When she was done, Willa set her silver down, and pulled her hair back. It would take an hour to untangle the ends. Matt was still shirtless. “Annie sounded a bit alarmed.”
“By the sheets, yes. They weren’t that bad. She is just concerned for you.”
There was a knock on the door. Annie said, “Your Grace, I have the bath.”
Willa jumped up from the chair and raced to the privacy screen as if hiding could divorce her from the humiliation of what had happened to her. She heard him swear under his breath and then called, “Come in, Annie.”
Of course, Annie didn’t carry up the bath alone. She had other servants with her. Willa listened to the noise of their pouring water into a tub. Her skin itched to be washed clean.
“Shall I stay and help Her Grace at her bath, Your Grace?” Annie asked.
“Your services will not be needed. I will let the hall maid know when we wish to have this all cleaned up.”
“Shall I take the breakfast cart?”
“No, leave it there,” Matt said. “My wife has a healthy appetite.”
“She does,” Annie readily agreed, a proud smile in her voice. “For such a wee thing, she enjoys her food.” Almost as an afterthought, Annie tacked on, “Your Grace.”
Matt laughed, the sound a far cry from his coldness moments ago. “Thank you, Annie.” The door closed. He said, “You may come out of hiding.”
Willa stepped into the room. The tub of steaming water looked marvelous.
“Annie made the bed,” he said.
Only then did Willa glance at the four-poster. All evidence of what had happened to her was gone. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until she released it.
“Will you now give me some privacy to enjoy my bath?” she asked.
He was sitting at the desk again, his large body relaxed, his long legs stretched forward in front of him so that she’d have to step over him to reach the tub. “No,” he answered. “I won’t.”
Her temper flashed. “Matt, why are you doing this? Can’t you tell that I don’t want us to be this close?”
“We are man and wife. Willa. Wearethis close.”
Her laugh was bitter.
He leaned forward. “I botched it last night. I hurt you. But be fair, Willa, before that horrible moment, I did please you.”
Yes, he had. Which added to her sense of betrayal. “I didn’t like it. You didn’t stop.”
“I couldn’t, Willa. I’d reached a point I—”
His voice broke off. He seemed genuinely distressed.
Some of the hardness she felt toward him eased.
“I don’t blame you for being angry,” he said, his voice quiet, humble. “But the first time is always the worst. It will become better.”
Willa didn’t know if she believed him. However, the water in the tub was cooling. There was scented soap and several good linen towels. She longed for nothing more than to feel fresh. “You aren’t going to leave me alone about this, are you?”
Matt shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Just because we are ‘married’?” She shook her head. “You wanted my dowry, Matt. You have it. There is no reason to pretend that we are something more.”
“I’m not pretending.”
She almost scoffed at the idea.
