It was improper for a duchess to sleep on a divan in a library, and he knew that he should probably wake her and take her to her chambers, or at least pick her up and carry her there himself. Butshe looked so at peace, so content, so comfortable that he did not have the heart to disturb her.
Rising slowly to his feet, he took a moment to just look at her: beautiful honey golden hair splayed out upon the armrest, that creamy skin dusted with freckles, the rosiness of her cheeks, the perfect curve of her mouth, the elegant lines of her neck and throat, and the long eyelashes that no longer held beads of tears.
She remained the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and it was becoming a problem. More specifically, beingnearto her after four years apart was becoming a problem.
“Goodnight,” he whispered, and quickly left the room, otherwise he might truly be tempted to lie down with her and hold her as she slept. Andthatwould be far more than just a problem; that would be catastrophic, considering she still could not remember most of the past four years.
Namely, how their marriage had begun.
CHAPTER 15
“You say the duke has departed again?” Thalia hoped that Mrs. Fisher could not hear the note of disappointment in her voice.
The housekeeper arranged the luncheon tray on the table in the Sun Room. “He has, Your Grace. Just after dawn.”
Hervoice carried a note of disapproval but, of course, the older woman was in no position to say so.
“Did he say where he was going?” Thalia aimed for curiosity, but the strain of her voice bordered on fraught instead. “Not that it is of any consequence to me,” she added, no doubt making it worse. “I am just interested.”
After waking in the library that morning, she had stayed there until long after noon, busying herself with her beloved books and wondering if last night was something she had dreamed. For some unknown reason, she had expected Henry to come and seeher, to perhaps confirm that it hadnotbeen a dream. But she had remained alone with just the stories and, when her stomach began to growl, she had sought out the Sun Room and luncheon instead.
“To London, I believe,” Mrs. Fisher said. “I expect he will return tonight.”
Thalia nodded slowly. “London. Of course. He will be tending to business, I imagine.” She hesitated, settling herself in the chair by the window, where she could eat her lunch with a lovely view of the rose gardens. “What is it that he does that keeps him so occupied?”
Her father, as far as she knew, had never done any sort of work and turned his nose up at the very idea of a titled gentleman earning their own income. Kenneth, too, was not someone who worked. Or, he was not before, but maybe that had changed? Maybe, he had resolved his own debts by making his own income somehow.
I will have to ask him when I see him again.
“Oh, heavens,” Mrs. Fisher remarked, pausing to rest a hand on her hip, her eyes closing in concentration. “I can never quite recall. A great many things. I know he has several major associates and some minor partners in business, but… oh, what was it again? I think it has something to do with spices and imports, but don’t take that as a fact.”
Thalia stared down at the delicious array of soup, fresh bread, fanned out apple slices, a small lemon cake, and a little pot of butter. “I suppose it must be a terrible inconvenience to him, to have to be away from his work while I am… like this.” She tapped a finger to her temple, her bruise protesting. “He really should not bother himself with me. I ought to tell him so when he returns.”
Her mind wandered to the events of last night, her heart clenching as she thought of herself cradled in Henry’s powerful arms. She had never felt protected before, yet in his embrace, she had felt as if she were in the safest place on Earth. To be held by a man, by a husband no less, was almost more altering to her entire existence than a terrible fall down steep steps.
Yet, it appeared that she was supposed to just forget about it. If not, why had Henry gone away again? Why had he distanced himself? Clearly, it was meant to be a lesson, so she would not disturb him like that again.
It is not as if I can control having nightmares,she thought to herself crossly, as she picked up her soup spoon.Indeed, it is not as if I can control when my memories come back either.
“Nonsense, Your Grace,” Mrs. Fisher said gently. “You are no inconvenience to him. You could never be an inconvenience to anyone.”
Thalia wished she could believe that as she began to eat her hearty lunch, savoring the rich taste of the soup. Shemighthave been more inclined to believe that the housekeeper’s words werenot just a biased opinion, if it were not for the fact that someone had harmed her. Shehadbeen an inconvenience to someone, enough that they had sought to cause immense injury.
Unless Henry is wrong and this was all a simple, awful accident and he is just suffering unnecessary paranoia… or he, himself, is the culprit.
She wanted to believe that even less than when Kenneth had been a suspect, but with her mind turning in constant circles about the possibilities, she knew it would be imprudent to rule anything or anyone out yet.
Indeed, right now, all she could do was hope that slippery stepswerethe culprit, for the simplest explanation was often the correct one, was it not?
Henry slumped into one of the armchairs in his Mayfair townhouse, so weary that his eyelids felt as if they carried ton weights instead of eyelashes.
“That is everything I could find out about the accident,” he said to his friends, who had gathered at short notice without question. “Mr. Oxlade was not an easy man to locate.”
Owen reached for the folded piece of paper that lay on the low table between them and opened it out, holding it closer to the light of the fireplace. “Two men?”
“That is what the driver said,” Henry confirmed, thinking of the man in question.
Unable to rest, Henry had woken with the birds that morning and gone directly to Farhampton in secret to see if he could have a private word with the man who had been driving the carriage on the night of Thalia’s first accident. However, at the coach house, he had been informed that Mr. Oxlade was removed from Gibbs Carter’s employment shortly after the incident.
