Page 77 of Suddenly a Bride
He pulled her upright. “Not fair? How?”
“I feel…I feel all…restless inside.”
He released her, and she stumbled back as he stood up, rising so tall above her. “Ah, then we shall feel the same thing all day until we’re alone again. Of course, we could meet for a private dinner instead.”
When he raised his eyebrows playfully, she burst into laughter. “I cannot. What would I say to my family on their first full day here?”
“So you mean we should have done this much sooner, when no one would have cared if we had disappeared for an hour in the middle of the day?”
“I wanted to, if you’ll remember,” she said sternly.
“And you are not going to let me forget, are you, my lady?”
He caught her to him and kissed her hard, and she showed all her love for him with her tight embrace. But he only smiled down at her and let her go.
~oOo~
Edmund felt distracted as he watched the masons begin their daily work on the wall. He should have been joining them, but instead he found himself wandering into the lady’s garden, which Gwyneth had worked so hard on throughout the autumn. The sounds of men working seemed distant, muted, and instead he heard the call of chirping birds as they chased one another from tree limb to tree limb. Though most of the flowers were now gone, a few late-blooming daisies still shivered in the wind. He stared down at them and thought of his wife, who’d fought him for a real marriage as hard as these flowers fought the coming winter. And she’d won. She’d practically tamed him, made him choose her and an uncertain future.
He picked a daisy and stared at its stubborn petals. His body was pleasantly sated, his mind overcrowded with memories of her passion. He didn’t hear anyone approaching until the crunch of boots on dead leaves. He glanced over his shoulder to see Geoff leaning against the gate. His friend wore a smile, but his gaze was more probing.
“You’re picking flowers,” Geoff said.
“Without thinking, I assure you,” he replied, tossing the daisy onto a bench.
“Don’t throw it away. Your wife might want a remembrance. This is the first morning after she made a true husband out of you.”
Edmund frowned at him.
“Don’t bother to deny it. And I haven’t been spying on you either. I’ve seen Gwyneth’s smile, and now I’ve seen you picking flowers. You could have written it on a banner across the great hall, and it wouldn’t have been any clearer.”
“Geoff—”
“Worry not, your shouts of pleasure did not echo through the castle.”
Edmund rolled his eyes. “I am not worried. I am merely asking you to refrain from discussing what goes on between my wife and me. After all, it is none of your concern.”
“Ah, but it is my concern, because I brought it all about.”
“Only if your name is Earl Langston.”
“Who do you think made you jealous enough to feel protective of your wife?”
“Jealous?” Edmund asked, his eyebrows raised. “There is nothing to be jealous about, because she is my wife.”
Geoff sauntered forward. “‘My wife.’ I can hear the possessiveness even now. You can thank me any time.”
“I do not see why—”
“For a man well renowned for his ability to bluff an enemy, your face has been a study in openness. All I had to do was bring a cloak out to her when it was raining or take her on a private tour of the estate or dance with her on the village green. You weresteepedin jealousy, though to be fair, I don’t think you knew it.”
Though Edmund wanted to issue a sharp denial, Geoff’s words had the ring of truth. “I remember being annoyed with you, not jealous.”
“Ah, an admission of guilt.”
He reluctantly smiled. “I suggest you go about your business.”
“I’ll let you get back to the daisies. Give Gwyneth my best wishes for a happy marriage.”
