Florentia shook her head. “A rider controls the horse with his legs. Nicholas cannot do that. He would rather not ride than ride poorly or have a groom lead him about as though he were a child again.”
“I understand.” And she did. Her father had his pride as well after his injury. He liked his hair kept neat and his jaw shaved. Although her mother could have done both of those tasks, Amelia and her mother paid for a manservant to come twice a week to shave her father and trim his hair every month. He needed those small things to feel attractive and human.
“Does he dine with you?” Amelia asked. If she wasn’t to see Nicholas during the day, perhaps they could dine together and read or play cards after dinner.
“Not always,” Florentia said. “Often I eat by myself.”
Amelia went to sit beside her. “Are you not lonely?”
“Sometimes,” Florentia admitted, “but I am here by choice. I can always go to London or the country estate. When I feel like I want a bit of company, I go away for a few weeks. The problem is that the last couple of years I have always felt so badly about leaving Nicholas. Now that I know you are here, I will not worry so much.”
The rest of the day seemed to pass quickly. Amelia met all of the servants and felt she had a rather good understanding of how the household ran. O’Malley dressed her and styled her hair for dinner, and when Amelia went down, she hoped Lord Nicholas’s eyes would light up when he saw how well she looked. But he did not make an appearance, and she and Florentia ate alone.
Amelia didn’t mind spending time with Florentia. Over the next day or so, the two spent a great deal of time together. Amelia learned about Nicholas’s brother Richard and his younger sister Anne, neither of whom had been able to come to the wedding on such short notice. Both were married and had children. Only Florentia was now unmarried, and she seemed content to remain so. She made a comment one afternoon that Amelia found quite revealing. She mentioned friends that had married and how unhappy they all seemed. Florentia wanted to marry for love or not at all.
Amelia wished she’d had that choice, but she was apparently married to a specter because she never so much as caught a glimpse of her husband. Once she thought she heard him in the adjoining bed chamber late at night, but when she woke the next morning, she was not certain if she had really heard him moving about or only dreamed it.
On the third night, she decided enough was enough. She dismissed O’Malley then sat in bed reading until well after midnight. About half past one she heard the unmistakable sound of the door beside hers opening and light footfalls in the chamber next to hers. Lord Nicholas was in his room, preparing for bed. Amelia pushed back the covers, pulled on a wrapper, and padded to the adjoining door. She pressed her ear to the door, listening. She thought she might have heard the sound of water being poured from a pitcher and the clink as it was set back on a wash basin.
Amelia lifted her hand and knocked.
Her heart was pounding, which might have been the reason she heard absolutely nothing. Had she imagined hearing Lord Nicholas in the room and moving about? She tapped on the door again then tried the latch. To her surprise, the door swung open, and she peered into the adjoining room.
She didn’t see Lord Nicholas at first. The room was lit by several candles and a hearth, and it had a warm, cozy feel. The wood-paneled walls were burnished golden in the candlelight and the rugs on the floor were rust and gold in color. The chamber was bigger than hers, and it took her a moment to take it all in—the tall boy, the desk, the sitting area near the fire, and the large bed with the ornately carved wooden frame.
And then finally she found Lord Nicholas.
He was standing, seemingly frozen, near a painted screen. He held a towel in one hand, and the front of his white shirt was wet. She had indeed interrupted him as he was washing. The washstand must be just behind the screen.
His coat had been dropped on the floor as had his neckcloth and waistcoat, and his shirt was open at the neck. He wasn’t indecent, but this was still a very intimate glimpse of him.
“Miss Blackstock,” he said. “Did you need something?”
Her throat was quite dry now that she had caught sight of him. The wet shirt molded to his chest, and she could see the outline of muscles under the fitted shirt. “I’m Lady Nicholas now,” she said, her voice sounding very far away.
“Of course. Are you well?”
Oh, she was quite well now that she saw him. In the space of three days, she had forgotten how handsome he was with that golden hair and those beautiful blue eyes.
“Perfectly well,” she said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. She leaned against it, needing the support. “How are you?”
He used the towel suspended in his hands to pat his face dry. Even from across the room, she saw a trickle of water snake down his throat. Oh, my. She had to remind herself this was a marriage of duty, not of passion.
“I am well.” He looked at her, seeming to expect her to say something more, but she couldn’t quite think with that drip of water snaking over his skin. “Well, if there is nothing else...” he began.
Amelia snapped out of her trance. He was dismissing her, and she had better say something or she would have to leave. “I’ve missed you,” she said quickly.
His brows came together in confusion.
“I haven’t seen you since the wedding, and I’ve missed you.”
He seemed taken aback and unsure of what to say.
Amelia moved closer, leaving the security of the door. “What have you been busy with the past few days?”
“This and that,” he said. “I thought Florentia had showed you about the house and made sure you were comfortable.”
“She did. I am quite comfortable, and Sweetie seems to enjoy all the extra space. I couldn’t even persuade her to come in from her paddock this evening. I think she’s made friends with the other pigs.” Amelia was closer to him now. He hadn’t taken a step back, but he was eyeing her warily. “I am thankful for Florentia, and I know we will be great friends. But I haven’t seen you.”
“Yes, well, I would have thought she told you that I am not often about. I keep busy in the stables.”
“She did tell me that, but I didn’t think I wouldn’t see you. And I’ve looked for you in the stables. You never seem to be about when I am there.”
“I apologize. I did not know you wanted to see me.” His eyes lowered just for an instant to the bare skin visible beneath her wrap above the U of her nightgown. Then he met her gaze again.
Just for an instant, though, Amelia had felt that same frisson if excitement she’d had the night they kissed in the stable. And she knew that he was avoiding her intentionally. Why? Because he felt an attraction to her? Perhaps he did and he did not want to desire her. She stepped back again.
“Of course, I want to see you. You are my husband.”
“My lady—”
“I thought you would call me Amelia and I would call you Nickers.”
“No. I never agreed to Nickers,” he said.
She smiled. “Nicholas then. Can we at least use Christian names when we are alone?”
“Of course. Er—what was I saying?”
“You were about to tell me why I shouldn’t see my husband.”