“I know of no mirror,” he said. “It might have been a gift to Morna, but it was not from me.”
Her grandfather didn’t mention her mother again, and the dinner was a pleasant one, as if they’d never spoken in the garden, as if he’d never hinted that she might be a bastard.
She excused herself finally, returning to the suite she shared with Douglas, only to find it empty.
Where was he? She sat on the bench at the end of the bed. If they had been at Chavensworth, she would have gone to the observatory, but where did she seek him out at Kilmarin?
At the sound of water she jerked her head around. She stood, walked behind the screen and opened the bathing room door, only to discover her husband standing there, once again naked.
Two faint scratches marred the perfection of his left shoulder. Had she done that?
“Where have you been?”
A large oval mirror was mounted on the wall above the basin. He stared into it rather than look at her.
“If I walked in on you, Lady Sarah, I’d be chastised, if not commanded, to leave the chamber.”
She felt her cheeks warm. He was absolutely correct. She would not have tolerated such behavior from him. She turned to leave, her hand on the doorframe.
“Forgive me,” she said.
“I didn’t command you to leave,” he said.
She warmed even further.
“I’ve been exploring Kilmarin land,” he said. “And Kilmarin. I’ve been told that you received a similar tour.”
She nodded. “Not of the land.”
“Or the sheep,” he added.
“Or the sheep.”
“How about the cattle?”
She shook her head, smiling. “No cattle.”
“You education is lacking, I can see,” he said.
“You weren’t at dinner,” she said.
“I would have made it to dinner if I could have.”
“Are you hungry?”
He shook his head. “We entered through the kitchens. I’ve been fed by an assortment of females.”
“Oh?” Her eyebrows rose.
“All aged, with missing teeth and hairy moles,” he said.
“I cannot remember encountering anyone of that description.”
“Surely you’re not jealous.”
The fact was unavoidable—she was. How idiotic of her. She was feeling jealous and unsettled, and a dozen other emotions.
He came out from behind the basin. “What is it, Sarah?” He reached for a towel, wrapped it around hiswaist, and led her into the sitting room, to the sofa. Instead of sitting opposite her, he sat next to her, so close that she could feel the heat from his body.
