“How long has Mr. Chase been here?” Felicity asked Matilda’s retreating back as she busied herself behind the screen.
“Hours,” Matilda replied. “Curious, isn’t it?”
The door clicked and Felicity peeked over the top of the screen to find herself alone.
“Hours?” she wondered aloud. She slipped out of the nightgown and climbed into the bath. The hot water scalded at first but quickly soothed her tight muscles as she sank into the glorious depths of the tub. She’d never been in a tub this deep. The water came all the way to her shoulders.
“Oh, this is heaven,” she said to herself.
“I’d have to agree.”
Felicity yelped and splashed water everywhere. “Tristan! How did you get in here?”
“I’m familiar with the house,” he said as he locked the door.
“What are you doing here?” Felicity covered herself as he drew closer and squatted next to the tub. He’d already seen her naked, but she was not so brazen as to be used to the event just yet. He dipped his fingers in the water.
“I needed Lord Alston’s help with something.”
“You’ve been here for hours, according to Matilda.”
“Are you jealous?” He picked up a bottle of oil and sniffed it.
“Of course not.”
He tipped the bottle and poured a few drops into the water. “This is the lifestyle you deserve.”
Felicity frowned at him. “It’s rather excessive, don’t you think? You should have seen how much effort it took to fill the tub.”
He trailed his fingers through the oil. “Did it?”
“Yes. It was clearly troublesome to draw a bath. The first and last I’ll ever have.”
“That is a shame, Flick. In Lark Hall there’s a shared bathing chamber for the other rooms, and the main bedroom—for the master of the house—has a private bath, but our tub is barely half this size.”
Felicity splashed water at him. “What is your point? You keepinsisting I deserve all these things that you can’t give me. It sounds like you’re trying to convince me to marry Hugstead.”
He scowled at her. “I’m not.”
“Then what are you saying it for? Between the two of us, your upbringing was far more comfortable than mine. You’re confusing me. I don’t know what you want. You said you—”
Felicity cut herself off. She wasn’t going to humiliate herself. There was too much on her mind. She didn’t know what she wanted to say, and the words caught in her throat.
He ran his wet fingers through her hair and cupped the back of her head. “I’m sorry. I must do something for Mrs. Dove-Lyon. Once that is done, things will be easier. Don’t make any decisions until I’m done. I’ll find a way to make this work.”
Tears pricked in her eyes. “You want to be with me, don’t you?”
“More than anything.”
“Then why can’t you?”
Why won’t you ask me to marry you?was what she wanted to ask. It would be the easiest answer for her. There would be no thinking. But he wasn’t asking. He was waiting. For what? For her to choose? For something else?
“I am with you. I’m right here and I’ll be with you tonight, as long as Alston doesn’t catch me sneaking into his house.”
Felicity splashed water over her face. She should be relieved to be away from the Den, where her father had found her, where the eyes of the servants and the players always seemed to find her, but she was more gutted than ever. Nothing was clear. She knew what she wanted, but not how to get it. How to make a future with Tristan was beyond her.
“What am I supposed to do, Tristan?”
