Violet woke up slowly, unwilling to leave her pleasant, dreamy state and the warmth that enveloped her. She stretched, and suddenly felt the heat of another body next to her. Alex, as naked as she was, and still asleep, his features no longer cold as stone, but peaceful, warm. It made him even more arresting. All at once, the memory of last night rushed back to her. She blushed, remembering how boldly she had acted and how eagerly she had responded to Alex’s touch. And she was in his bed this morning.
He wasn’t asleep, after all. In a low tone, he said, “If I had known how it would feel to wake up with you, I would have insisted on it earlier.”
“You don’t mind?” she asked meekly.
“Darling,” he laughed. “How could I?” Turning to her, he smiled as he kissed her forehead, and then reached out to tip her face up to his.
Then someone knocked at the door and entered. “Your grace, I’m afraid there’s a problem. Her grace is missing.”
“Missing?” Alex asked, with a laugh, while Violet ducked her head, as if that would conceal her.
“Yes, sir! Dalby is concerned. She’s not in her bed, and she’s not at her folly…oh.” The valet stopped short on seeing Violet in the bed.
Alex smiled. “Thank you for telling me. But she’s quite safe where she is.”
“Yes, your grace.” Stammering apologies, the valet left the room as quickly as he could.
Everyone below stairs would talk about how Violet was in Alex’s bed. Mortified by the thought, she recoiled, her body becoming tense. Alex sensed the change in her. “Violet?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Come here.” He held out his arm and she instinctively curled up to him, burying her face in his shoulder.
“They’ll all know,” she whispered, her cheeks stinging red.
“So?”
“They’ll think I’m a—”
“Wife?”
She raised her head the tiniest bit. “I hate the idea of being talked about.”
“I understand that completely. But Violet, we’re at the center of this world. They exist because we do. It’s natural that they’ll know what’s going on.”
“But they’ll judge me. For waiting so long.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
He kissed her mouth, softly at first, but with increasing force as he came fully awake. He took advantage of her nakedness to run his hands possessively over her skin. “How do you feel?” he asked urgently. “Tell me the truth. Did I hurt you at all?”
“No,” she assured him. “I liked it. All of it.”
“Good, but I still think I might have been too rough.”
“I would have told you so.”
“Would you?” Alex worried. “When we first met, I told you that I never heard you say no.”
“You didn’t know me at all,” she pointed out, regaining some of her previous ease. “I promise you I would have said if something felt wrong.”
He sighed and held her closer. Violet welcomed it, reveling in how affectionate he was toward her. She closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth they made under the bedcovers.
They must have fallen asleep again, because Violet blinked and saw that the light was different. Much brighter.
Alex was no longer in the bed. He was standing by the window, wearing only a robe tied at the waist, the sort of intimate detail that made her very aware that she was truly a wife now.
Her stomach growled then. “Oh! I think I’m hungry.”
“So am I,” Alex agreed. His smile made it clear that he wasn’t talking about breakfast. He returned to the bed, lying down next to her. He stroked her body lightly, before reluctantly wrapping the blanket around her. “Why don’t you go to your room and ring for your maid? Or do you want me to carry you?”
She laughed. “It’s a walk of thirty paces. I think I can manage.”
“Yes, but I rather enjoy carrying you.”
Violet sat up. “Another time. I’ll see you after I’m dressed.”
“What a shame,” he commented, then sent her on her way.
In her own room, Violet rang for Dalby, hardly knowing what she’d say to the maid, who had been with her for years, and certainly since before Violet ever contemplated being married.
But Dalby was so matter of fact and efficient that Violet didn’t have a chance to be embarrassed.
A bath was prepared while Violet nibbled food from a tray Dalby thoughtfully brought up before Violet could even ask. Her coffee was perfectly strong and scalding.
Only when Violet was up to her shoulders in bath water did Dalby chance a personal comment.
“Did you enjoy your wedding night, then?” she asked, not looking at Violet.
“Yes.” Violet hoped the heat of the bath water masked her blush. “Even if it was a bit later than usual.”
“Better a late honeymoon than none at all,” Dalby said with a giggle. “If he kept you in his room for a week, I wouldn’t care, ma’am. Just so long as he makes you happy in your marriage.”
“I am, Dalby. I didn’t think I would be when I came here. But I am now. Even before last night.”
“That’s good then.” Her maid nodded once, quite satisfied with the situation.
* * * *
Alex found he didn’t want to let Violet out of his sight. The day, despite starting very late for both of them, seemed to take too long. Alex was also delighted when a cloudbank rolled in, though he didn’t say so. Over dinner, he couldn’t stop looking at Violet. Dessert was probably exquisite, though neither of them really tasted it. After the meal, when they would normally spend an hour or two having a drink, or chatting like civilized humans, they both kept looking at the clock.
Finally, Violet left off pretending to read her book and walked over to him.
“Alex,” she said, her eyes downcast. “You…that is, if you like…” She took a deep breath and then said in a quiet rush, “You may come to my room tonight.”
“May I?”
“Yes. Please. If you want to.”
“I do.” Lions couldn’t keep him away.
“Oh.” She smiled shyly. “Very good, then.”
He stood up too. “And I still insist on walking you to your door.”
Her smile widened. “I’d like that.”
At her door, he gave her a teasing kiss made more effective by what he’d learned last night. Leaving her at her door half-seduced might become his new favorite game.
“Good night, Violet,” he murmured. “I promise.”
“Please,” she returned in a whisper.
Of course, Violet would still have her nightly ritual of summoning her maid and preparing for bed, just as she did nearly every night. Alex had his own rituals, though he was terribly aware of the ticking of the clock. He heard when the door in the hall opened and closed. Dalby was leaving for downstairs.
Alex felt an unfamiliar nervousness when he reached the connecting door. It made no sense. He’d already spent a whole night with Violet. But then, he hadn’t been anticipating how he’d be spending his night when he walked to the folly. The surprise of Violet asking for him prevented any possible second thoughts.
But tonight was the first time she invited him to her room as his wife. How proper. How expected. What if she started behaving like a proper wife now, all duty and no passion? What if the spark between them wouldn’t last?
“Don’t be an idiot,” he told himself.
He knocked at the door, and heard footsteps flying toward it almost before he took his hand down.
She was smiling at him as if she hadn’t seen him in weeks. “Hello,” she said a little breathlessly.
Violet had changed into her dressing gown and had Dalby take the pins out of her hair, which now fell in loose waves around her shoulders. He surveyed every inch with approval. He had also changed out of his evening clothes, and now only wore a robe.
Then Violet noticed the small box in his hand. “What’s that?” she asked.
“I meant to leave this for you this morning, before you altered my plans.” He smiled, remembering how marvelous it had been to wake up with her in his bed.
“For me?”
“Who else?” He gave her the little box.
She untied the ribbon and lifted the cover to reveal a beautifully worked enamel pin in the shape of a crescent moon.
“Oh, it’s beautiful. You don’t have to give me things, you know.” She looked up at him seriously. “They are all so lovely, but I don’t need them.”
“I want to give them to you,” he insisted. “Consider it compensation for the way I neglected you before.”
“You never neglected me.”
“Violet, I was beastly to you, both before and after our wedding. Refusing to meet you, then treating you like a…a—”
“Contract?” she asked softly.
“I acted like a cad.”
“No, you were always kind to me.”
Kindness was not the word. Violet simply had no basis from which to judge how men and women should interact, or how families should behave. Her life before their marriage was a joyless one. He owed it to her to make the rest of her life better.
“Turn down the light,” he said.
Deciding that actions would speak louder than words, he chose to show her how he wanted to make her happy. From the satisfied moans, she had no complaints, and when they slid into sleep on Violet’s bed, he had none either.
Alex only dozed, and when he woke, he slipped quietly out of Violet’s room. It seemed like a miracle that she was asleep before dawn, and he didn’t dare disturb her, not even for the kiss he wanted to give her.
He found his own bed depressingly cold, but it seemed a small price to pay for having Violet in his life.