“What would you have done if I didn’t have an extra one?” he asked.
She gave him a quelling glance. “I suppose I would have had to eat dinner naked,” she replied, grinning when David’s expression faltered. “Oh, please don’t regret finding it,” she quickly added. “We would have had to eat dinner in bed.”
“I wouldn’t have minded,” David remarked.
Marian saw to removing the covers from their plates while David poured the wine. “I’ve never eaten a meal like this,” she said as she pulled one of the plates to her lap. “But I’ve always wanted to.”
He grinned as he set a glass on the table for her. “Sort of an indoor picnic,” he murmured, helping himself to the other plate. Instead of sitting in the upholstered chair opposite her, he lowered himself to the floor, his back against the chair. “To us,” he said, lifting his wine glass from the table.
“To us,” she replied, copying his move. She regarded the manner in which he lounged as he held his plate in one hand and his fork in the other. One leg was crossed over the other, his bare feet poking out from beneath the hem of his robe. “You’ve done this before,” she accused.
He grinned. “Not in this house, I haven’t,” he claimed. “But I admit to having eaten whilst sitting on the floor of my study in Engleston Park.”
She regarded him with a look of surprise. “Is the floor especially comfortable there?”
Chuckling, he said, “Not particularly. But it’s warm by the hearth, and if my dog is there to lay on my feet...” He shrugged.
“You have a dog? One you allow indoors?” she asked, her forkful of peas stopped in mid-air.
For a moment, David wondered if he had erred in mentioning the sheepdog. “I do. Mr. Scot is very well behaved and quite the master of keeping my feet warm whilst I sit at my desk,” he explained.
“Mr. Scot?” she repeated with a grin. “You named your dog Mr. Scot? Is there a Mrs. Scot?”
“There is not, and I wasn’t the one who named him. One of the servants did. When he showed up at the back door carrying a half-dead pheasant and acting like he owned the place. He just walked in, dropped the bird at her feet, and made himself comfortable under my desk.”
“He sounds delightful,” Marian remarked.
“I hope you like him. He’ll love you.”
Marian finished a bite of roast beef. “I’m sure I will,” she murmured.
“God, I hope you don’t regret this,” David blurted, setting aside his plate as his brows furrowed in worry.
Lowering her plate to the table and then joining him on the floor, Marian sat next to him and placed her head against his shoulder. “I know you don’t believe me now, but... I won’t,” she whispered. “I will admit... I wondered ifyouwill regret it?”
His eyes widened. “Never,” he said, running one of his hands over his head, his fingers spearing his hair so it was left with furrows.
Marian lifted a hand and smoothed his hair, watching as he closed his eyes and sighed.
“I’ve never met anyone like you.” He turned his head to regard her with a wan grin. “I’ve always been too shy. Too afraid of meeting new people,” he claimed. “I think we’re good together,” he added, although the sound of a question was apparent in his voice.
“Oh, we are,” she assured him. “I could not have asked for a better lover.”
“Ah, I think you could have,” he argued. “But I’m glad you didn’t.” He dipped his head, a look of sadness crossing his face. “Do you really intend to sleep in the mistress suite?”
Marian furrowed a brow. “Not if I’m welcome in here.”
David’s eyes widened. “Then why did you ask for the mistress suite to be prepared?”
She grinned but didn’t answer, allowing him to come to his own conclusion.
“You needn’t wait for an invitation from me,” he said. “I adore having you in bed with me. I don’t think I’ve slept so well in all my life. All warm and...warm,” he murmured. “And you make an excellent pillow.”
“I am happy to hear it,” she whispered. “I shall endeavor to be the best pillow I can be every night.” After a pause, she added, “As for the mistress suite?—”
“I understand you would want a place for your clothes. For your things,” he reasoned.
Marian leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I can already tell you are going to make the very best husband.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her onto his lap. Kissing her for several minutes, he finally pulled away to regard her with a look of uncertainty. “Is there a chance you might like to return to the bed?”
She tittered. “So we can continue our conversation there?”
David screwed up his face in a grimace. “I had something else in mind...” Before he could even finish his response, Marian was up and headed toward the bed, the banyan landing on the end of the mattress before she paused to slip under the covers.
“Are you coming?”
Chuckling, David said, “In more ways than one.” He was up and off the floor and onto the bed in only a few seconds as Marian giggled in delight.
