To say that Duncan felt perplexed over how Sophia had reacted to their kiss would be an understatement.
In fact, it confused him so much that he found himself still thinking about it the next morning as he sat at the breakfast table.
Women were shy. He was aware of that. But he had never heard of someone running away from the room after just having been kissed.
For a moment, he entertained the possibility that she had not enjoyed the kiss or that his abilities had not been at par,but then, he was reminded of the way that her breathing had sped up and how her body had melted over into his.
Surely, she seemed to enjoy the kiss in the moment.
Then, what was the reason that she had just run away?
At the breakfast table, Jacob sat at some distance from his brother. He was busy eating his bread and did not have a clue what Duncan was going through currently.
Duncan wondered if he had moved too soon. Maybe she was not ready to kiss him just yet. Their marriage was not a real one, after all. She was not expected to perform any of her marital duties. It was something that Duncan had accepted, but in the moment, he did not know what had overcome him.
“You all right, there?” Jacob’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “You have barely touched your food, brother dearest.”
Duncan shrugged and dug his fork in the sausage on his plate.
“I must say that I am quite surprised that you are up so early,” Jacob continued. “After all, it was your wedding night yesterday. I did not expect you to emerge from your room until noon.”
Duncan rolled his eyes at his brother. He knew that Jacob was just trying to get a rise out of him, as usual.
“I find it disturbing that you were thinking about the time I spent in my bedroom,” Duncan quipped back.
“Oh, come on. Surely it is a matter of public interest, is it not?” Jacob continued to tease him. “After all, we all want an heir to the Blackmoore Dukedom, don’t we? You have to hurry up if anything.”
Duncan glared at his brother from across the room, but before he could reply, Sophia joined them at the table for breakfast.
“Good morning, Your Grace,” she greeted him and then nodded at Jacob. “My Lord.”
“Good morning, Your Grace. Lovely to have you join us this morning,” Jacob replied.
Sophia nodded timidly and began to fill up her plate with food.
“The both of you are quite the early risers,” Jacob observed while Duncan glared at him once again, worried that he would say something inappropriate to Sophia.
“Yes, I am quite fond of mornings,” Sophia replied, oblivious to what Jacob had been implying just moments prior.
“Very good. So is my brother,” Jacob grinned. “The two of you truly are similar in many ways.”
Sophia blushed and did not look up from her plate.
“No need to play matchmaker anymore, Jacob.” Duncan shook his head at his brother. “We are already married.”
Jacob laughed loudly at that.
“Oh, I am not playing matchmaker. It’s just that the most successful couples I know have things in common with each other. I am merely trying to say that this is a good sign.” He winked. “Of course, the two of you should now figure out what else you have in common.”
Duncan did not mind his brother’s comments too much. He was used to them, but he worried that they would make Sophia uncomfortable.
Surely, that was the last thing that he wanted.
But Sophia was unusually quiet. She barely looked up from her plate.
By the time breakfast was over, the Duke had a brand-new thing to wonder about. Had Sophia always been this shy, or was this sudden change due to their kiss?
He felt like he had to have some kind of an answer. Later in the afternoon, when they ‘accidentally’ ran into each other in the library again, he finally had his chance to find out.
