“I’ll leave you two to get settled,” Miss Darby said, and she shut the door behind her.
Deirdre glanced around the room again, her hands clasped to her chest. “It’s a perfectly lovely room,” she said.
But Jeremiah was frowning again as he replaced a few bills into his pocket. Was he worried about the expense?
“Jeremiah.” She laid a hand on his arm, and then quickly removed it when he looked down. Was she being too forward? Was itpossibleto be too forward when one was married? Although he’d made it clear they were married in name only, so perhaps it was possible. She ignored the sting in her heart and pressed on. “If this room costs too much, we can stay at the livery or at my—I mean, Liam’s home.”
Jeremiah pressed his lips into a thin line. “I’m not worried about the expense.”
“Is something else bothering you?” she asked when he didn’t elaborate.
He hooked his thumbs into his pockets, but didn’t answer. “I need to get back to the livery,” he finally said.
“Oh! Let me change and I’ll come with you.” Deirdre reached for her carpetbag.
“Why don’t you stay here and get settled in?” He was already at the door. “I’ll be back for supper.”
And before Deirdre could protest, he was gone.
She sat in a huff on the bed. What had that been all about? It felt as if he didn’t want to be near her. He’d never told her not to come to the livery before. Why would it be different now?
She swallowed as she considered the only possible answer.
He was having second thoughts.
Chapter Six
JEREMIAH RAKED A HANDthrough his hair when he entered the room in the rear of the livery. In here, he felt as if he could breathe again.
He loosened the tie around his neck. Roman and Clara had served as witnesses to the wedding—after Roman had overcome his shock at learning that Dee was really Deirdre. But the second he’d entered the stable, they, along with Fred and one of their regular customers, had crowded around him to ask after Deirdre. When he told them he’d left her at the boardinghouse to settle in, Clara had frowned at him.
The guilt had crept in immediately. What kind of husband left his wife on their wedding day?It didn’t matter, he told himself again. They wouldn’t be married long. All he had to do was show his parents he would be a worthy investment of their money.
He yanked his jacket off and set about changing into something more suitable for work. How had this all gone so wrong? He’d set out to marry for a purpose, but as he’d corresponded with Dee, he’d grown to look forward to it.
Dee was Deirdre. All along, it was her, writing the letters he’d spent hours reading over and over again, marveling at how lucky he’d felt to find someone with so much in common with himself.
