Page 23 of The Duke's Unclaimed Bride
“I can take you both on a tour of the grounds, if you would like?” the housekeeper offered.
“I think that is an excellent idea.” Edith nodded.
She gave the housekeeper a grateful smile, and she nodded in response.
Later that night, Edith stood at the door that connected her chambers to Laurence’s. She had been waiting for him to return. Eventually, she heard the tapping of his boots on the wooden floor and the click of his bedroom door as it closed.
She took a deep breath to steel her nerves, then knocked three times.
Laurence hesitated. He hadn’t expected Edith to knock on the door. He silently wondered if he should have had it covered with a curtain so she wouldn’t consider using it.
She knocked again. It was quickly becoming obvious that she would not allow him to sleep without first discussing what was on her mind.
He reached for the doorknob, then paused. Surely, she wasn’t considering consummating their marriage tonight, was she? He had made it abundantly clear that theirs was a marriage of convenience. But itwastheir wedding night.
Another knock. He gritted his teeth and opened the door.
“What do you—” he froze.
She was in her nightgown, the fine fabric clinging to her figure. Her honey-blonde hair hung loose around her shoulders. He swallowed and looked into her hazel eyes.
Heavens, she is beautiful.
He’d noticed before, of course. He wasn’t blind at the ball or their wedding. But here, in the dim candlelight, with her hair loose and her guard down, she was breathtaking.
And yet he refused to touch her. Theirs was a marriage of convenience, nothing more.
That didn’t stop his body from reacting. He noticed the way her nightgown clung to her curves, and how her soft, pink lips were slightly parted.
He gripped the door frame harder.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“You were not at dinner,” she said flatly. She was as straight to the point as ever.
“I had business to attend to,” he huffed.
“Business was more important than eating with your wife and child?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Our arrangement says nothing about dinners or even sharing meals,” he reminded her.
“Be that as it may, it is expected of a married couple,” she said firmly. “And Tilly was quite disappointed not to see you there.”
He took a deep breath, determined to keep his emotions under control.
“I have been more than clear; her upbringing is your responsibility,” he replied.
She frowned, her expression twisting into a mixture of disbelief and barely restrained anger. “Don’t you realize that a child will seek out their caregiver as they would their parent?”
Laurence’s spine tensed as he absorbed her words. “If you dislike our arrangement, then you shouldn’t have agreed to it,” he growled.
“I am perfectly fine with our marriage,” she snapped back. “I did not expect you to act cruelly toward your own child.”
“I am not being cruel.”
“You are denying her the chance at having a father.”
“She would not have a father in any other situation.”
