Page 40

The stallion's breath condensed in the cool air, matching his own steady breathing. He ceased guiding the horse, allowing the animal to navigate unfamiliar lanes and cross quiet squares.

He had spent thirteen years in continuous travel, running from grief. The sole difference now was that he possessed a home to return to, a realization that sat heavy in his chest.

Boreas slowed to a walk near an old stone fountain, where water spilled into a marble basin with a soft, continuous splash. Julian dismounted, his riding boots striking the paving stones, and looped the reins around an iron post. Standing alone in the dark, he listened to the falling water, waiting for dawn to reach the city.

"I have disrupted your morning, it appears."

Julian stood in the doorway of the morning room, his riding coat buttoned and his hat held in his hand. Dark shadows smudged the skin beneath his eyes. Adelaide set down her teacup, offering a polite smile.

"You have disrupted nothing, Julian. I had nearly finished my breakfast."

"I must ride to the solicitor's office," he explained, remaining near the doorway without approaching the sideboard. "The legal trustees require additional documentation regarding the estate before my departure. I shall not return until late afternoon."

Adelaide observed his guarded posture as his thumb traced the brim of his hat in a continuous, restless circle.

"I understand completely," she replied smoothly. "A ducal estate demands considerable administrative oversight."

Her remark drew his gaze, the corner of his mouth twitching with brief humor.

"You are not disappointed by my absence?"

"I am relieved," she admitted, spreading marmalade across her toast with deliberate care. "I harbored little desire for a day spent receiving inquisitive callers wishing to speculate upon our sudden marriage. Now I may inspect my new home without interruption."

"Inspect it without interruption," Julian repeated the phrase thoughtfully. "You intend to be methodical."

"I intend to be thorough," she corrected softly, "in everything I do."

"So I have learned."

He lingered at the threshold for a brief moment, his attention resting upon her with quiet intensity before he turned and departed. The front door closed with a firm thud that echoed through the hall.

Adelaide finished her meal before summoning Mrs. Rutherford to request directions to the library. The housekeeper's eyebrows lifted slightly at the request, though she complied with her usual formal dignity.

The library proved far grander than Adelaide remembered from her initial afternoon of cataloging. Morning sunlight filtered through tall, arched windows, illuminating floor-to-ceiling shelves packed with leather volumes. The expedition journals remained in their chronological stacks, though she noted that her own botanical notebooks brought from Ashwood had been neatly arranged among them.

Selecting a stack of early field journals from their initial surveys, she carried them to the wide window seat. The leather bindings were cracked at the spines from heavy travel. Opening the earliest volume, she ran her fingers down columns of dates, coordinates, and botanical descriptions written in Julian's cramped hand, accompanied by Thomas's enthusiastic marginalia.

Hours passed as the morning light shifted across the carpet. She completed the first volume before reaching for a second.

"Adelaide."

She looked up to find Julian standing in the doorway, hatless, his dark hair windblown and his cheeks flushed from riding.

"You have returned earlier than anticipated."

"I returned for a specific document I overlooked," he explained, crossing the floor toward the window seat. His boots struck the floorboards in the uneven rhythm she had come to recognize. "One of the early field ledgers required by the solicitor."

Adelaide gathered the volumes spread around her. "Which year do you require?"

"Eighteen fourteen—the initial Himalayan survey."

Sorting through the stack, she retrieved the volume. "Here it is."

She offered the book, and as he reached to accept it, their fingers brushed against the leather cover. She felt the rough calluses of his hand through her glove, yet neither withdrew from the contact.

Suddenly, three loose sheets slipped from between the pages, fanning out across her lap. Adelaide caught the papers before they reached the floor.

She stilled, examining the drawings.