“Con amore,” Margaret read, looking up at her friends. “I think it must meanwith love.”
Margaret thumbed Anna’s brooch as Augusta prepared her for bed. The duchess’s chambers had been prepared for her, and she wistfully admired the room she would soon have to leave. In the morning, they would depart Langley House for Wiltshire.
With an additional charge, if Alexander decides to bring Isadore with us.
She placed the brooch on her chest over the creamy fabric of her night chemise, observing herself in the mirror. A smile tugged at her lips as she imagined Anna picking it out with her husband by her side. Anna and Philip, the Duke of Wells, had also married for convenience. But they had grown to love one another against all odds.
Who was to say Margaret and Alexander would not be happy as well? Souls which met one another perfectly, just like Lady Jane had said?
Someone rapped on her door, and both Margaret and Augusta flinched. The maid quickly finished brushing Margaret’s hair, then slipped behind the dressing screen to see who had come. Margaret tended an ear, listening to the door open and close.
“Who was it?” she asked, stepping out from behind the partition.
Augusta had disappeared.
In her place stood Alexander.
He had discarded his jacket. The sleeves of his shirt had been rolled up to reveal taut forearms. They were husband and wife now. He did not always have to be entirely presentable around her. And in that moment, she was far from appropriately dressed before him, too.
The sight of her in bedclothes seemed to alarm him. He blinked rapidly, then took a step back. What had he expected, entering her bed chambers after dark?
“I hoped to check on you,” he said, adjusting his cravat. “And I hoped you would forgive me for abandoning you after our meal.”
“There is nothing to forgive. My friends kept me good company until we collectively grew weary and went to bed,” Margaret said. She instinctively moved to put her arms around herself, concealing her body from him. “I assumed you had gone to brood.”
“Brood?” He laughed gently. “You assumed correctly.”
He lingered by the door, not moving toward her.
“Though in truth, I initially removed myself in hopes of locating Carlisle,” he continued. “He could not be found. It seems he has left Langley House altogether and gone somewhere else. Perhaps Somerstead Hall, ahead of us. We will see on the morrow.”
Margaret nodded, walking slowly toward the bed. She sat down and softly kicked off her house slippers, acutely aware of every movement she made.
“You are decided, then? It is Somerstead Hall for us all?”
He knew what she was asking. “I would have her come, if you do not object.”
“It was I who suggested it. If you are content with your decision, then I am content.”
“I can assure you that nothing about this situationcontentsme. I am impossibly angry that she chose today of all days to present herself at Langley House. This day should not have been about her, but about you.”
“Miss Bell claimed that she did not know the wedding was underway. And yet she fought quite desperately to be admitted into the manor once she learned what was happening within, almost as though she wanted to be known.”
“Yes,” Alexander agreed. Margaret tensed as he approached, pausing at the foot of the bed. “But I swear to you, Margaret, that I will ensure that the chaos of this day never repeats itself.”
“Not everything is within your control. More surprises could present themselves before us, and we will be powerless to stop them.”
“And yet, for tonight...”
He came to stand before her, and she could not meet his eye as he gazed down, hoping he didn’t notice how tightly her fists were wound in the bedsheets. Gently, he seized her chin, lifting her face so she would look at him. He held her there, roving herflushed face, before he curled his finger against her jaw, moving it down her neck...
Margaret swallowed hard.
Could he feel how fast her heart was beating?
His fingers found the collar of her chemise, moved it aside slowly, by accident or on purpose, Margaret had no idea, could not think clearly.
She missed his touch as soon as it left her, confused as he fell softly into a crouch before her.
