“You don’t mind?”
He smiled, and it was genuine. “Not at all.”
Sebastian made sure to act quickly after that, not willing to give a chance for another awkward silence to fall between them. He stepped around her and strode down the hall, explaining over his shoulder that he would be quick to sort the issue.
From there, it was a simple matter of finding some of the staff and having them collect Margot’s trunks from the carriage and bring them to her rooms. There were five of them in total, but it was easy enough to guess which contained clothes; there were just the three.
“Here we are…” Sebastian walked into Margot’s room fifteen minutes after leaving her; behind him came six members of his staff carrying the three trunks. “Where should we put them?”
“Anywhere is fine.” She had been sitting on her bed, but jumped to her feet when he entered. “And again, thank you.”
“I was happy to do it.” A moment was taken as the trunks were placed by the wardrobe. “I’ll have them unpacked properly for you on the morrow.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Again…” she laughed and shook her head.
The staff were then quick to hurry from the room, leaving Sebastian alone with his wife for a third time that evening. She was still by the bed; he was closer to the door, but he became keenly aware of the presented situation, and despite that stirring sensation in his stomach, he was sure to control himself.
“Well…” He clicked his tongue. “I suppose I will be off.”
“Yes,” she agreed awkwardly, fidgeting with her hands while refusing to look directly at him. “And again –”
“You need to stop thanking me,” he cut her off jokingly. “It will go to my head soon.”
She laughed. “And it is big enough already.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That was too easy.”
“I could not help myself.”
“Fair,” he sighed, but smiled as he did. “I will give you that one.” It was then that he looked about the empty room, clicking his tongue as he took a step back. There was that urge to say something flirtatious, to test the bounds of his self-control. And indeed, he knew women well enough to know when they were open for such things, and he could tell that she was of that mind.This would be so much easier if she loathed me as she claims. Or perhaps she does… which only makes the temptation that much greater.“Good night, Your Grace –”
“Margot,” she spoke quickly before he had a chance to turn.
“Hmm?”
“Please…” Her smile was unsure, but this time she made sure to look at him when she made it. “Call me Margot, please. This Your Grace business…” She rolled her eyes.
“Only if you call me Sebastian.”
“That is one name I might call you.”
He laughed at that, and she laughed in return. It was natural, no sense that they were trying to prove anything, no desire to turn it toward the amorous or see it continue. “As you say,” he offered. “Margot… good night.”
“To you, too.”
He walked to the doorway, paused, and looked back. She stood in the room’s center, her hands folded before her, those big eyes of hers watching him curiously… even hopefully. For once, she didn’t look upon him with hatred or suspicion, and for once, he wasn’t looking at her as if trying to figure out how he might bed her.
In fact, to see her standing there alone, Sebastian didn’t think he had ever seen anyone look so beautiful.And that in itself is a problem…
He left quickly then, hurrying to his room, slamming the door closed behind him, breathing deeply as his body shook. Sebastian would have liked to have said that leaving Margot there had been a simple thing, but that would have been one lie too many. He wanted his wife. She wanted him right back. The question thus became, how long would they both last until they gave in…
Or rather, who was going to break first? Based on my history, the answer should be entirely obvious. A most difficult and inconvenient marriage this promises to be.
Nine
“How have you found your first day?” Sebastian asked Margot politely as he cut into a shank of lamb on his plate.
“It has been fine,” she responded with the same amount of politeness, determined to keep this civil. “Just finding my feet.”
