Harry smiled. “‘Night, Adam.”
“‘Night.”Presumptuous lout.
“And Adam?”
“What?” he snapped.
“Give the poor girl a chance,” Harry said. “Ain’t her fault you ended up with every man’s idea of a perfect wife. She could probably even manage to be a nag if you asked her.”
So Adam threw a book at him.
Harry’s laughter echoed in the empty corridor as he made his way toward the room he always occupied when he visited.
“I don’t know why I keep inviting him back,” Adam mumbled.
Harry had an annoying habit of interfering in Adam’s life. He never found Adam remotely off-putting and always laughed off every threat Adam made against his person. Furthermore, he was precisely the sort of gentleman Adam generally avoided: easy in society, handsome, self-assured. If he’d been an idiot into the bargain, Adam would have despised him. As it was, Adam wasn’t entirely sure why hedidn’tdislike him.
He’d hit a nerve that night, however. Adam found himself thinking of Persephone—ridiculous name.She probably was wondering where Adam was. Though, more likely than not, she would be grateful to be spared the sight of him. He certainly had no intention of inflicting himself on her.
Adam pulled himself up out of his chair. He was tired, he had to admit. And spending the night sleeping in his chair, as comfortable as it was, did not appeal to him. He walked quietly from the book room, up a flight of stairs, passing tapestries and arms and tables holding mementos passed down by generations of Boyces.
He dismissed his valet on the spot, preferring to divest himself of his wedding clothes on his own. He was finding the attire almost suffocating at the moment.
Jones ought to have known better, he thought for the hundredth time that day. Adam had been very specific in his requirements. Someone who needed his money. Someone with no other prospects. Someone who would be grateful for even a hideous husband.
Jones had chosen Persephone Iphigenia Lancaster.
Adam muttered a curse. So much for thwarting Mr. Gordon Hewitt. A young, pretty wife would want nothing to do with Adam.
Adam’s eyes wandered, of their own volition, to the door connecting his bedchamber with the new duchess’s.
It sounds like I’m accusing you of a crime.Adam nearly smiled at the memory of her words. He’d known immediately what she’d meant: killed her. The name did sound that way, though no one had ever said so before.
She was intelligent, on top of it all. Intelligent and witty and beautiful. And they were stuck with each other.
Chapter Five
“I do not want to go!”
Persephone recognized Artemis’s anguished voice, and her heart hurt at the sound. She turned toward the enormous wooden doors of Falstone Castle, where Athena was attempting to strong-arm their youngest sister into stepping outside and into the waiting carriage.
“Let me speak with her.” Persephone took Athena’s place beside Artemis. She took the girl’s tiny, eight-year-old hand in hers. “Let’s walk for a minute or two.”
Artemis nodded, and Persephone led her down the stone steps to the gravel drive. Papa seemed to understand and told the driver to wait for a bit. Persephone and Artemis stepped off the drive and onto the grass that surrounded the closest of the formal gardens. When they were far enough from the carriage to not be seen, Persephone knelt on the ground, heedless of the damage she was no doubt doing to one of the dresses provided for her by her husband, and faced Artemis directly.
“Oh, my dear girl.” She touched Artemis’s face. “You’re crying.”
“He cannot make you stay here!” Artemis threw her arms around Persephone’s neck.
By “he,” Artemis certainly meant Adam. It must have been unfathomable to such a young child to have a sister, who had been more of a mother to her, leave their family home for good. A painful lump seemed to suddenly form in Persephone’s throat. She hugged the girl back, squeezing perhaps tighter than she ought to have.
“No one is making me stay here, dearest.” Persephone forced her voice to not waver or break. “Falstone Castle is my home now. But I shall send you letters, perhaps with a guinea under the seal.” The bribe didn’t loosen Artemis’s embrace. “And you and I shall visit back and forth. You could come here and we could explore the castle together.”
“Hewon’t let me,” Artemis answered petulantly.
“Of course he will, and we will have grand adventures. Perhaps there is a tower room where we could imagine all sorts of wonderful stories, the way we always did at home.”
“Promise?” Artemis asked with a hiccup.
