He was in love with his wife.
Yes.Yes, he was.And he did not need his coin to tell him so.
Matthew lifted his glass to his lips and took a long draw as another thought occurred to him.
He had not reached for his coin all night.Had he?He could not remember.Which was a kind of shocking discovery in and of itself.He must not have, because if he had, surely he would have noticed its absence.As he had done previously.
But once he was home, with his wife and his family, he must not have felt the need for it.
How very curious.
So.
What did he want to do now?
I want my wife.
Matthew threw back the rest of his drink and set it down on the drink tray.He wanted his wife; therefore, he should have his wife.
Grinning, he headed for the stairs.
Johanna
After seeing her mother to her room, she and Rose hugged and said goodnight as well.It had been quite a day, and Johanna could feel herself flagging.All she wanted to do right now was curl up with her husband.To feel him against her.The safety and security of him wrapped around her.
There was a sense of relief in having everything out in the open, even though the Duke of Grafton had taken it poorly.She had noticed that Ormonde and Bolton were more distant with her as well.Johanna did not blame any of them.Matthew had explained on the way home from Clarence House that he had not told them where his information came from, though they had guessed it must be her or one of her family members.
Which explained why Grafton’s anger had been focused on her.He wanted someone, anyone, to focus his emotions on.
Understanding made it only marginally easier to bear.
She clung to the knowledge that Tiffany had not changed in her behavior toward Johanna at all.Neither had any of the other ladies.They were her friends in the truest sense of the word.
Her husband, rather than Nettie, was waiting for her in her room, wearing a dressing gown.Somehow, he had beaten her up here and gotten undressed.Johanna’s lips curved into a smile when she saw him standing by her vanity, and she closed her bedroom door behind her, locking it.
“Are you my ladies’ maid this evening?”she asked teasingly, her skirts swishing as she walked toward him.
His eyes sparked with warmth and hungry interest.
“Yes, my lady,” he murmured, reaching for her.Johanna sank into his embrace, tilting her head back to receive his kiss.Pressing her hands against his chest, she let herself fall into the heady embrace.Heat flared within her as his hands moved over her.
Her husband.Her knight-in-shining armor.Her protector.
Despite the bonds between him and his friends, he’d kept his promise of protection today.Put himself between her and the Duke of Grafton’s anger.
When his lips raised from hers, tenderness in his eyes, Johanna stared up at him and gathered her own courage.
“I love you,” she whispered.His eyes widened in surprise, and she lifted her fingers to his lips before he could reply.“I do not expect you to return my feelings nor need you feel compelled to respond, but I… I had to tell you.It is not only because you rescued me, but because of your kindness.Your warmth.The way you make me laugh.The very essence of who you are.I do not care that your coin chose me; I only care that we are together.”
Grabbing hold of her wrist so she could not move her hand, Matthew kissed the tips of her fingers.His gaze bore into hers as he pulled them away from his mouth.
“I love you,” he said.
Johanna frowned at him even as her heart did a little skip inside her chest, wishing it was true.
“You need not say it just because I did.”
“I know.But it is the truth.Even my grandmother recognizes it.I love you.”
