“Love,” he whispered, kissing the shell of her ear.
She smiled against his neck.“Why did no one tell me this was part of marriage?I would have said yes sooner.”
He chuckled, knowing full well she’d had several very compelling reasons for not marrying sooner.“I think our timing was near perfect.”
She shook her head.“Can I tell you the truth?”
He heard a catch in her voice and he lifted his head to look down into her eyes.“Of course.”
She caught her bottom lip between teeth.“I wish I’d eloped with you to Gretna Green.If I had, my mother wouldn’t have been hurt.”
He brushed back the stunning tresses of her hair, something Ralph had said, returning to him about not being omniscient.He understood what Priscilla meant, it was so easy to look back and be angry for not making better choices but it wasn’t her fault.“You couldn’t have known.”
She shook her head.“I knew that Eugene was becoming angrier, but I just never thought he’d hurt one of us.Not like that.”
“What was he like as a child?”he asked, sure that he’d been one of those spoiled children who always got what they wished.
She shook her head.“I don’t know.I didn’t even know he existed until the solicitor brought him to our home.”
It wasn’t unheard of as branches of family became distant or broke away.But it wasn’t entirely common either.Most families of the peerage kept close track.“So you had no idea who he was?How is he related to your father?”
She shook her head.“He’s from a second marriage that begat a son from my grandfather’s brother’s children.”
He blinked several times, thinking back to Clara and her use of distance relations by marriage to explain his introduction.
But surely Eugene was who he claimed?
Still, it bore investigation.
Tomorrow.
Or perhaps the next day.
Because right now, he had the woman of his heart in his arms and nothing was more important than that.
Not ever.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
Three days later,Priscilla sat in her parlor as she worked on her books, satisfaction making her pen strokes light and quick.
Everything seemed to have come together.
After a few days of exclusive time with Wyatt, he’d left to take care of a few hours of business, promising to return quickly.
And while she missed him, she’d had her own tasks.She sat reviewing accounts and yields of her land.Overall, only minor adjustments needed be made to her holdings.She was so immersed, the two hours passed in a blink.
Her husband would be home soon and when Wyatt came back, making love would be even sweeter for the brief absence.
That thought made her smile and drop a blotch of ink on her page that marred her writing.She wiped the smidge away, rewriting the lines as she hummed, undeterred.
Nothing could spoil her mood today.
She’d married her hero.That only made her grin wider.London’s hero.
And better still, he’d allowed her to be herself.Supported her in her endeavors.What more could a woman ask for?
She kept working, her happy hum continuing as she worked.
