Page 48 of Irish Rose
Crossing over, he caught her hand in his. “Rosa takes care of the bed-making, as well.”
“There’s certainly no need for her to make mine—ours.”
“That’s her job.”
He kissed her brow, then changed his mind and drew her close against him. “Good morning,” he murmured against her lips.
Hers curved just slightly. “Good morning.”
“I’ll be back in a few hours. Why don’t you take a swim?”
When the door closed behind him, Erin crossed her arms. Take a swim? On her first day as a wife, she wasn’t supposed to cook breakfast or make a bed but to take a swim? Walking over to the mirror, she stared at herself. She didn’t look so very different. But feelings didn’t always show. Wasn’t it odd that she’d refused to be Burke’s mistress, but now she was feeling more like that than a wife?
Married him for his money.
Erin pushed away from the mirror. The hell with that. It was past seven and she had work to do.
Rosa wasn’t any more cooperative than Burke. There was no reason for theseñorato do that. There was no reason for theseñorato do this. Perhaps theseñorawould like to take a book into the solarium. In other words, Erin thought, you’re of no use here. That was going to change, she decided.
She threw herself into her paperwork. When Burke didn’t return for lunch, Erin took matters into her own hands. Filling a pail with hot water and detergent, she took it and a mop to the atrium. Glasses and plates had already been cleared away, but Rosa hadn’t yet gotten to the tiles. Erin felt a stab of satisfaction at having beaten her to it.
This is my house, she told herself as she sloshed out soapy water. My floor, and I’ll damn well wash it if I like.
Burke strode through the streaming rain, thinking that the horse he had entered at Charles Town that night would have an edge on the muddy track. His second thought was that Erin might get a kick out of taking the trip to West Virginia to see the run. It would give him a chance to show her off a bit.
God, she’d looked beautiful that morning, all heavy-eyed and dewy-skinned. He was far from certain he’d done the right thing for her by rushing her into marriage, but he was more certain than ever that he’d done the right thing for himself. He couldn’t remember ever being at peace before or ever feeling as though each day had a solid purpose to it.
He could give her the things in life she’d always wanted. The money didn’t matter to him, so he didn’t give a hang how she spent it. In turn she was giving him a solid base, something he hadn’t known he’d wanted.
Inside, he shook the rain out of his hair and went to look for her. When he entered the atrium, he stopped. She was on her hands and knees, scrubbing. Even as she heard his steps and glanced up, he was dragging her to her feet.
“What in hell are you doing?”
“Why, I’m washing the floor. It took a beating yesterday. You’d be amazed what people can drop and what they don’t bother to pick up again. Burke, you’re hurting my arm.”
“I don’t ever want to see you down on your knees again. Understand?”
“No.” Studying him, she rubbed her arm. She knew real anger when she looked it in the face. “No, I don’t.”
“My wife doesn’t scrub floors.”
“Now wait a minute.” As he turned on his heel, she caught him. “She’ll scrub them if she pleases, and she won’t be calledmy wifeas though she were something shiny to be kept in a box. What’s the matter with you?”
“I didn’t marry you so you could scrub floors.”
“No, nor that I could cook your breakfast or make the bed, that’s plain. Just why did you marry me, then?”
“I thought I’d made that clear.”
“Aye.” She dropped her hand from his arm. “I suppose you did. So I’m to be your mistress after all, it’s just a matter of being a legal one.”
He made an effort, an enormous one, to block off the anger. It didn’t work. “Don’t be a fool. And leave that damn bucket where it is.”
“You’ll remember the word in the ceremony was changed fromobeytocherish.” Scowling at him, she gave the bucket a kick and sent soapy water pouring over the tiles. “But I’ll be happy to leave it just where it is.”
“Where the hell are you going?”
“I don’t know,” she said over her shoulder. “Surely I can walk through the house even though I’m hot allowed to touch anything in it.”
