“Very good. Then I will leave you to your stargazing.” With a brief nod, he turned and started down the path that would take him back to the house.
She stood frozen in place, heating from the inside as her mind swirled like a galaxy and her belly tumbled like a meteor crashing into a planet. She could still smell him—and taste him. The hint of brandy on his tongue as he’d touched hers made her want to taste more.
She stumbled to the fountain and sat, her legs far too unsteady.
What the book had shown and described didn’t begin to touch the feelings inside her. Now she understood why such actions were usually completed in bed. She couldn’t imagine standing up while he kissed her unless he held her to him, which he hadn’t. He seemed completely confident in his kiss, but then again, why would he not? He was her husband and would take her to bed very soon. Maybe even tonight!
The thought had her heart racing again, and she took in gulps of the cold night air. She wanted to race back and ready herself for bed. She rose on shaky legs, her gaze falling on the telescope, his gift to her. She sat back down. No. It was far too early, and to return so soon might make him think she didn’t truly enjoy his gift.
But she was quite sure she would never look at the Pleiades in quite the same way again. Maybe she could find something else to tell him about in the stars. Perhaps she could use the stars to talk about how much she wished to be his wife in truth.
Moving her gaze to the sky, she identified four constellations before settling on the Draco, or Dragon. She’d read that theCat’s Eye Nebula could be seen in the constellation, but she’d never owned a telescope powerful enough to see the colors it was said to have. Adjusting the telescope to point farther north, toward the North Star, she put her eye to it and made smaller adjustments. Before she could lock it in place, she found the nebula and sucked in a breath.
She could clearly see the star’s white center and blue gases surrounding it, but what had her attention was the pale orange, almost-peach glow that seemed to float outside either end, making it appear oblong. The colors began to meld, and she quickly moved her head away to wipe at her watering eyes. She was glad there was no one to see her so overset. It was just that the universe truly was heavenly and always made her feel honored to be able to glimpse even a small portion of it.
Determined to enjoy the view in her telescope, she straightened her shoulders. William Herschel surely didn’t cry when he first discovered the Cat’s Eye Nebula, so she could certainly look upon it without becoming a watering pot. Setting her eye to the instrument once again, she concentrated on all the details, so she could tell Darius about it. Though the Pleiades took her breath away, she felt more kinship with the nebula. After all, it wore her colors. She grinned as she straightened.
Glancing toward the sky once more, she decided to unlock the telescope and follow all of the Draco constellation. As it was one of the largest, she was sure there would be much to see that she hadn’t seen before. Bending once more, she began her exploration.
It wasn’t until she tried to lock the telescope and found her fingers had grown numb from the cold that she straightened. She blew on her hand. It started to tingle as she looked worriedly at the night sky. She had stayed outside far too long. Quickly, she locked the telescope with her thawing fingers before hurrying up the path.
As soon as she stepped into the parlor, her cheeks began to sting. She glanced at the clock. “Oh, no.” Almost two hours had passed. Moving to the entryway, she found Beacham talking to a footman.
Upon seeing her, he turned from the man and hurried forward. “My lady, you look frozen. Let me take your coat.” He turned to the footman he’d been speaking to. “Armand, add coal to the fire in the parlor immediately.”
She wanted to tell him she needed to go to her room, that Darius may be expecting her, but her teeth started to chatter. That wasn’t good at all.
“Come, my lady.” Beacham ushered her into the parlor, where poor Armand was still adding coal to the fire. “That’s fine, Armand. I’ll add more. Go tell Cook we need hot cocoa immediately, and have a blanket brought to her ladyship.”
She sank down into one of the wingback chairs before the fire as Beacham added even more coal before walking past her, to return with a quilt.
She gratefully accepted it and rubbed her hands together underneath it to dissipate the tingling. Finally, it went away and she clasped her hands together tightly, as she clamped her jaw to keep her chattering teeth from making so much noise.
Beacham’s usually stoic face revealed his worry as his brows lowered. “Would you like me to fetch my lord?”
“No! I mean, I’d rather not disturb him.” The last thing she wished Darius to know was that she’d lost track of time and frozen outside. “I’ll be fine.”
The butler didn’t appear convinced, but moved away and returned with a cup of hot cocoa, which he set on the small table next to her.
She pulled her hands out from beneath the quilt and lifted the cup, sure that once she started warming from the inside,she’d feel much better. No sooner had she taken a sip and set down the cup, though, she sneezed.
Beacham, who was in the process of carrying over a small footstool, halted. “God bless you.”
She gave him a weak smile, not a little embarrassed by her situation. “Thank you.”
He continued forward and set the stool down for her.
She set her feet on it, and immediately the heat from the fire began warming her frozen toes. “Oh, that’s quite pleasant. Thank you. As soon as I am properly warmed, I shall go to my rooms.”
“I shall have a hot water bottle prepared for your bed.”
Before she could once more extend her appreciation, Beacham vanished again. She lifted the cup of cocoa and took a gulp now that it was no longer too hot but still quite warm. She felt the heat move down her torso into her belly, thinking of one of the lessons at school where they all learned how their food was processed. They’d even learned why the body needed clothes to stay warm. She grimaced as she imagined her mother’s reaction to her lack of sense in staying outside too long. Hopefully, no one but the servants would ever hear of her poor judgment.
She was the lady of her own house now, and she needed to account for everything. She would simply tell Beacham to send someone for her after an hour every night, so she wouldn’t take a chill. Luckily, she was no frail miss, and her error should not cause any undue hardship upon her person. Still, it was best to be careful. She took another large swallow of cocoa, happy with her decision.
The telescope!In her hurry to get warm, she’d forgotten about it. Anxious that it may be damaged by what was sure to be a frost, she set her cup down and rose, dropping the quilt on the chair. She was pleased to discover her toes were tingling, whichwas a very good sign. She’d taken mere steps toward the door when another sneeze took her.
Luckily, no one heard it, and she quickly made her way into the entry to dig out the handkerchief Darius had lent her. She’d just wiped her nose when Beacham appeared.
