CHAPTER 4
"How much longer am I meant to wait?"
Two hours had passed since she had been escorted to her chambers her wedding night. At first, Alethea had been nervous at the thought of meeting Oliver here. With each creak of the floorboards in the hall, she had straightened, heat rising to her cheeks in anticipation. But as minutes ticked by, her anticipation soured into impatience..
It was most improper for a husband to leave his bride alone for so long on their wedding night. Was he avoiding her on purpose?
Alethea's upbringing had taught her modesty and patience, but it had also instilled in her a firm sense of duty—both to God and to the vows she had taken mere hours before. Duty, as she understood it, did not involve sitting meekly while one's husband found more interesting company elsewhere in the house.
She rose abruptly from the bed. If Oliver would not come to her, she would go to him. It was a bold decision, but it felt like the only way that she would be able to get any answers. A bride should not have to chase her groom through the halls on their wedding night.
Throwing on a robe, she made her way down the corridor and into his study. For a moment, she worried if he had gone to bed already but the light coming in from the bottom of the door assured her that he was there and still awake.
Did he truly think whatever occupied him at this hour was more important than his wife? She raised a hand to knock, then paused. Her heart was thudding now.
What was she to say? She had not exactly planned this far, beyond finding him.
"Well, I suppose I shall figure this out as it happens," she sighed to herself.
Gathering her resolve, Alethea knocked firmly. There was a brief shuffling noise inside, and then the door opened.
Oliver stood before her. He had removed his formal wedding attire and looked more at ease than she had seen him all day. A strand of his dark hair fell carelessly across his forehead.
"Alethea?" he said, surprise evident in his voice. He made no move to step aside or invite her in immediately, clearly toocaught off guard by the appearance of his bride. "Is something the matter?"
Something the matter?The casual question fanned Alethea's irritation. She pushed past him into the room without waiting for an invitation.
Oliver closed the door hastily, perhaps mindful of servants who might pass by.
"What is wrong?" he asked again, turning to face her. "Why are you so angry with me?"
"Why am I not in my bedchamber where a new wife belongs on her wedding night?" Alethea interrupted. She did not want to sound like a petulant girl, but the emotions she had bottled up were dangerously close to spilling over. "Perhaps you can answer that, Your Grace. I have been waiting for you for hours."
He blinked, clearly taken aback. "You have been waiting for me?"
"Yes," she exclaimed. "Waiting for my husband to join me. It is customary, I believe, for the husband to come to his bride's chamber on the night of their wedding. Or have marriages changed in custom since this morning and I was simply not informed?"
Oliver ran a hand through his hair.
"I... No, that custom has not changed," he replied quietly. He stepped further into the study, the door now firmly shut behind them. Alethea's eyes flicked to the desk, where a glass lay beside an open book. He had been reading and enjoying a drink while she sat upstairs alone. The realization made her jaw tighten.
"I did not realize you were expecting me tonight," he continued.
For a moment, Alethea could only stare. It felt as though he had spoken in a foreign tongue.
"Not expecting you? We are married," she stated. "Or did I dream the entire day? If so, do inform me, for I would dearly love to know that I have not been made a fool of."
A flash of something crossed Oliver's face. He approached her slowly, stopping a few paces away.
"You have not been made a fool, my darling."
"Oh do not call me that," she snapped, and his mouth actually quirked as if he almost smiled. The nerve of him. Here she was confronting him with what she considered a serious dereliction of duty, and he had the audacity to find humor? "You find this amusing?"
"No," he said immediately. "No, I assure you, I am merely surprised by this outburst. Forgive me, I did not mean to smile. I realize you are upset."
She turned away from him to glance around the room and regain her composure.
"I am at a loss, Your Grace. Why would you think I would not expect you? It is our wedding night."
