“I have changed my mind about the archway,” she mumbled.
“But you were so determined.”
She nodded. “I have lost my taste for it.”
“Have you lost your taste for these games you have been playing?” he countered. “I enjoy a jape as much as anyone, but when I am at my work, I have no choice but to be serious. Perhaps, we could apportion a time for japes? Would that suit you? From noon until one o’clock on Tuesdays, we could put buckets in doorways. At four o’clock on a Thursday, we can leap out at one another. Saturdays, we can?—”
“No one wants my company,” she interrupted, her brow creasing as she stared down into her lap. “I have nothing to occupy myself because no one wants to come here, and I have been prohibited from seeing those that Iwouldvisit. Some of my friends have not even replied to my letters. And though I adore Mrs. Whitlock, it is not her responsibility to be my sole companion.” Her voice faltered. “When you said I could do as I pleased, I imagined great plans and adventures, but they are not plans one can do alone.”
In one fleeting display of the truth, Max understood. Caroline’s annoying behavior was not childish, it was desperate. The actions of someone who could not bear to face another moment of solitude in a strange house, abandoned into the care of a man she did not know by those closest to her.
She is lonely.Max savored his solitude because he had not had much of it in his younger years, but he could see how someone who relished company and had probably never been alone for any considerable length of time might struggle.
“Let us have our meals together—breakfast, luncheon, dinner,” he blurted out. “Let us apportionthosetimes to have discussions, avoid arguments, make plans, and get to know one another better. No japes.Fewjapes, anyway.”
Caroline’s face brightened, her beautiful eyes shining and a smile almost gracing her lips. She seemed to realize that her response might be too enthusiastic, and quickly dropped her gaze, shifting her shoulders in a small shrug.
“That would not becompletelyterrible,” she mumbled.
But Max had not been oblivious to that unmistakable look of excitement and found it so endearing that even if she was silent for the rest of the afternoon, he had a feeling he still would not be able to concentrate.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Caroline stood in front of the looking glass in her bedchamber as the dinner gong sounded for a second time. She was ten minutes late, which went against all of the manners she had been raised with, but she did not want to be the first one seated at the dinner table. Rather, she did not want to seem too eager.
If it clangs a third time when I am already downstairs, it will be a lovely evening.
She smoothed down the periwinkle blue skirts and adjusted the choker of pearls and sapphires fastened around her neck. Not too formal, not too informal. Just right for what amounted to her wedding breakfast, considering they had not yet shared a meal as husband and wife.
“It is just dinner,” she told her reflection, flushing with embarrassed heat as a young woman stepped into the room.
“Did you say something, Your Grace?” the woman, Lila Boskins, asked.
She had been promoted to the position of Caroline’s lady’s maid, but it was obvious she had never been anyone’s lady’s maid before. Caroline did not judge, teaching her patiently. After all, they were both learning how to be things they had never been before, and Caroline had to admit that she liked having a younger woman around.
“I was just deciding if I like this jewelry or I might prefer something simpler,” Caroline fibbed.
Lila gasped. “Oh, but you must wear that, Your Grace! It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and the jewels are the same color as His Grace’s eyes.”
“Pardon?” Caroline froze, eyeing the lady’s maid through the mirror. Her tone had been harsher than she had intended.
The young woman blushed furiously. “Did I speak out of turn, Your Grace?”
“No, I just… I cannot say I have noticed the exact color of my husband’s eyes,” Caroline replied, softening her voice. “It surprised me that you have.”
Is that why he had no desire to seek a duchess?
Perhaps, he had not needed a wife because he had all the female attention he could want in his own manor.
She squashed the thought as quickly as it had appeared, for Max spent every available hour locked away in his study. It was not for show because she was there; Mrs. Whitlock had attested to it. Indeed, he was the very last man who would seek comfort from the women of his staff when he barely remembered to eat.
“I meant nothing by it, Your Grace,” Lila hurried to say. “I pay attention to that sort of thing is all. I think that’s why Mrs. Whitlock gave me this position as your lady’s maid because I notice details.”
Caroline smiled. “You are not in trouble, Lila. You do not have to explain yourself.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” The woman bowed her head, clearly still worried she had upset her new mistress.
“I agree about the jewelry,” Caroline said, offering an olive branch. “It is the perfect accompaniment.”
