Page 79 of Suddenly a Bride
Her eyes widened. “Oh, no, milady. I am content here.”
“And Hugh Ludlow is here,” Gwyneth added.
Lucy’s face went fiery red. “Aye…he’s here too.”
“Then we’re both content.”
~oOo~
Two weeks passed, and they were the happiest of Gwyneth’s life. At night she lay in her husband’s arms, experiencing his gentleness and passion, falling more and more in love with him every day. She knew she should be grateful and fulfilled—but always there was a nagging sense of incompleteness, a feeling that he was holding something back. She was not fool enough to think that he had left his anger with the Langston family behind, not when he believed the earl was responsible for the rumors about Elizabeth’s death.
She made it a point to talk often to Edmund, to tell him of her life before their marriage, hoping that he would reveal something that would make her understand him better. He told her about his time in London with his friend Alex Thornton. She listened, fascinated, to the stories of the court parties he’d attended and how the ladies dressed. But every time he made a personal comment and she thought she was getting closer to him, he would give her his seductive, wicked smile, and she’d be mindless with passion again.
Her family accepted Edmund and their new life quite easily. They loved living in the country again, even though a colder autumn foreshadowed a bitter winter. Caroline and Athelina made friends in the village, while Lydia contented herself following Edmund about and getting in the soldiers’ way. Instead of being angry, Edmund only teased her, and Gwyneth knew he’d made a lasting friend in her youngest sister.
~oOo~
Gwyneth should have known her idyllic time couldn’t last. A flock of sheep was stolen, and when she heard about it, she followed Geoffrey and Edmund to her bedchamber after supper.
Without knocking, she pushed open the door and found the two men sitting at the small table, conversing.
Her husband frowned at her. “Gwyneth?”
She shut the door behind her and climbed up the short set of stairs to sit on the edge of the bed. While her feet dangled, the two men stared at her.
“I’d like to hear about the stolen sheep too,” she said. “Go ahead, Geoffrey.”
Smiling faintly, Geoffrey looked from her to Edmund and shook his head. “She deserves to hear this too. ’Tis her home now.”
She could tell Edmund wanted her to leave but was too polite to throw her out—at least not in front of Geoffrey. She wished he wouldn’t try to protect her.
Edmund sighed. “Go ahead, Geoff.”
“There’s not much more to say,” he said. “I heard from the shepherds an hour ago that a flock of sheep disappeared during the night.”
“Why did they not tell us this morning?”
He shrugged. “They thought the sheep might have just wandered off. So they searched the high pastures before coming to me.”
“Edmund,” Gwyneth said, “these occurrences are not accidents or something so easy to explain away. Theymustbe deliberate.”
Edmund glanced at her. “I will not deny that it seems evident that someone enjoys making mischief for Castle Wintering.”
“ ’Tis not just mischief,” Geoffrey said.
“But who could be doing it? And why?” Gwyneth asked.
Edmund got to his feet and began to pace, as if his outrage would no longer allow him to sit still. The anger and frustration rolled off him, and she could sense he wished his sword were the only answer he needed. Though she admired his commanding figure, she hoped he would find a solution other than violence, something he’d had to give up since his injury. He could be killed, she thought bleakly. She ached for him, wishing there was another way.
When no one answered her question, Gwyneth offered her own response. “Who is angry with you, Edmund?”
He smiled wryly. “Someone is not?”
“We’renot angry with you, are we, Geoffrey?” she asked, trying to lighten the somber mood.
Geoffrey shook his head playfully. “Not I. But perhaps being married to Edmund isn’t as easy as you make it appear.”
She sent her husband a secret smile. “Now, Geoffrey, you must understand that Sir Edmund is not an easy man to live with. I have suffered great personal sacrifice to remain his wife.”
