“But you read lips well enough.”
The corner of his lips turned up, and Louisa felt her stomach flutter.
“Aye. I read lips well enough.”
Louisa dipped her head, only to remember that he couldn’t hear her if he couldn’t see her and instantly lifted her head.
“Very well. And this will be a practical marriage?”
“Indeed.”
“And we will likely, well…” She glanced at the bed and his eyes followed.
“All in good time,” he said softly. “There’s no need to rush anything.”
Louisa let out a heavy sigh.
“Of course.”
“Well then, I suppose we should get some sleep.”
Louisa instantly panicked.
“Sleep? Here?”
“Easy, rabbit, no need to be so jumpy.” He winked. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“Oh no, there’s no need for that—”
“Oh, but there is,” he said, removing his coat. “Should you come to your senses in the morning and demand your freedom, at least you will be left unscathed by me.”
“I shouldn’t… I mean, I won’t demand my freedom, as you say it.”
“Perhaps not,” he said as he rolled the coat into a ball and lay down in front of the fireplace. “But just in case.”
“Oh, but I hate to think of you on the floor.”
“Well, you’re not sleeping on the floor. I refuse to allow it.”
“Could you not maybe lie on the settee or a chair?”
“I prefer to sleep flat on my back.”
Louisa felt useless.
“Well, then, perhaps, if I sleep beneath the covers, and you sleep on top of them, and we put a few pillows between us?”
Rhys smirked.
“Louisa,” he said, and a shiver went through her.
“Yes?”
“Good night,” he said, rolling onto his left side with his back towards her.
“Oh. Okay, good night,” she said quietly, but he didn’t acknowledge it.
Louisa turned and crawled into bed, consumed with worry, for the next day she would be married and a whole new set of issues would come up.
