Page 33 of Everything But the Earl
“I will have nothing left when I go. I will be a hollowed-out husk of a man. And I will regret none of it.”
He bent down and kissed her. Yes. This was perfect. This was what Grace wanted. A memory made in this room in her new cottage.
Owen slipped her gown off. She had yet to hire a lady’s maid and Owen had urged her not to dress to the nines, so she hadn’t bothered with stays today, not thinking they were needed under her loose muslin dress. Owen groaned as his fingers clutched the fabric of her shift.
“I don’t want to leave you here,” Owen said.
“It’s truly all right.”
He nuzzled the space where her neck met her shoulder. “I could bring you back with me.”
“I want to stay here. I already told you it’s what I want.”
“I feel guilty leaving you alone.”
“Owen.”
He lifted his head and looked at her.
“I am allowed to have visitors, no?”
He nodded. “Of course. So long as they are not bachelors.” He looked at her sternly.
She laughed. “Never. I thought to invite my friend Penelope.”
“Penelope… Thistledown?”
“Yes. She is my dearest friend. I mean to write to her the next time I am near paper and a pen and invite her to stay at her convenience. She and Morfudd and your various employees can keep me company in your absence.”
“So practical.” Owen held Grace close to his chest. “I admit, I did not expect to like you as much as I do. I feel drunk whenever I am around you. You are so beautiful and clever and I cannot believe you are my wife.”
“It’s true.”
He smiled and kissed her. “Perhaps you have bewitched me.”
“I know of no witchcraft.”
“I suppose not.”
“Owen?”
“Mmm.”
“The time for speaking is over. Let us…how did you say it? Let us christen this house.”
“Indeed.”
*
In bed thatnight, Owen held Grace as she slept against his chest and wondered again if all of this was a terrible mistake.
He did like Grace. He’d never been with a woman like her, always curious and excited in bed. His past lovers had always seemed to have ulterior motives or made him feel like he was one in a long line, butGrace always put her entire focus on him. She was inexperienced but had good instincts, and Owen thought that if he could spend the rest of his life in her arms, inside her, he’d die happy.
But he had to leave soon. He’d gotten a letter that morning that Parliament was being called back into session in ten days.
He wanted to bring her back to London with him, but every time he brought it up, she insisted she wanted to stay back. That had always been the arrangement, after all.
She stirred now. Owen stroked her back, marveling in how soft and smooth her skin felt under his fingers. She propped herself up on his chest and looked down at him. “You are stubbornly awake.”
