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What the devil?

Why hadn’t anybody lit his hearth before his arrival? To top it off, his windows were open. He stalked toward one of his windows and tried to lock them, but the frame was too stiff. Vane shivered from either cold or irritation, possibly both, and pulled the servants’ bell.

His valet showed up a moment later with a candle in his hands.

“What happened here, David? Why is my hearth dying, and the windows open?”

David, Rhys’s valet, brought his candle closer to the walls. “Didn’t you know? Your walls were being painted. And since it smells awful, the windows should be open for a few days after.”

“And when did they finish painting my room?” Vane growled.

David swallowed. “They didn’t. It should take a few more days.”

A few more days and then a few more to air it out? Vane gritted his teeth. “And where am I to sleep while this atrocity is going on?”

“I am sorry, my lord, I thought you agreed to have your room decorated.”

Rhys heaved a sigh. “I did, but I would still like to have somewhere I can sleep.”

“Her ladyship ordered another room to be prepared for you, but we did not expect you this soon. The maids didn’t have enough time to do so. Do you want to turn them away?” His lips twitched, and there was a strange glint in the servants’ eye. He knew full well that Vane was not about to turn anyone away for the slight mistake.

“No, but I would like for you to find me another chamber to sleep in. Preferably one not as cold as this one.”

David pursed his lips. His behavior was getting stranger and stranger by the moment. What was he up to? “Well, all the other rooms on this floor are either being painted or are not suitable for anyone to spend the night in.”

He paused as if thinking through the problem, although his expression was too theatrical to be real. Vane did not care one way or another. He was frozen to the bone and just wanted the dratted valet to get to the point. Then his face brightened, and Vane expelled a breath. Finally.

“Yes, what is it?”

“It is not the most convenient solution but the only workable one.”

Rhys rubbed his palms together to warm them up. “Yes?”

“Her ladyship’s room—the one adjoining yours—has been prepared, but I believe the mistress didn’t move in yet.”

Vane narrowed his eyes on the cunning valet, who incidentally refused to meet Rhys’s eye. Rhys would have called David on his manipulative behavior if his teeth were not chattering so loudly.

“Blast it all to hell!” Rhys muttered. “Whatever you are planning, you win. It doesn’t seem like I have any choice.”

So he went to the adjoining room door and walked inside.

Chapter 18

Dear Isabel,

I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirit. I know from your daily letters, which have taken a load off my shoulders, that while life at the new estate is rather pleasing, you have not yet bedded your husband.

I know that you are stubborn, and you are not interested in having the brute in your bed until he apologizes for the “evidence” remark. However, if that does happen and you decide you want him in your bed, which I know you want because you want to have a child, this gift might soften his mood.

With warmest regards,

Evie.

The note had come earlier in the day, accompanied by a beautifully wrapped package.

After tucking Millie into her bed, Isabel went to her husband’s study and looked through the letters from the potential governesses. She answered them all, thinking that a few looked promising. After that, she collected her personal letters and went up to her room.

She had moved into the chamber adjoining her husband’s room only two days ago, but already she felt at home there. She loved the soft colors of her walls and the sturdy but comfortable furniture. Her bedspread was new and fresh too.