The carriage ride into the town was quiet, as Richard did not know exactly what to tell his wife. Either way, she seemed distracted, so he fell silent and chose to admire her instead.
She was dressed in a lovely shade of blue with a matching cloak that made her beautiful, fair skin gleam beneath the rays of sunlight that filtered through the carriage windows. Her hair, which was usually hanging loose in pretty blonde curls, had been held up with jeweled pins.
He was torn between going down on his knees and worshipping her or stripping her of her dress and having his way with her until she was writhing beneath him and screaming his name.
He shook his head, trying to clear it from his less-than-decent urges and focused on his wife’s face.
He hadn’t seen her this nervous since their wedding day.
“Duchess,” he called softly, and her unfocused blue eyes shifted to him.
“Yes?”
“You should know that Ernest has made that very clear to me that the people you’re about to meet are kind. He is quite certain that they will be fond of you.”
Nancy bit her lip, “Do you truly think so?”
“Well. You are their duchess. They haven’t got much of a choice.”
“That is a poor attempt at making me feel better.”
“Well,” he mumbled awkwardly then cleared his throat, “I would take Ernest at his word.”
She eyed him carefully and then her features softened.
“Since Ernest has lived all his life here… I shall believe him,” she said somewhat pointedly, as if she knew the meaning behind his words.
He nodded.
Then, he felt a tingle of satisfaction when he noticed that her mood had improved.
It was just in time too—because moments later, the carriage rolled to a stop.
* * *
“Your Grace, it is an honor to have you in our humble town,” a man greeted, seemingly thrilled to be in their presence. “I’m Jonathan Hanes, the Headborough.”
“How do you do, Mr. Hanes?” Richard nodded. “I apologize that it took me this long to visit. I have been rather… occupied with other matters.”
Mr. Hanes shook his head fervently. “Oh, no, Your Grace. It is all right that you wished to wait until you were ready. We understood… that you might have been slowly adjusting to your new role after the passing of your brother, God rest his soul. We did… send our condolences through your steward. But please allow me to express them once more to you. We were very sorry to hear of the former Duke’s passing. He was always so kind to us, and he often told us how he wished you would return to Wexford because he hoped you would find happiness here.”
It was strange how it was after his brother had passed that Richard realized William had thought of him ceaselessly. His older brother had always worried about him, concerned with all matters that concerned him, and meanwhile, Richard had had no idea.
Suddenly, he felt Nancy’s hand tentatively brush against his arm. He glanced at her and saw her give him a look that spoke volumes. A look of understanding, of knowing the depths of grief.
For a moment, he was reminded that part of William’s thoughtfulness had given him a gift too.
And yet, this gift of his, it terrified him.Sheterrified him, with her sparkling eyes that saw right through him.
“Yes. He was kind like that,” his voice came out much more somber than he intended, so he cleared his throat and put on his most polite smile.
“Mr. Hanes, allow me to introduce my wife and the Duchess of Wexford, Nancy Harrington,” he added, placing his hand on Nancy’s lower back, gently pressing her forward.
She immediately shuddered at his touch. His eyes slithered to her face, and he noticed that her cheeks were slightly pinker than before.
All this from touching her waist? Heavens, what would she sound like if his hand wandered further down, to those delicious curves of hers?
He quickly chided himself as he felt the stir of need within him. This wasn’t the place to ponder about groping his wife.
