“I can do it.” Peter stepped back and managed to don one of his mitts, but getting the second one on while wearing the other was proving difficult.
Ellie gave Maggie a nudge, and the girl looked at her. Nodding toward Peter, Ellie turned her back and strolled slowly around the fountain again.
Within moments, the two children had joined her, both with their mitts on.
“I see there’s quite a bit of laurel on this side of the garden, but with such a nicely laid-out plan, I doubt the gardener would appreciate having any of it cut.”
“Why would we cut it?”
Maggie’s question reminded Ellie of why they were there. She faced both the children. “We will need to cut some greenery to bring in on Christmas Eve, of course.”
Both children’s eyes lit up with excitement, but Maggie spoke first. “Mother and nursemaid always decorated the nursery. I’m so glad we get to do that again.”
“Oh, I plan to decorate more than the nursery. I’m going to have the whole house decorated.” Ellie threw her arms out wide, smacking her fingers on a stone fish. “Ouch!” She curled in her fingers and pressed her hand against her chest.
“Are you all right?”
Maggie’s furrowed brow had Ellie fighting the pain. She swallowed hard. “I’ll be fine.” The sting in her fingers began to throb. “Let us return to the house now. I promised we wouldn’t be outside more than half an hour, and surely it must have been that by now.”
“Must we?” Peter was back to being petulant.
“I’m afraid we must. But if you like, we can come out again in a few days.” He shrugged his shoulders as if it didn’t matter to him, but she knew it did. Still, it was quite cold, and even if her fingers weren’t throbbing, she wouldn’t want the children to become ill. “I know I, for one, am ready for a cup of warm tea and some rout cakes.”
As they started back, Maggie launched into a tale of one of the neighbors, who had a very bad cook and had gifted them with a failed trifle.
Despite the pain in her fingers, Ellie felt more at home in that moment than she had her whole life. She’d finally found her place, and she couldn’t be happier.
Chapter Six
Darius left hisstudy and headed down the corridor to break his fast. Surely his wife would be up by now. They had a lot to discuss after his ten-day absence, and he was anxious to move forward with securing his legacy.
It had been remiss of him to not consummate their marriage immediately, but he hadn’t expected to fall into a black mood so soon. He’d risen to a state of panic more than once over the past days at the thought of his wife requesting an annulment. Then he’d been sure she thought him odd or not interested in women or even sex. Nothing could be farther from the truth, but he had to broach the subject delicately.
He just hoped she wasn’t as timid as his last wife. Though some of his late wife’s reluctance occurred after she’d discovered his reason for leaving suddenly. While she never learned whence he’d gone, she’d not been anxious to be bedded by a “madman,” as she called him.
His step slowed at the thought. Memories of Dinah in bed, refusing to engage in any of the joy that could be experienced, had left him cold until he realized that was her intent. With him more determined than ever, every coupling had become a battle of wills, but he had much more to lose by not having an heir, and he made her feel the thrill of sex, whether she wished to or not. Sometimes he wondered if Peter was born too soon because Dinah didn’t wish him to live, but he resolutely dismissed that.After all, if Peter hadn’t lived, then there would be even more coupling.
Stepping into the parlor, he scanned the area for signs Eleanor was up and about, but saw none. He strode into the dining room and took a seat at the head of the table as a footman served him coffee. The place setting to his left was a change that must have been made by his new wife. He would wait, albeit not patiently, for her to join him…unless she’d decided to eat in her rooms.
Taking a sip, he contemplated his options, quickly determining that he should discover if she’d already broken her fast. About to call over a footman, he opened his mouth only to close it again on the chance the rustling skirts he heard in the corridor belonged to his wife. He listened to the rapid tread, which was far from ladylike, but he had noticed she tended toward a more brisk form of movement, much to the detriment of items nearby.
Within moments, his wait was rewarded as his wife strode through the parlor door in a flurry of blue skirts—complete with green shawl. It was an unusual color combination. He stood as she entered the dining room. “My lady.”
“Oh, Darius. It’s so wonderful to see you. When I heard you’d arrived, I couldn’t wait another moment to see if your trip was successful and you were in good health.” She strode up to him and took his hands. “Let me gaze upon you for but a moment, relief in my heart.”
A little surprised by the warm greeting, he held her hands just as tightly, not unaware of the unusual scent she exuded. He’d noticed it at the church, the last time they were so close, and it made him think of citrus, but it wasn’t orange or lemon. “It is a pleasure to see you looking healthy. You do appear to be fairly glowing, Lady Ferncroft.”
She shook her head as if to dismiss his compliment. “If I glow, it is because of your safe return. And we did agree to call each other by our given names, remember?” She squeezed his hands a bit harder, then rose up and kissed him on the cheek before letting go and stepping back.
He tensed, as it looked as if she’d bump into the chair held out by the footman, but luckily the kind fellow pulled it back another foot and no mishap occurred. “Please.” Darius opened his hand toward the chair. “Do join me. I would like to hear all that has occurred in my absence.”
As she took her seat, he gave the footman a grateful smile. The man reacted by standing even straighter now that Lady Ferncroft was safely seated.
“I’m happy to tell you all, but first you must relieve my mind. Did your business end successfully?” Ellie lifted her brows with her inquiry.
He resumed his own seat. “It did indeed. I appreciate your kind patience in starting our marital life together. Unfortunately, I am often called away suddenly, but I promise to always return so that I may enjoy my days here with you and my children.” The lie did not sit well with him, but his experience with Dinah kept him from changing it.
“Truly? That is most wonderful to hear. Mayhap I can accompany you on occasion. I wouldn’t be in the way, as I’m quite adept at keeping myself entertained.” She paused as the footmen poured hot cocoa into a cup for her. “While my embroidery is not quite on par with my mother’s, I do enjoy reading, shopping, and studying the night sky. Oh, I do hope it’s acceptable that I promised the children a nighttime excursion into the garden tomorrow evening to give them their first lesson on the universe, beyond the mythological one that I covered a few days ago while we were out by the fish fountain. No, I mean the baby Neptune fountain.”
