I didn’t need to open my eyes to know it was morning. A shaft of sunlight was trying to blind me through my closed eyelids.
“I’m too sore,” I mumbled. I hated denying him, but he’d woken me several times during the night. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to walk straight again.
He hummed, a sound I suspected he meant to sound sympathetic but which was undeniably smug. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, stroking one hand along my spine. “I arranged for a warm bath.”
Those magic words had me rolling over and struggling to sit up. Had I slept through maids bringing in a tub and warm water? When I didn’t see the promised bath, I narrowed my eyes on Clifton. “Where?”
He grinned. By way of reply, he lifted me into his arms and carried me to the outer room. There, in front of the windows, sat a copper tub, steam billowing up from its depths.
He lowered me into the water. I had only a moment to bask in the warmth settling into my muscles when I realized he was stripping down to climb in after me.
“I’m still sore,” I said. But we both knew he could bring me to my peak without entering me.
He picked up the washcloth and bar of soap sitting on the window ledge. “I’ll make it all better.”
And heaven help me, he did.
We stayed in that little cottage two more days before it was time to return to England. Clifton made several short trips to the inn, arranging for meals and making preparations for our departure. He also wrote several letters during that time. I knew one of them was to his mother, and I couldn’t help but worry how she’d receive the news about our elopement to Gretna Green.
I felt a little guilty for making the staff go to the extra trouble of going back and forth between the cottage and the inn when we could just as well have eaten in the inn’s common room. Or even in a private dining room. Since moving to live with the Tuttlefords, I’d gotten used to ensuring I wasn’t a nuisance to anyone.
But when Clifton insisted, I didn’t argue. I vowed to enjoy this time when it was just the two of us. Soon enough, he’d be spending all his free time at King’s with his friends again, doing whatever it was that men did when they were forced to marry a woman they didn’t love. During this brief interlude, I could pretend that ours would be a happy marriage. It was an easy delusion because Clifton hadn’t said anything that indicated he resented having to marry me.
When the day of our departure dawned, I distracted Clifton with a request for another bath. It might be the last time we ever shared such an intimacy together.
Afterward, a young man delivered a small trunk. Clifton thanked him and turned to me. “I’ve managed to procure a few dresses for you. The innkeeper’s wife said that one of the maids was of a similar size and she tried them on to make sure they’d fit. I hope you don’t mind.”
Clifton appeared genuinely concerned, and I felt my heart turn over. It hit me then, like a sudden strike of lightning, that I was in love with him. Foolishly, hopelessly in love.
I forced back the uncomfortable realization that this man had the power to hurt me far more than my aunt and uncle had ever done. I couldn’t expect him to love me. It would have to be enough that he was kind and seemed to enjoy my company.
For now, at least.
I threw myself into his arms. “It is more than I expected,” I said, pulling back to smile up at him. “Thank you.”
“We’ll make our way south by carriage this time. And no more sleeping while on the road. The trip to Hampshire should take a week. Did you want to change into one of the new dresses now?”
I laughed. “We’ve already dallied this morning. If I take off my clothes again, we might never leave.”
His grin was decidedly wicked. “That wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
No, it wouldn’t. But I needed to put some distance between us. If we made love again, I feared I’d blurt out my feelings for him. They were too close to the surface, wanting to escape, and I didn’t think I’d be able to handle his pity.
“I think we’ve kept your mother waiting long enough.”
He frowned. “She’ll be less than pleased that I eloped. But I’m sure she’ll forgive me. I’ve made her wildest dreams a reality, after all.”
And mine. But I could never say that out loud.
CHAPTER 24
DIANA
Being trapped in a carriage for hours on end with my new husband proved to be no hardship. With frequent stops for meals and nights spent in a bed instead of sleeping upright in a post chaise, Clifton was clearly going out of his way to make this second trip more pleasant.
But all too soon we were on the final leg of our journey. Clifton had his carriage back. It was waiting for us at the final inn before we made the last leg of our trip to Hampshire, along with a note from his mother stating that she was most unhappy to have heard of the elopement after the fact.
I was snuggled against Clifton’s side. I didn’t know how long this stage of our marriage was going to last, but I would take advantage of every moment while I was still uppermost in my husband’s thoughts. Soon enough, he’d have other distractions, more pressing demands on his time. I would have to share him then.
