She really shouldn’t have brought up the issue at all.
“Doesn’t it say something to you, that I cannot sleep without your scent?”
She didn’t answer.
“Or that my dreams, like it or not, are filled with you?”
“Why wouldn’t I like it?”
“Because man was not designed to be a celibate animal, Lady Sarah,” he answered. “And I hurt for you.”
He pulled back. “What else can I do for you?” he asked. “Besides your bath, I mean,” he added. His expression was somber, his eyes intent.
Do not look at me as if you find me wanting. Do not judge me by your standards of honor, higher than any I could hope to achieve. Do not undress before me as if I’m so cold and unfeeling that I’m unaffected by it.
“Nothing,” she said. “And you don’t even have to do that.”
He held up one hand as if to forestall her objections.
She answered with a smile.
Douglas turned the cold-water tap, then the hot, thinking that he could easily become accustomed to this degree of convenience. He needn’t ring for the upstairs maid or summon any servants to their suite.
He walked back into the sitting room where Sarah still sat in front of the fire, her gaze pensive and focused on the flames.
“Your bath is ready,” he said, rolling down one sleeve.
She looked up at him.
“I found some bath salts and put them in as well.”
“You’re quite well versed in a lady’s bath,” she said.
“It doesn’t seem that difficult,” he said. “Put somewater in the tub, sprinkle in something that smells good. You’re done.”
She smiled and stood. “You’re right. It does sound simple enough. But thank you for your trouble all the same.”
“Go take your bath,” he said. “Do you want me to find a nightgown and wrapper among your things?”
She looked so horrified that he smiled. “I’ll do it,” she said quickly, and stepped aside, intent on her trunk. After selecting the top two garments, she held them close to her chest and slipped behind the screen and into the bathing chamber.
“Can I wash your back?”
Silence met his question, then Sarah’s laughing response, “No!”
He walked back into the sitting room, banked the fire, and sat on the sofa. The sounds of water splashing made him smile. Preparing her bath had been such a simple act, and one she’d found difficult to accept.
Why haven’t you made me your wife? Now there was a question, wasn’t it?Because, my lovely virgin, I wanted to seduce you, but Providence has thrown just about everything between us.
With that thought, he went in search of a jot of whiskey.
Chapter 22
Sarah emerged from the bathing chamber to find that Douglas had disappeared. He wasn’t in the bedroom or the sitting room. By the time she’d braided her hair, cleaned her teeth, and finished folding her clothing and placing it in the trunk, he was still missing.
Disappointed, she sat on the edge of the bed. She hadn’t slept beside her husband since Chavensworth. How foolish she was to anticipate it tonight.
The bed was incredibly soft, and also so large that it felt as if she had entered an island. The mattress sagged slightly in the middle. She made a mental note to speak to the housekeeper about how that could be avoided with a few judiciously placed additional straps before catching herself. This was not Chavensworth, and she doubted the staff would welcome her advice.
