Not at home?
What the hell?
“Right you are, Rhees,” he bluffed brightly, as if his soul were not dying a slow and hideous death inside. “I had forgotten Mrs. Decker had plans today.”
Plans?She had plans? Where and with whom? She had spoken not a word of it this morning, not after he had made love to her in his bed, not when they had breakfasted, and not before their customary farewell—a lengthy kiss—prior to his departure.
It was not that he did not trust her. Of course he trusted her. And it was not that he did not want her to pursue her own amusements during her day. Of course he did. But it was that…he had expected her to be awaiting him.
And she was not here. Quite the blow, that.
Disappointment suffused him, along with further vexation that he had become so caught up in his wife. Had he learned nothing from his past?
Stupid damned fool.
Grimly, he stalked past his butler, clutching the cream ice like spoils of war.
He was going to eat all the bloody stuff himself.
“You look utterlymiserable, darling,” Callie observed, rather unkindly.
“As if you just watched a carriage run over a puppy,” added Lady Helena.
Jo frowned at both of them. “Et tu, Brute? The two of you are supposed to be my friends.”
Callie, Lady Helena, and Jo had gathered for tea at Callie’s home, a long-overdue social gathering in the wake of Jo’s nuptials.
“It is because we are your friends that we are telling you that you look as if you are about to attend a funeral,” Callie said.
“Or as if someone has just drowned your favorite kitten,” Lady Helena chimed in.
“What a grim lot you are,” Jo grumbled. “Cease with your bleak similes, if you please.”
“You ought to be on your honeymoon,” Callie observed. “And yet, you are here in London. Is that the reason?”
Her honeymoon with Decker was something of a bitter subject for Jo. Or rather, the postponement of it was. Their initial plan to attend a yachting regatta in Dover to watch his cutterAthenarace had been abandoned when an unexpected collision had occurred with three other yachts. TheAthenahad been towed back to port and was currently in repairs.
“Of course that is not the reason,” she said. Though it was, perhaps, part of it.
In truth, the opportunity to have Decker all to herself and to escape from London for a week would have been most welcome. In the time since they had wed, they had settled into a routine. And whilst his lovemaking was nothing short of rapturous, it had not failed to escape her notice that her new husband freely gave her the physical connection she sought and yet, the emotional remained decidedly elusive.
“Then what is the reason?” Callie asked, frowning. “Is anyone else famished? I am going to ring for a tray of cakes and biscuits. Is it wrong to suddenly be beset by the urge to eat quail eggs at this time of day? Do not answer that. Tell us what has you so distressed, dearest.”
“I could eat quail eggs at any time of day,” Lady Helena offered as Callie went to the bell pull.
“I am in love with him,” Jo blurted.
Callie turned back to her. “I knew it!”
Was she that obvious?Good heavens, what if Decker guessed at her feelings as well?
“How did you know?” she demanded, her stomach churning at the thought of him realizing the depth of emotions she felt for him.
She was not ready to face that yet. Not ready to confront the possibility he would not return the sentiment. Not now, perhaps not ever.
“You made it quite apparent the day I suggested Helena use Decker to cause a scandal,” Callie said gently, returning to her seat. “That is wonderful, dearest! I know this marriage was a bit rushed, but I am relieved to hear the two of you are in love.”
“Not the two of us,” Jo said. “I fear I am alone in my feelings.”
