And yet, as he watched the poor wretch try to salvage the few eggs that somehow remained intact, there was no doubt she’d prefer her situation to Lady Eleanor’s at the moment.
He watched the girl until she’d gathered whatever she could and continued along the street, vanishing from his view before he turned from the window. His gaze went to his bedside table and he crossed to it,retrieved a small key from his jacket pocket, then dropped into a crouch.
With adroitness, he set the key in the lock of the door beneath the drawer and turned it. The door opened and he reached inside, retrieving a jar that he held up against the bright morning light.
A pair of eyes contained in a clear solution stared back at him while his lips twitched with amusement. The last time they’d talked, Lady Eleanor had insisted she’d no desire to see him again.
It was a wish he’d been more than happy to fulfill.
2
Something wasn’t quite right.
Seated in her usual spot at the dining room table, Samantha Croft sent her husband a careful glance. He was reading the morning paper as was his daily habit. A serious expression firmed his features until he caught her gaze and gave her a smile.
According to appearances, all was as it should be within their marriage, yet a niggling feeling deep in her stomach warned that something had changed between them. The problem was she couldn’t say what, exactly.
Nothing was amiss as such. Adrian treated her well. He showered her with attention, spoke to her as though she were his equal, and gave her free rein to purchase whatever she might desire – encouraged her to do so.
They’d visited his ancestral home, Deerhaven Park, where they’d ridden together and gone for walks. He’d even gotten into the lovely habit of kissing her whenshe retired at night and again in the morning when she woke.
However…
A month and a half had passed since they’d spoken their vows yet they’d still not consummated their marriage.
She reached for her tea and sipped the hot liquid while Adrian returned to his paper. To be fair, she had been wounded when they’d wed, shot through the shoulder the previous day. It had taken over a week for the wound to heal. Longer for the ache to abate, upon which she’d gotten her courses.
No sooner had they ended, than Adrian had caught some sort of cold that left him feeling unwell for two weeks. After which there had been a slew of work for him to catch up on, resulting in late nights that led to his sleeping much of the day.
So although they’d shared the same bed, they’d not retired or woken at the same time. Which made it incredibly hard to consummate anything.
The fact that he was presently breakfasting with her was therefore immensely uplifting. It surely meant that he was returning to his regular schedule. Which would hopefully allow them to start their lives together properly as husband and wife.
She bit her lip and frowned at her toast. While he did kiss her, he didn’t do so as often as she’d have expected him to now that she was his wife.
It was as though his ardor had cooled.
Or maybe her expectations were simply hard to slotin between everyday tasks and obligations.
She set her tea aside and took a bite of toast, mulling this over while she chewed, barely noting the flavor of creamy butter and raspberry jam.
No, this didn’t make sense. He’d shown passion and impatience before the wedding. She’d expected him to act on those right away.
And yet, he refrained.
If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he’d discovered the truth about her.
But that didn’t make sense either. Had he done so, she doubted they’d be sitting down to breakfast together, never mind sharing the same bed.
It had to be something else, though she couldn’t figure out what.
Unless of course she was reading more into the situation than what was actually there. Perhaps, if she were to raise the issue instead of waiting for him to act, progress would be swifter.
She swallowed, acknowledging the rapid beat of her pulse brought on by discomfort. Though she might be well-trained in combat and knew what it meant to skewer a man, speaking of copulation made her break out in a cold sweat.
Still, there was no such thing as backing away from a challenge. Only cowards did so and she was anything but. So she straightened her spine and turned to her husband. “I’d like for us to retire at the same time tonight.”
There was a sharp pause, almost imperceptiblethough it stood out in the slight flinch of his hand and the rustling sound the paper made in response. A less perceptive person would have missed it, but Samantha took note.
