They settled into a companionable silence, and she found she was in no hurry to leave. However, she didn’t want to overstay her welcome and push him too quickly behind his walls. If he wanted her to stay, all he would have to do was ask.
"I had best be returning to my chambers," she smiled at him. "I will see you at breakfast tomorrow?"
She had said it as a question, not wanting to scare him off. She knew he was quick to erect walls between them each time they took a step closer to each other. Her heart beat in anticipation of his reply, her breath hitching in her chest.
"I am glad to see I have influenced such a positive change in you." He nodded.
"Do not take all the credit. Roberts had already advised me on the matter."
"Yet it took me threatening you for you to make the change," he said smugly.
"And I am thankful for it." She smiled. "I have more energy for my day-to-day tasks."
He smiled then, startling her and apparently himself as he struggled to hide it.
"Thank you, Victor," she added, turning to the door.
"Alice…" he called.
"Yes?"
She turned and was surprised to see how close he had come to her. His sandalwood and male scent filled her senses, and she couldn’t help but breathe deeply. Her body went through a change that startled her. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest, and her lips grew dry, so she had to swipe her tongue over them.
His eyes followed the movement, and she noticed his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. She briefly wondered if he was going to kiss her.
"Did you want to ask me something?" she asked.
She saw his eyes return to the present, and a mask quickly fall into place. She was almost sorry to have broken whatever mood had fallen over them.
"I wanted to wish you a good night’s rest," he told her, meeting her eyes.
"Thank you," she answered. "Do sleep well."
He nodded, and she left the room quickly, stopping after turning into the next hallway to catch her breath. She placed a hand on her chest and was surprised she hadn’t fainted from how fast her heart beat in her chest.
She hadn’t imagined that look on his face. He had looked at her like that in the orangery just before he kissed her. And even though he had rejected her then after the kiss, she realized she had wanted him to kiss her.
Her lips tingled, reminding her of the last time they had kissed and the sparks that burned between them with each movement of his lips. His arms had held her so tightly, yet she had trusted him not to hurt her.
She had always trusted him, she realized. Even on their wedding day, she had known deep down he was nothing like the rumors said and even though she had a general distrust of people, she wouldn’t have dreamed of doing what he had feared.
Lying in bed later that night, she couldn’t help but smile as she replayed their interactions in her head. No one would believe her if they didn’t see it for themselves.
He had looked handsome as they had teased one another, and not as severe as he usually did. She imagined how differently they could both live if only he would completely tear down the walls he had erected between them.
The aching loneliness she usually felt had disappeared, and she barely felt the melancholy that haunted her after her parents berated her.
She couldn’t deny it any longer. Not to herself. She had somehow fallen for her husband without knowing it, and she worried her lip, knowing that come morning, he could be an entirely different man than the one she had conversed with that night.
She could only pray he would finally stop fearing the hurt that would come with leaving his heart open.
