Gravitating to the bed, she traced her fingers over the carved post. “If we are supposed to be separate, why the connection chamber?”
“In case I need to get to you in an emergency,” he replied. “And please don’t ask me what those may be because those are an endless possibility. Be assured that I will not infringe on your privacy, nor should you do so with mine.”
“I promise,” she said.
“You are off to your own devices,” he reached up to rub the back of his neck. “I’ll be in my study doing some work. We’ll share supper tonight.”
She cocked her head. “Is that added or deducted from our agreement to share meals?”
“Neither,” he shook his head. “This is an exception.”
Ellie removed the jacket from her shoulders and handed it to him. “Thank you.”
He was slow to take the jacket, but he did. “I’ll see you at supper.”
Two hours later, after a long bath, assisted by her new maid Agnes, who washed her hair—something Ellie knew she wouldhave to get accustomed to because she always had to do these tasks herself—she paused at the door of the shared sitting room between her and Dorian’s chambers.
Clad in a white silk wrapper embroidered with lilies and vines, with a matching nightgown beneath—another indulgent purchase from the modiste—her hair was left loose, the maid having brushed the dried strands until they gleamed.
There was a haphazard scattering of lamps and candles that cast a warm golden glow over the room; the table was not set, nor was Dorian there.
“I suppose I’ll have to wait then,” she murmured.
By the time the clock struck six, Agnes was at the door with the rolling cart, their supper covered by wide glass cloches. The maid set the table while Ellie kept an eye on the door.
When Dorian did not arrive, she asked, “Is His Grace usually tardy?”
“I wish I could tell you, Your Grace,” Agnes replied. “He is not at the house much, so I do not know his timing. I apologize.”
“No, no,” Ellie waved her apology away. “Nothing to apologize for. Thank you.”
Agnes excused herself, and Ellie settled in to wait… and wait some more. When she got tired, she began to explore the room,touching the small trinkets sprinkled around the room while the candles had begun to shrink in time with Ellie’s patience.
This did not feel right—was Dorian intentionally spurning her when he’d agreed to this?
Huffing out a breath, she left the room, intending to find him.
“Your Grace?” Agnes was passing by with a bucket of cleaning materials. “Is something wrong?”
“Yes. Can you please point me in the direction where Dor—His Grace’sstudy is?” Ellie asked.
“Of course. Please, follow me.” Agnes abandoned the bucket and hurried down a corridor that took them to a room at the very back of the manor. There, she knocked on a set of wide, double oak doors.
“Your Grace? I apologize for the interruption,” Agnes said. “Her Grace is here to see you.”
The muffled order came. “She may come.”
After a quick thanks to Agnes, she stepped inside, only to blink at the pervasive darkness in the room. It took her a moment to adjust before walking to the two points of light in the room.
Dorian was not hunched over on a pile of ledgers like she’d expected; instead, he was slumped in his chair, his waistcoat off, his cravat gone, two buttons of his shirt pulled, and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
Halfway there, he turned away from her. She could see his hand flexing, and for a moment, she paused. She knew he had heard her enter; if he was doing anything illicit, he would not have allowed her in.
“Dorian?” She neared to find him fingering a set of pendants dangling from his fingers. “I assume you’ve lost track of time, but we are supposed to have supper—” her eyes flickered to the ormolu clock on the mantel, “—an hour and fifteen minutes ago.”
He pulled out a drawer and dropped the pendants into it, then stood. “I apologize.”
His tone was withdrawn, his shadowed face pensive. This was not what she had expected from him. If it was not for the white of his shirt, his dark hair and trousers would have merged into the dark paneled walls, mullioned windows, and the massive fireplace.
