Page 3 of Betrayal from Beyond
The Duchess ofSedwick stretched luxuriously, but didn’t open her eyes. She was content to melt into the warmth of her husband’s embrace and the comfort of her own bed, to listen to the first stirrings of the birds beyond her window and the sounds of the household coming awake past her door.
Home at last. Kara loved their new estate in Scotland. She had relished every minute of their travels as she and Niall had enjoyed a delayed bridal trip through his favorite parts of Europe—but Bluefield Park washome. Her heart had swelled yesterday as they returned to the estate where she’d grown up, and it had filled near to bursting at the welcome of their cobbled-together family.
Moving carefully, she turned to gaze upon her husband’s sleeping face. He blinked awake and gave her a sleepy grin—and she knew that happy as she was to be at Bluefield, her true home would always be with him, wherever that might be.
Niall pulled her close and kissed her softly before he began to roll away. She reached out to stop him. “No,” she protested softly. “I’m not finished.”
Grinning, he pulled her close. “Finished with what?”
She framed his face with her hands. “Telling myself how lucky I am.”
She felt the truth of it, deep down. Niall’s life had been hard, and his heart had been battered, but he’d been strong and resilient enough to allow her to breach the walls he’d erected to protect himself. He’d also been solid and confident enough to not only accept, but to encourage her unique interests and unconventional ways.
Nearly two years had passed since they had first met, and gracious, how they both had changed. She’d been avoiding Society and refusing to conform to the commonly held ideal of feminine fragility. She had buried all of her loneliness and sorrow in keeping her father’s businesses running smoothly, and unleashed her creativity into building her automatons.
Niall had been closed and cut off from nearly everyone except for his assistant Gyda and his mentor, the Viscount Lord Stayme. He’d kept his secrets and devoted his energy into furthering his career as a forge artist.
Then had come the Great Exhibition, where they had met as exhibitors and joined together to solve a murder and started down a twisted and sometimes dangerous path that had led them here—married, newly minted as duke and duchess, with secrets revealed and a chance at a quieter, more settled existence.
It was what they both wanted, and she suspected all of their friends and family held the same desire.
“We’ll be lucky if Harold doesn’t barge in here at any second,” Niall said with a grin.
“He seems perfectly well, doesn’t he?” Even all of these months later, she still felt a jolt of anxiety when she thought how close they’d come to losing her ward. They had delayed their travels until Harold was pronounced completely recovered,but it had still taken Niall some serious efforts of persuasion to convince her to leave him for weeks on end.
“He is indeed perfectly well, and he put the time we were gone to good use. Turner says his studies have progressed well and it’s clear he’s spent time with Gyda in the forge. The boy has completely mastered the scrolling jig.”
Kara nodded. She had kept her composure last evening when they arrived and tried not to hang on to Harold for too long, but even now she teared up, remembering the joy and relief that had washed over her once she had him in her arms again.
“You did very well, my darling,” Niall whispered. “And I promise not to tell how much you worried while we were gone. But I also promised to take the boy along to my consultation with Mr. Blundel. If I don’t get moving, Harold will be in here looking for me. He knows we need to get the early train.”
“Oh, very well.” Kara kissed him and let him go. She watched his muscled form as he rolled out of bed. “Harold will likely pester the man with a hundred questions about his famed wetlands.”
“That’s one reason I’m happy to take him along. The more Blundel talks about his passion, the more inspiration I’ll have for his piece.”
“I never knew a naturalist who needed encouragement to talk about his area of research,” she said dryly.
Chuckling, Niall pulled on a robe.
“Has Mr. Blundel decided on a set of gates?” she asked.
“Gates and two matching screens to cover the large windows in his laboratory,” he answered with satisfaction. After coming back for one last kiss, he went through to his own room. Kara heard the murmured greeting given by Crewe, his new valet, but she turned over and snuggled into the comfort of the bed once more. She was just beginning to doze again when the door to the passageway burst open.
“Rise and shine, slug-a-bed!” Gyda Winther breezed in. “Your lazy days of travel and leisure are over. It’s back to work and daily routines now, my friend.” Grinning, she shut the door leading to Niall’s room, then ran to jump into the bed.
Kara laughed as her friend sprawled beside her. “Go easy,” she begged. “We haven’t even been home a full day.”
“And yet duty lurks outside that door, waiting to pounce,” Gyda told her. “Turner is hanging about. No doubt he has a list a mile long for you to go over.”
“I’m sure he does.” Kara sighed. “And you are right. I should get out of bed and get to it. The Mosemans are coming for luncheon, and Bernard will definitely have yet another list of business matters for me to see to.” She grinned at her friend. “But first, I shall give them their presents. I swear, that was my favorite part of our trip, choosing the right gifts to bring back.”
Gyda raised a brow. “Really, Kara? The gifts? Your favorite part? Of yourbridaltrip?”
Kara laughed. “Second favorite, I suppose.”
“Well, whatever you got them, they absolutely will not enjoy them more than the gift you brought me.” Gyda reached out to squeeze her hand. “I cannot tell you how much I love the traditional jewelry.”
“I know Harriet will adore the scent we brought her. We found the most wonderful perfumery outside Paris.” Kara squeezed Gyda’s hand in return. “But I am so relieved that you approve of the jewelry. I did hesitate, because I know they are meant to fasten to a traditional Nordic overmantel, but when I saw the carved tortoiseshell brooches connected by the amber and glass beads—and in that lovely dusky blue that you love—I just could not resist them. I knew they were meant for you.”
