Page 56 of Secrets of the Marriage Bed
Instead of going out of the front door, he led her out of a side door no doubt used by servants. A path circumnavigated the stables and various outbuildings and arrived at a small thatch-roofed cottage she had not noticed before.
At first, when he knocked on the door, she thought no one was home, then she heard the sharp rap of quick footsteps and the door swung inwards.
A small bird-like lady, with a thin face and a pair of spectacles perched on a formidable nose, peered out at them. A smile changed her appearance from stern to welcoming. ‘Crawfy! Come in, come in. Do not stand there getting wet. And you, too, young lady. Oh, my goodness, I mean, Your Grace.’
Alistair, leaned in and kissed her thin cheek. ‘Here we are at last, Digger. Julia, thisgrande dameused to be my governess, Miss Digby.’
‘Crawfy?’ Julia whispered over her shoulder as Alistair ushered her in. ‘Digger?’
He took her cloak, whispering back as he did so, ‘Childhood pet names.’ He hung their outer raiment on hooks beside the door. He waved her into the room where their hostess had disappeared only moments before. It turned out to be the kitchen. On every available surface teetered a pile of books.
‘Sit down. Make yourselves comfortable.’
Miss Digby bustled about taking a teapot to the water already boiling on the small range on the other side of the room. She peered at Julia over her spectacles. ‘I hope you are not expecting that horrid Oolong stuff Crawfy is so fond of. I cannot bear it.’
‘Nor me,’ Julia said with heartfelt relief.
Alistair made a face. ‘I came for the biscuits.’
‘Foolish boy. They make them in your kitchen and bring them over here.’
The tea was soon made and shortbread fingers set out on a blue-patterned plate. They ensconced themselves around the kitchen table with full cups deliciously laced with cream.
Julia closed her eyes with pleasure at the lovely taste and the sense of being welcome.
‘So, Crawfy, what brings you to my door?’ She smiled at Julia. ‘These days he only comes to see me when he has something on his mind.’
‘We came for the tea,’ he said.
Her lips folded in as she tried to repress a smile. ‘What troubles you, Your Grace?’
‘Uh-oh. If dear old Digger is getting formal I know we are for it.’
‘Dear old Digger’ gave him a stern look. ‘Confess.’
It seemed that the elderly lady still held the power of a governess to keep her unruly charge in line. Julia repressed a smile of her own. She could not have been more grateful to Alistair for bringing her here. The woman made him seem much more human. More approachable than the Duke who had been sitting in her drawing room only a few minutes ago. More approachable even than the man who had made love to her so delightfully.
His eyes sparkled with mischief. ‘My wife thinks someone is trying to poison her.’
Julia froze.
The woman’s eyes sharpened behind her spectacles. ‘Gracious me.’ She glanced at Julia. ‘Is this true?’
‘No, no,’ Julia said, realising too late that Alistair was joking. ‘They brought me Oolong, that is all. It doesn’t agree with me.’
Especially when laced with laudanum, but she was not going to mention that. Not after Alistair had spoken of poison. ‘They must have confused our trays.’ She wished it was that simple. She really did.
‘Are you sure it is not the antics of this young scamp upsetting your digestion?’
Julia almost choked on her sip of tea.
‘Now, Digger,’ Alistair said. ‘Do not be giving away my secrets. I need my wife’s respect.’
Miss Digby chuckled. ‘Respect is to be earned, young man.’
‘How many times have I heard that quote?’ His gaze was fond. Almost tender.
Julia felt as if she was looking in on something precious. As if Alistair had allowed her to see part of him he never exposed to the world. Something wrenched at her heart. She didn’t want this. Didn’t want to be lured in when she knew that most of the time he barely remembered she existed. If she relaxed her guard, when next he turned all cold and distant, it would hurt too much. She was tired of the pain of rejection.
