Most of her life, she’d been told her arrival as duchess would be honored by the servants standing at attention for inspection in lieu of a greeting. She would be wearing a fine gown and the household would be anxious for her arrival.
Her mother had told her all of this anyhow. Her father insisted it was their due.
As she stepped onto the gravel, though, she welcomed the quiet. She was cold and exhausted and only wanted to crawl into a warm bed so that she could fall back asleep.
With a few words to his servants, her husband took her bag from her and led her to the large front door.
The arched doorway was tall, at least three feet taller than her husband even. She tilted her head back and only saw that the stonework reached high into the sky. The tower disappeared in the darkness.
Pemberth steered her forward and, if possible, it seemed even colder inside.
She glanced around in search of a housekeeper, or butler even.
“They’re abed. They’ve too much work to do tomorrow for me to awaken them in the middle of the night.” He seemed to have read her mind.
Lila nodded in understanding, still feeling a little dazed from being awakened in such unfamiliar surroundings.
“Did you ride on the box with Drake?” Calvin had taken his mount.
“Until the sun went down. We took turns walking ahead with a lantern.”
She was coming to realize she appreciated this aspect of her husband. He was not unwilling to do anything he’d ask another to do for him.
But he was also the duke.
And she was the duchess.
They’d shared a bed the night before out of necessity. It had been a good start for them.
Pemberth struck a flint, lit a lantern set on a nearby table, and then gestured with it for her to precede him. As they climbed a narrow and winding staircase to the second floor, she wondered if he was taking her to a separate chamber than his, or if he would wish to keep her with him.
They reached the landing, and he turned to face her. “I haven’t set up in the master’s chamber yet. And yours hasn’t been tended to since my mother’s death, decades ago. If you’d prefer, I suppose we can wake Mrs. Smith to have a guest-chamber made up, but—”
“You are my husband, no? I will share yours.” Sometimes her mouth functioned without her brain telling it to do so. “That is unless—”
“No.” He gave her that almost-smile. She was learning his expressions so much that she recognized it even in the flickering shadows. “I’ve a large bed. I’d prefer to keep my wife with me.”
Despite being practically asleep on her feet, an odd thrill ran down her spine.
They’d share this room for now, but in the back of her mind, she was already making a list of matters she would tend to.
One of the first would be to establish her and her husband in the ducal suites. This man had not completely embraced the title left to him by his brother.
She was the perfect person to help him do just that.
7
Glenn Abbey
Lila had intendedto get an early start the next morning but opened her eyes to see the sun already slanting in brightly. Her husband had held her through the night but not made any attempt to repeat what they’d done the night before… or even what he’d done in the carriage.
Lila had to admit she had been grateful for that.
He’d walked a great deal of the remainder of their journey. He must have been exhausted.
She rolled over and examined his chamber with the benefit of the full light of day.
A wardrobe. A desk.
