“I was – ” He stopped, then began again. “I had work to finish.”
“I know,” Eleanor said. “I remembered your rules.”
He glanced briefly at the study door, then back at her. “You were standing here the entire time?”
She nodded, suddenly very aware of how foolish that must look.
His mouth tightened, though not unkindly. “You should not have waited in the corridor.”
“I did not know what else to do,” she said honestly.
A quiet fell between them, different from the one in the carriage, heavier somehow.
James gestured down the corridor. “Come.”
She followed him without question.
His rooms were darker than hers, more austere. Heavy furniture, deep shadows, a single lamp casting amber light across a desk scattered with papers. The bed stood against the far wall, neatly turned down.
He closed the door behind them.
Eleanor’s heart thudded.
She took a breath. “I might not know very much about what a wedding night entails,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt, “but I believe it should at least include a kiss.”
His brows rose slightly.
“I am your wife,” she continued, lifting her chin. “Whatever happens, I will do my duty.”
Silence filled the room.
James studied her with an intensity that made her skin prickle. “You believe obligation is the same as desire?”
“I believe,” she said, “that it must begin somewhere.”
He stepped closer.
Her breath caught.
He stopped just in front of her, close enough that she could see the faint shadow of stubble along his jaw, the steady focus of his eyes. For a fleeting, breathless moment, Eleanor thought he might lean down and close the distance.
Her pulse roared in her ears.
Then he straightened.
“Go to bed,” he said quietly. “I will not take what you offer out of obligation and ignorance.”
Her cheeks flamed. “That is not what I meant.”
“I know,” he replied. “Which is precisely why I will not.”
She stared at him, frustration and something more dangerous coiling inside her. “You make this unnecessarily difficult.”
His mouth curved faintly. “You make it interesting.”
She stood there and silence filled his room.
James sighed and started loosening his cravat, “What is it that you want, Eleanor?”
