“You did? Why?”
“Well, I thought you might like a few minutes to get used to the idea of being my bride before you are forced to assume the mantle of Marchioness of Coleford. The servants at Rob’s place aren’t ours, but they will be lined up to welcome a Marchioness, you may be sure of it.”
She not only laid her head back, she groaned. “Oh. That’s right. I don’t suppose I could just ignore all that.”
“Not a chance. And then you shall have to face the staff at Coleford House tomorrow. My people have been waiting a very long time to greet an ally in the fight to civilize me.”
That got her eyes back open, even though she’d finally given up and laid her head against his shoulder. His broad, comfortable shoulder. Blast it. “I have no intention of wasting my time on such a pointless endeavor.”
“You like me as the savage I am?”
“No. I despair of you ever having the sense to assume your dignity. It might have something to do with how you deal with those little girls.”
“Ourlittle girls.”
That brought her head back up. “Is that to be how we go forward?”
“Should we not? They have been sorely deprived of an actual family their whole lives. I’m afraid my cousins weren’t...weren’t...”
“Kind? Loving? Christian?”
She knew he heard the anger that still seethed in her over the defensive flinches and miserable self-condemnation from two beautiful little girls.
“All of those,” he admitted, his voice heavy. “I haven’t even had the courage to ask them yet. I just keep hoping that with enough stability and affection, they’ll overcome it.”
“Affection and stability never hurt anyone. I’ll be happy to lend my support. They are dear little girls.”
He sighed, sounding heartsore. “They are. But let us face that difficulty later. For now, why don’t we simply enjoy the park? It isn’t a moor, but it does have herds of deer and woodlands that I believe still have bluebells, which I will remind you smell lovely.”
She smiled and closed her eyes. “That they do.”
Usually, she couldn’t wait to smell them. She would stand on the bank of that sea of sweet blue tucked into the shadows of an oak forest and simply breathe, storing up the pure rich scent of spring to get her through the summer of whatever trials and tribulations her family tossed at her.
They couldn’t this time, though. Could they? She had only Grey’s trials and tribulations to contend with, although those would be enough to fill her days more than adequately. Still….
“Did anyone tell you that you have a wonderfully comfortable shoulder?” she murmured, her eyelids too heavy to lift.
“I usually don’t allow my comrades to fall asleep on my shoulder.”
“Then I feel privileged.”
“No,” he disagreed. “I am the one who is privileged. I suspect it takes quite a bit for you to trust someone enough to relax this much.”
She thought about it and admitted with surprise, “My first time, actually.”
Wrapping his arm around her, he pulled her closer. “I suspected as much.”
There was a long silence filled with no more than the clop of horse hooves, the rattle of carriage wheels over gravel, the whisper-soft brush of Grey’s breath in her hair, the boldening scent of bluebells. And then, as if it were inevitable, she could feel his fingers stroking her hair, releasing showers of sparks all down her back.
“Stop that,” she said, although she couldn’t quite dredge up the outrage to sound threatening.
“Why?”
Why? Why was his voice so soft, so close to her ear? Why did it seem to multiply those sparks that now skittered through her chest and into her belly?
“Because I’m not quite certain if you mean to wake me or put me to sleep. And we need to settle far too much in too little time to allow me that luxury.”
“What do we need to settle?”
