A knock sounded, and before he could ring the bell to summon the person, the door was jerked open and his wife framed the doorway. Her loveliness and her smile pierced his heart as she hurried into the room.
She lifted her hand and signed as she spoke. “Father has taken Francesca to the nursery. He is reading to her. Would you like us to take a walk by the seaside? We have at least two hours before dinner is announced.”
At his silence, she faltered and smoothed the front of her gown. Against his will, he found his gaze lingering on her face. Her sweet pouting lips, even at this distance, drew his attention and made his heart beat a little faster.
Was this the face of a woman who had met with a lover earlier? He questioned himself despite feeling the kernel of doubt and wanting to smash his fist into the desk. Immediately, he surprised himself by dismissing the idea as foolish. She had not done anything to deserve his mistrust, and he had been a damned fool to allow the old earl’s ramblings to place it in his heart.
He lifted his hands. “You look…very pretty.”
A faint wash of pink spread across her cheeks, and Hugh realized he had never told her that she was pretty before or that her eyes were the finest he’d ever seen or that her smile had the ability to possess him to be foolish…whimsical.
He stood, and his fingers leaped to life as he spoke. “You have the loveliest smile…whenever I see it, my heart…I feel warm.” He felt clumsy with his compliments, but something urged him to be unrestrained in this moment.
She giggled, and he fancied it was one of the loveliest sounds he’d ever heard.
“You flatter me, my lord. I promise such artful compliments will get you everything.” Then she winked.
He smiled at her cheekiness, stood, and skirted around the oak desk to the front where he sat on the surface.
She arched a brow. “You seemed different, Hugh.”
His lady wife did not say his name enough. And he did feel different. It was as inexplicable as it was unfathomable, and Hugh only knew he would not shy away from its perplexities. In truth, he wanted to understand exactly what he felt toward his wife, so he could know if he should ruthlessly guard against this weakening or if he should cherish it.
Beware, my boy. The old earl’s warning drifted through his thoughts like a pervasive wasting disease. He formed a mental fist around those insidious teachings and crushed them. Any decisions he made would not be because he was manipulated, but by his own calculation.
“Tell me truly, what are your favorite pastimes?”
She tucked a wisp of hair behind her hair, tugging his attention to her cleavage. She wore a fine, pale yellow day gown with ruffled sleeves. Now that she was no longer swollen with child, her figure had revealed itself to be a delicate, graceful beauty. Her cheeks were no longer sweetly rounded; her facial bones were delicately carved and slanted with elegant cheekbones, her mouth full and lush. The set of her chin hinted at her stubborn nature, and he often fought the temptation to dip his head and brush a small kiss right there. Her jutting breasts and narrow waist had featured in many of his dreams as she visited him nightly.
“My favorite pastimes?”
He nodded, and she canted her head as she stared at him, clearly unable to reconcile his unexpected curiosity.
“When we walk along the cliffside or to our meadows. I enjoy those moments immensely. I cannot express the joy I feel in spending time with Franny daily.”
“What about before we met?”
She wriggled her nose. “I enjoyed responding to outrageous letters written by impudent lords.”
He smiled.
Phoebe moved a few steps closer. “Do you have a sudden curiosity to learn more about me?”
“More like a powerful hunger.”
Her eyes widened, as if the notion startled her, then she smiled widely. “I led a very restrained life, as expected of the daughter of a duke. From the age of six years old, I had several tutors and governesses. I…I did not enjoy the privilege of being outdoors much, and since I’ve been here, I’ve learned that I love the feel of the grass against my bare toes, the rustling of the wind as it whips my dress around my legs, the feel of the rain as it falls against my skin, the sound of the birds, the whistle of the wind down the mountains and through the trees. I think before I was caged…and now…” She laughed lightly, a bit wistfully. “Now, through my disgrace, I have found the joy of life.”
He thought of the days when she would go out onto the lawns, her feet bare, and simply lift her face to the sky and smile. Even yesterday she had done it, and he had stood in the very window watching her, craving something he did not fully understand. She had lifted a hand and beckoned him out, and Hugh had gone, stood beside her, and they had sky gazed for an inordinate amount of time.
Her softly whispered, “Beautiful,” had been the only word spoken between them before he had gone back to overseeing his duties. Hugh resolved then to construct her own special garden and parklands, with all the flowers and birds she loved.
“What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?”
“When I was fifteen and my brother lay dying from a fever, I snuck outside in the night with only Sarah to inform the woman he loved that she needed him. I did not care that I might encounter footpads or terrifying creatures.”
He had already known of her courage but this… Admiration filled him in a great rush. “Tell me more.”
She arched a brow before tapping her cheek thoughtfully. “I love music, especially the pianoforte. There was a time I spent hours each day playing.”
“What about your friends?”
“I never made many,” she said softly, her eyes searching his face intently. “I only had one season, and most of the girls my age found it more appropriate to view me as a competitive enemy as they tried to capture the attention of society’s most eligible bachelors. Do you have a trusted friend and confidant?”
“No.”
“That is it, a mere no?”
“I never quite fitted in anywhere. My studies were done here with tutors renowned for their skills in sign language.”
Her eyes were soft with sorrow. “You did not indulge in those pursuits many young lords of the ton partake in?”
What was it that she thought those gentlemen did? “Such as?”
Her eyes sparked with challenging humor. “Racing, the mistresses, the exclusive gentleman’s clubs, gambling, living lavish and extravagant off their inheritance?”
“I was never invited to take part in any of those here. Nor in Edinburgh whenever I visited our business interests there. But those occupations would never have appealed to my senses even if I had been invited.”