Page 70 of Scandalous: Family Ties and Spies

“Shorter?”

Puzzlement furrowed his brow as he made a half turn in her direction. Facing that startling blue gaze of his, a quiver of trepidation slid through her. Perhaps she should have thought this through a little bit more. But then she was a Rockwood, a family known for reckless behavior, no matter how well-intentioned.

“Yes, I found it difficult to hear you with you sitting so far away at the opposite end of the table every night, so I had Boswell instruct Jenkins to remove two of the sections from the middle of the table to make it smaller.” She bit back a smile as his puzzlement deepened. “It seemed silly to have so much space between us when we were discussing our day’s activities.”

“I see.” Something odd flitted across his chiseled features. It disappeared so quickly, Amalie could only hope it wasn’t irritation.

“Do you mind? I apologize if it’s thrown you off balance when it comes to how easily you move about in the house,” she apologized with sincerity.

When she’d ordered Boswell to have the table sections removed, it hadn’t occurred to her how such an action would affect Valeran’s movements. She was so accustomed to his confident manner moving about in public, she’d not realized his confidence at home was for a completely different reason.

Inside Sommerville House, his movements were so flawlessly smooth that she’d simply thought it an extension of the confidence he exuded everywhere else. She’d completely overlooked the primary reason for his self-assured manner as he moved around the house. He knew his home like the back of his hand. Every carpet edge, dip in flooring or distance between one spot and another was embedded in his memory because his home was the one thing that never changed in his world.

Even the stairs didn’t cause him to flinch. Not once had he silently counted the steps, as she’d seen him do when climbing the stairs at Callendar Abbey or anywhere else. How could she have missed something so simple and obvious? She was on the verge of scampering to her feet to help guide him to his chair, when she remembered his reaction on their wedding night when she’d offered to fill his plate.

“I truly am sorry, Valeran. You’ve always moved with such confidence and ease outside of the house, you make it easy to forget you’re blind.” She winced and rushed forward with her explanation. “It’s why it never occurred to me that Sommerville House made it even easier for you, simply because you know every inch of your house.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment to my effort to make others see me and not my blindness.”

“It was a compliment, because I was equally blind, except in a different way.”

“Then you are forgiven.”

Was that a hint of pleasure in his voice? Amalie fervently hoped so. The next breath she drew in was filled with trepidation. Before the meal was finished, his entire manner might be far less pleasant. Well, the devil was already at work, and there was no going back now. Hopefully, he would laugh.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “I believe there’s only about four feet between you and the end of the table.”

Valeran nodded at her statement, and proceeded to the opposite end of the table without missing a single step. As her husband sank down into his chair, Jenkins entered the dining room with their first course. The comfortable silence they’d shared before the night of the Darlington affair had returned, and Amalie’s trepidation doubled. Oh, this had not been a good idea.

“I’ve noticed you’ve not yet hired a lady’s maid.”

“Minnie is very helpful, so I’ve not really bothered since interviewing the candidates, Mrs. Clancy arranged for me to meet.” Amalie’s attempt to dismiss the need for a lady’s maid made her husband’s brow furrow.

“You need a lady’s maid, Amalie. I’m sure you and Minnie do well together, but why haven’t you interviewed any other applicants?”

“Because I doubt the next group will be any different from the first. Most of them look at me—well, I didn’t have a maid at Crianlarich, so I’m happy to simply ask Minnie for help when needed.”

Amalie rolled her shoulders in a small shrug. Despite her attempt at nonchalance, Valeran laid his spoon down to where it hit the china dish with a soft clink.

“How do they look at you?” The question startled her more for its ferocity than the information he requested.

“I don’t understand.” She shook her head, and her lie earned her a frown of irritation.

“Don’t be obtuse, Amalie,” he said firmly. “Is it because you’re more curvaceous than most women?”

His directness made her stomach twist painfully. At least the man hadn’t said plump. Amalie tightened her lips. Even though her reflection revealed a pretty face, Valeran couldn’t see what she looked like. All he could see was an outline of her body. When she saw the mirrored image of the shape Valeran could see, it brutally spared her nothing as to the true state of her plump figure.

Mirrors didn’t lie. Hers showed just how wide her hips were, how much larger her bosoms were compared to other women, and how the curve of her belly made it impossible to wear the newer fashions she’d seen in Madame DuBois’s shop.

“No,” she lied again, struggling to keep her misery from filtering through her voice. “Most of them are aware I married up, and sometimes it’s difficult…they make…you know how easily I fall into my thick, country mouse voice when I become angry.”

“Thick, country mouse voice?” Valeran’s disturbing gaze settled on her with a look that made her grow hot. “I think you underestimate the power of that lilt, Amalie.”

The quiet words held a promise of passion, and his voice whispered across her skin in an intangible, sensuous caress. A tremor of excitement spiral through her limbs, and her mouth went dry. It wasn’t the first time he’d said he found her voice pleasing, but tonight, his words hinted at something sinful and dangerous. Certain her voice would betray her sudden state of breathlessness, she remained silent.

“I seriously doubt the applicants you’ve interviewed know you’re a commoner, Amalie. If they’ve heard anything about you, its gossip about us.”

“Then that’s what it must be,” she said hastily. “I’m sure you’re right, it’s simply the gossip.”