So many people! A world of unfamiliarity.
A tremor ran through her.
“Are you ill?” He sounded more irritated than concerned.
She was miles from home, her sister, mother, and even the father she hated. She had less than a pound in her reticule and only one change of clothing. And yet, the urge to buy a ticket on the mail coach and travel anywhere away from here was a strong one.
But where could she go? Her father… he’d never allow her to return.
She glanced up and nodded. She knew nothing of him, and he knew nothing of her. It was imperative she remain optimistic. Perhaps she and her husband could find a way to get along without hating one another. She suspected not all marriages were like her parents’ had been.
She hoped so, anyhow.
As far back as she could remember, she’d been an annoyance to her father. She did not relish the idea of being a burden and annoyance to her husband for the remainder of her life—or of his, whichever the case may be.
She did not relish the idea of having a husband that she feared. Fear was exhausting.
Her father treated her mother as though he hated her, and her mother kowtowed to his every whim. She knew this could not be the situation for all married couples, but it was hard to believe her own could be any different.
Especially after starting out in the manner that it had.
With a flick of her eyes, she stole a glance at his rugged features. His was not the face of a happily newlywed gentleman anticipating his wedding night. Rather more that of a man who was headed for the gallows.
Delightful.
Three hours later,Lila stared out the window at the still-bustling yard. Much like waves rolling in and out, coaches, horses, and all manner of vehicle came and went even though night had fallen.
When she’d asked her husband if they were to dine privately, he’d scowled in her direction and informed her she could take her meal in their chamber. He’d be taking his downstairs with an ale or two.
She’d not seen him since.
Why didn’t he talk to her? Already she missed Arianna’s incessant stories, and even Fran’s chattering about the most recent letter she’d received.
He’d only rented one room for the two of them. Every five minutes or so, her eyes drifted to the large bed that sat in the center of it.
Without even a cursory knock, the door opened, causing Lila to sit up straight. She had long ago changed into her night rail and dressing gown. She’d brushed out her hair and braided it.
She thought she was ready, but the sight of his tall and strapping form made the room feel considerably smaller. He removed his jacket before bothering to even look at her.
“The evening meal was to your satisfaction?” And then his gaze flickered to her half-eaten tray of food.
She nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
He walked to the washbasin and splashed some of the water onto his face.
“Is it always so loud here?” she asked him. Any sort of conversation would be better than this brooding silence he’d displayed all day.
“Quieter in back, but this was all they had available.” With his back to her, he spoke somewhat defensively.
“I wasn’t complaining.” Lila hugged her knees into her chest and curled her bare toes around the edge of her chair. “Um. So…”
She lost track of what she was going to ask him when he dragged his shirt out of his breeches and then lifted it over his head.
Once, when she’d been reading one of Arianna’s stories up in the loft of her father’s stable at their southern estate, the stable master, after coming in from a ghastly thunderstorm, had disrobed right out in the open.
She’d stayed hidden and watched.
The stable master had been well into his fifties, though, and had a large paunch around his midsection.
