps she might not need to take her own rooms after all. She could cede him the town house and remain in the country all year.
When she thought about it, it was a surprise to find the idea so annoying. Though she might insist to herself that she did not want his company any more than she first had, neither did she want to be so easily disposed of. Considering how she’d felt after two days’ separation, the idea that he would be spending all his time at Vitium et Virtus, surrounded by naked courtesans and brandy bottles was positively infuriating.
Just then the carriage hit a bump, causing Mr Challenger’s coat-tail to shift and dump the contents of its pocket on to the floor. A rectangular leather box slid across the carriage, bumping the toe of her shoe and spilling its contents on to the boards.
Her throat tightened. It was a necklace of amethyst flowers, set in silver. It was so perfect that she had to curl her fingers into a fist to prevent reaching for it. Just because a thing was concealed in her husband’s coat did not mean that it was meant for her. More likely, he had bought it for some woman at the club and forgotten to give it away.
She braced herself for whatever denial might come, surprised to find tears pricking at her lashes. She blinked them away, refusing to do so much as reach for a handkerchief lest he notice her distress.
‘Well, this is awkward,’ he said, confirming her worst fears.
And why was it bothering her so? She was about to be free of him. He had said nothing about plans to remain in Richmond after delivering her there. Once he was gone, she would be completely alone, just as she’d wanted. But now that the moment had arrived, it did not content her. Although she could hardly expect him to love her, it seemed she wanted her husband to like her, at least a little.
She stared down at the jewels, afraid to look up, and took a breath. ‘Let us pretend that I did not see it.’ Then she closed her eyes and waited for him to return it to his pocket.
Several seconds passed, but he made no effort to retrieve it. ‘Will you pretend to be surprised when I give it to you? I shall not believe you, you know. You are not that good an actress.’
‘It’s for me?’ She opened her eyes, wondering if her current surprise was sufficient to satisfy him.
‘It’s…’ He nudged it with his toe, then seemed to realise that it was an inappropriate way to treat a gift and scooped up the box again, arranging the necklace on the satin lining before holding it out to her properly. ‘It’s a sort of reward, you see. For the speed which you showed in packing.’
‘You thought I would do something worthy of a reward?’ Perhaps he was not a very good actor, either. The idea that he’d planned a gift to go along with this trip did not seem very likely.
He sighed. ‘Not exactly. I saw it this morning, in a shop window. And though I was still very angry with you because of last night, I bought it anyway. I cannot explain the fact.’ He sounded as annoyed with himself as he had been with her.
‘It is very pretty,’ she allowed.
‘Would you like me to put it on you?’
Desperately so. But it was not the sort of thing one wore during the day, especially while travelling. The staff at the Richmond house would think their new mistress was quite mad to be arriving in jewels. ‘Yes,’ she said at last, giving in to the temptation.
He slid to her side of the carriage, bracing his back against the outside wall and forcing himself into what little space was not occupied by her or the birdcage. Then he reached his arms over her head and she felt the weight of the stones settling against her throat as he fastened them.
When he was done, his hands rested on her shoulders for a moment, as if he was not quite ready to remove them. She leaned back, ever so slightly, until her back brushed the lapels of his coat.
The bird in front of her squawked, then announced,‘Boa como o milho.’
Behind her, her husband laughed.
‘What did he say?’ she said, worried.
‘He thinks you are as good as corn,’ he replied, softly. ‘It means you are…attractive.’ By the way he paused, it likely meant something slightly different than that.
‘You really know Portuguese?’ She half-turned, interested.
‘Enough to train a bird.’ He cleared his throat and moved back to his side of the carriage as if relieved that the moment between them had ended.
‘What else did you learn when you were in the army?’ Since their marriage, she’d made no effort to engage her husband in more than the most superficial conversation. But something had changed. Suddenly, she wanted to know him better.
