Aware that Dorcas waited behind her, Laura turned. “I shall be most comfortable here.”
Dorcas jerked her head. “His lordship be in the Fern chamber, milady.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“It’s the chamber next door, milady.”
“Oh. Of course, thank you.”
Laura pressed her lips, as a cold dismay gripped her. Was she being foolish? Her parents had separate bedrooms. But she had expected to share a bed with Nathaniel, as they had on their wedding night. Intimacy would come with time, and she supposed she must be patient, although she had expected Nathaniel to want to be with her.
“Agnes will attend to you. I’ll send her to you when your trunks are brought up.”
Only a few hours of daylight remained of a very long day, and Laura did not look forward to dinner when tiredness ruined her appetite. “I’ll rest a while, thank you, Dorcas.”
“As you wish, my lady.”
When the door closed, Laura removed her boots and sank onto the bed, listening to the mournful sound of gulls through the open window. Certain her adventurous spirit would reassert itself tomorrow, she closed hereyes.
She ran blindly down one corridor after another, but the wisp of white still followed. It seemed such a fragile thing, like smoke, and yet it filled her with a terrible fear. She could not escape it. She calledout.
“Laura?”
She sat up quickly, her head spinning. “I must have fallen asleep.”
“I heard you call out.” Nathaniel sat on the bed beside her. “Were you dreaming?”
She pushed her hair back off her forehead. “A nightmare, or should it be a daymare?” The dream was so vivid it made her tremble. She wished he would hold her, but gazing at his concerned face, she forced a smile. “How foolish. I’m all right now.”
“You must have been exhausted after the journey. Do you feel rested?”
Laura slipped her hand into his, wanting to pull him down to her, but lacking the courage. “Yes. Much.”
“Care for a walk before it gets dark?”
“Oh yes.” She reached for herboots.
“Have you a cloak? It’s growing cool.”
She smoothed her rumpled suit. She had intended to change. No matter, she would later for dinner. Picking up her cloak, she handed it to him. Nathaniel draped it over hershoulders.
She put on her hat before the mirror. “Your bedroom is next to mine?”
“Yes, the adjoining chamber.”
Walking toward the stairs, Laura took his arm, determined to shake off the lingering effects of the dream. “Where are we going?”
“Up to the tower, first, for a bird’s eye view of Wolfram. Then we’ll walk toward the park.”
On the ground floor at the end of the passage, Nathaniel opened a low, arched wooden door. He stood aside for her to enter. They climbed a winding staircase and passed through a doorway at the top, emerging onto a narrow parapet encased with a stonebalustrade.
“Are you afraid of heights? Shall I hang onto you?” Nathaniel asked with agrin.
“No. I’m fine.”
Laura clutched the cold stone, determined not to show what an awful coward she was. She’d barely recovered from the boat trip. But the extraordinary view soon removed any sense of fear. The village spread out to the north, linked to the abbey by the thread of carriageway. She picked out the church spire among the trees and the schoolhouse tower with itsbell.
“You can’t see it from here, but our home farm supplies most of the food for Wolfram.” Nathaniel pointed out a narrow lane bordered by ancient oaks that led away from the stables. The road branched into two forks. One led to a row of stone cottages on the ocean side. The other ambled through horse paddocks and rose to disappear intowoodland.
