“My duties in the House of Lordsdorequire me to be away. And I have to keep a close eye on the estates to ensure that they are cared for.”
“Are you planning to leave soon?”
He nodded. “I often travel during the summer, spending a few weeks at each of the estates.”
Amelia had a bad feeling about this, particularly since the household staff didn’t appear willing to obey her orders. “Will we be going with you?”
“No. There’s no reason for you to accompany me. The pair of you can stay here, and I’ll return in the autumn.”
Her spirits deflated at the thought of being trapped here with a stepdaughter and servants who despised her. “Then you only stay at Castledon during the autumn and winter.”
“Yes. The rest of the year, I have to attend my other duties.”
No wonder his daughter felt abandoned. If she’d been raised by a governess and servants, then the last thing she’d want was a stranger telling her what to do.
She mulled over an idea, realizing that the best way to recruit Christine as an ally was to work toward a common cause—asking Lord Castledon to remain here or allowing them to go with him.
The earl had grown quiet, and he led her to walk near the window. The trees had turned into black silhouettes against an amber sunset, foretelling the promise of night.
“I would like you to stay a little longer,” Amelia said at last. “Until we’re settled here, if that’s not too much to ask.”
“For a time.” Keeping his gaze fixed upon the window, he added, “I’m sorry it’s been so difficult for you, since you’ve arrived here. I’m not precisely the dangerous, delicious rake you wanted.”
She reached to take his hand in hers. “Sometimes you are,” she murmured.
His eyes flared up, and he stared at her with undisguised yearning. She brought both of his hands around her waist, hoping to tempt him. “And youdidsave me from being wedded to a scoundrel. That’s rather heroic.”
“It might have been a rescue, but I’m not—”
She cut him off by touching a finger to his lips. “You weren’t the man I wanted then. But you’re the man I want now.”
His hands moved up her rib cage. Then he leaned in close and rested his nose against hers. His breath warmed her cheeks, and anticipation filled up inside her. But this time when he touched his mouth to hers, the light kiss was there and gone. Amelia could hardly imagine that it had happened.
“You’re not betraying Katherine by touching me,” she whispered, holding him close. She wanted another night with him, here in this place where so many ghosts of the past haunted him.
“Itisa betrayal,” he contradicted. “Especially when your kiss is better than those I shared with Katherine.”
With that, he left her standing alone.
Chapter Eleven
David walked inside his former wife’s room, lighting a candle. It was nearly past midnight, and he couldn’t say what had brought him here. It might have been guilt or perhaps the need to let go.
In six years, he’d changed nothing about this room. Nothing, save the linens that she’d slept upon in her last hours. The mattress was bare, the pillows stripped of their coverings.
The entire room was cold, like a graveyard.
He lit another candle, then the lamp beside the bed. The flare of golden light spilled over the barren mattress, and he went to sit upon it. A chill swept over him, as if her ghost had laid a hand upon his spine. He studied the room, and the familiar emptiness closed in.
“I can’t keep holding on to the past,” he told Katherine. “Amelia doesn’t deserve this. She should have a true husband.”
His wife’s ghost didn’t answer. Though he’d often imagined what she’d say, this time, there was silence. He was left to wonder about this new marriage. He’d agreed to wed Amelia because he hadn’t wanted her to suffer from a scandal that wasn’t her fault.
But shewashurting in this marriage. It wasn’t at all fair to Amelia, being trapped like this. She was trying to make the best ofher situation, but both the servants and Christine were trying her patience.
As for himself, he knew he wasn’t much of a husband. Though he knew how to pleasure her in bed, and he enjoyed touching her, he knew she wanted more.
David rose from the bed, the taint of sickness still lingering in the air. A wooden wardrobe stood at the far end of the room, and he opened it. Inside were several of Katherine’s gowns. The colors were still bright, though a stale odor lingered.
