He had seen the expression on her face last night after dinner. He had been so close to kissing her, especially when she had looked up at him so invitingly, her eyes expectant.
He had hesitated because he could feel, deep within him, that something was growing between them. Something dangerous. Because of that, he had to keep his head.
For he had far too much on his plate to concern himself with adding another person he cared about to his life.
He had already lost two people he loved. He wasn’t going to allow that possibility to happen again. It was far better to close himself off, to maintain that distance.
She was his wife. She would manage his house, stand at his side when required, and otherwise, he would continue to live his life as he always had.
He could admit to himself, however, that this marriage was becoming more complicated than he had ever meant it to be.
What he did know was that walking away from her last night was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do.
Now here he was, waiting for her in the front foyer after she had taken breakfast in her bedroom.
“Where are you off to?” his mother asked, striding toward him with her usual efficiency.
“I am accompanying Evelyn to visit a friend,” he said, telling her a half-truth, not wanting to pull his mother into their actual reasons for the visit.
“That sounds like more of a task for me. Or Thalia,” she considered. “You have far more important things to concern yourself with than chasing after your wife like a puppy.”
Of course, Evelyn chose that moment to walk up behind his mother, her eyes rounding and the smile dropping from her face.She quickly returned it when she saw they had noticed her, ever the picture of calm.
“Good morning, your grace. Your grace,” she said to each of them in turn.
“Your gown complements your coloring, your grace,” his mother said to his wife, apparently in her attempt to maintain politeness after speaking an insult Evelyn had overheard. It was the closest his mother would ever come to an apology, for she would never truly admit she was wrong.
“Thank you,” Evelyn murmured before turning to Asher. “Shall we go?”
He nodded as they bade his mother farewell then departed for the waiting carriage.
When they settled in the seat, a small smile wavered on her lips before she tempered it and stared him in the eye. “Good boy,” she said as she would a dog, playing off his mother’s words. They both stared at one another, waiting a beat, until they simultaneously broke out into laughter.
“I’m so sorry,” he said once they had collected themselves. “She should never have said that.”
“Her opinion of me has become rather clear, as polite as she might be to my face,” Evelyn said with some chagrin.
“It has naught to do with you,” he said. “She had plans for me that our marriage disrupted. She is… disappointed in me, in the rumors. In how our family life has played out in general, I suppose.”
Before Evelyn could say anything, he held up one palm.
“I had no intentions of following through with her plans, but they remained a possibility while I was unmarried.”
“I see,” Evelyn said softly, her eyes darting away from him. “Hopefully, in time, she can forgive my existence in your life.”
“I do not think you should concern yourself with that,” he said. “My mother has had a difficult time over the past few years.She has always liked things a certain way, and since her entire world was upended, she has attempted to retain tighter control.”
“I understand,” Evelyn murmured, and he supposed she did after the trajectory of her own life had so drastically changed.
They rode in silence for some time, Evelyn looking out the window, until the carriage pulled around to Eastclere Manor, which looked much different in the light of day.
It loomed before them like an ancient, brooding giant, its sun-bleached stone setting the facade in stark relief, with twin rows of windows glinting like watchful eyes.
The neat gravel sweep before the entrance was scarred by fresh ruts from carriage wheels, a reminder of all the traffic that had come through the house not long ago.
“Is Lady Verity meeting us here?” Asher asked as they walked up the stairs to the front door.
“No, but she arranged everything for us,” Evelyn said, likely not even realizing that she pressed closer against his side as they neared the front door.
