Page 104 of The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter
“I thought it was necessary. Mrs. Bligh cannot manage him all on her own.”
“That is very thoughtful of you. It eases my mind tremendously. I’ll visit him daily. He insists it is more than enough.”
“How do you feel about making this our permanent arrangement?” he asked, his expression remaining one of concern.
“In truth, I still feel unsteady about it. But I know it is the right thing to do. I cannot stop whatever is going to happen to him even if I watch over him like a hawk. And you deserve better, too. Ardley Hall is close by and I can be summoned at a moment’s notice if the need arises.”
He spun her around in time to the music. “I thought you would require more convincing.”
“It is hard on me, but my father made me understand the right of it.” She shook her head. “This…seeing us together…means more to him than anything else I could ever do for him. He and I have always been close. We share our thoughts and he listens patiently to all my dreams. There is nothing left unsaid between us. Nothing left unresolved. No angry words we wish to take back. I do not think my father and I have ever had angry words between us.”
He said nothing, but she noticed shadows suddenly clouding his eyes.
Did he have regrets about words left unsaid between him and Jillian?
Perhaps this was something for them to talk about in the future. Not tonight or even a week from now.
Someday he would open up to her.
Tonight, they belonged to each other and no one else.
Nightfall descended late in the summer, and no one was in a hurry to leave while the food and drink were flowing. Her father had been taken home in the earl’s carriage much earlier in the afternoon along with Mrs. Bligh and her niece, but it was nearing midnight by the time the last celebrants departed and the family retired to their rooms.
Finally, she and Alex were alone in his bedchamber.
She had never seen a room so large. It was the size of the entire upstairs at the vicarage. In addition to the enormous canopied bed and exquisitely carved wardrobe, the room also contained a seating area by the hearth and a mahogany wood desk beneath one of the rows of windows. A magnificent carpet of oriental design covered the floor, and drapes in a dark emerald velvet hung on the walls and the bed canopy.
This was just his bedchamber.
Attached to it was a dressing room and another door led to the bedchamber used by the viscountess.Hers.Did he intend for them to sleep apart? She peered into the room and then back at him in question.
“Jillian slept there,” he said quietly, and she sensed the agony in his words. “We did not share quarters after Molly was born. I…but it no longer matters. You are my wife now.”
“Is it expected for me to sleep in there?” The room was decorated in feminine florals and quite pretty, but she knew her parents, during their brief marriage, had always slept together. She assumed this is how it would be for her, as well. However, rules were different for the upper class. What was she supposed to do?
“Only if you wish it.”
She glanced at his bed. “Am I permitted to stay with you?”
“Yes.” He cast her a wry smile. “It is preferred.”
She nodded. “Then if it is all right with you, I would like to stay with you.”
There had been a palpable tension in the air a moment ago.
It now disappeared.
Alex cupped her face in his hands and gave her a gentle kiss. “It is more than all right, love. Excellent choice.”
She watched him as he began to disrobe by softest candlelight, his gaze fixed on her and a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He removed his jacket, waistcoat, and cravat with a casual ease, then started undoing the buttons of his shirt.
One at a time.
Teasingly slow.
Her heart began to pound louder with each button undone, each time revealing a bit more of his chest and the light spray of gold hair across it. His skin looked golden by the candle’s light, and there was no hiding the firmness of his glorious torso. She gripped the small side table beside her when he removed his shirt to reveal all that rugged muscle.
Dear heaven.
