Pemberth had been correct—the back-left wheel had cracked right through. It wasn’t raining, or snowing, but what with Christmas just a few weeks away, winter was in the air. Lila located a conveniently placed boulder and sat huddled in her coat as the man who’d had his face between her legs a mere thirty minutes earlier lay on his back beneath the worn-out carriage, pounding and twisting at the broken wheel.
Her gaze remained fixed upon the muscles in his thighs and… higher. It was difficult to feel any sort of irritation at their delay after he’d just so recently and thoroughly… prepared her.
“Hand me that wrench, will you?”
Drake stepped forward and placed some sort of tool in Pemberth’s outstretched hand and then peered down to examine his employer’s handiwork. The driver had initially attempted to make the repair, but when he’d proven unsuccessful, Pemberth had not hesitated to crawl under the vehicle himself.
Calvin had ridden Pemberth’s mount ahead, in search of another conveyance in case this one could not be made functional again.
“The other wheel looks like it could go just as easily.” Her husband’s muffled voice carried out from beneath the coach. Lila sighed, remembering how it had felt when that same voice had been muffled by—
“But this ought to do it.” And then he was rolling out, his shirt covered in dirt and his hair looking even wilder than when it had been between her— “But we’ll have to take it slow.”
And then he was off the ground and offering her his hand. “Your carriage awaits.”
Vincent teased her but she also sensed him withdrawing once again. She wasn’t overly concerned this time. As little time as they’d spent together, she was beginning to feel as though she could know him.
He assisted her into the carriage, disappeared, she presumed to make sure they returned all the tools to the boot, and then returned just a few minutes later. She didn’t care that he was sweaty and covered with dust and grime from working beneath the vehicle.
She couldn’t help feeling more physically drawn to him than she had last night. This time, when the carriage began moving, it creaked along very slowly. The slower pace meant they’d be traveling longer but it did, however, cut down on some of the jostling and bouncing.
“Do you think we’ll have to stop again?”
He leaned back, stretching his legs across so that his feet could rest on the backward-facing bench, and closed his eyes. “This length of road is pretty isolated. No inns that I can remember. If Calvin finds anything, we’ll meet him along the way.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Lila couldn’t help asking.
“He’ll meet us at Glenn Abbey.”
He’d said he only inherited three months ago. “Have you lived there all your life?”
He nodded.
“Was your brother married?”
“Nope.”
Oh, they were back to this again. “You said tenants were leaving. Is this a recent phenomenon?”
“Define recent.” Ah, two words from him this time.
“Within the last, say, three months?” She risked souring his mood again, but she was curious about their circumstances.
“Yes.” He shifted then, raised one arm and tugged her so that she laid against him rather than the wall of the coach. “Are you done interrogating me yet?”
“You would do the same.” Although she did not appreciate his arrogant attitude, she did like the feeling of his arm around her, and the solid comfort of his chest and side. “If you were me.”
With him holding her, instead of feeling every rut the carriage drove over, she felt the gentle swell and dip of each breath he took. After riding some distance in silence, he inhaled deeply.
“I am not much of a businessman, as my brother was. We’re already in financial straits, and they fear I won’t be able to pull us out.” A long exhale. “And they’re right to do so. You’re on the bad end of a sorry bargain, Lila Saint-Pierre.”
Lila absorbed his words rather than respond right away. He’d known well enough how to deal with her father. His servants obviously respected him.
He’d fixed the carriage wheel, for heaven’s sake, something she doubted her father or even Lord Blakely ever would have been able to accomplish.
“You seem smart enough to me.” And of course, this only drew silence from him. “Tell me where you feel your intelligence is lacking.”
He groaned.
“You don’t have to if you don’t wish, but I will only keep asking until you do.”
Was that a kiss he’d just pressed atop her head? She couldn’t be certain and glanced up to see if she could read his expression. He met her eyes with a wry smile. “I did not attend university, as my brother did. The reports and accounts perplex me.” He shook his head. “And I cannot hire someone else to handle such matters. They are my direct responsibility.”
Lila raised one hand to his chest and rested it there. “Will there be many parties for me to attend?”
He stiffened, but she stroked her hand up and down until he seemed to relax again. “No parties to my knowledge. There is a small village nearby, of course. And the ladies in the village head up some sort of charities, as far as I know.”
“I’ve only brought a few books to read. And I’ve never been all that accomplished at any particular musical instrument. When I tried painting my sister in watercolors, she nearly fell over for laughing so hard.”
“Is there a point to this recitation of your ineptitudes? Are you already complaining that you will be bored at—”
“My father is a horrible person. A villain. It’s possible he’s even a murderer.” She’d never been certain of the latter, however. “But one thing my father has always excelled at is the running of his estates. Making money. And whenever he was away, I made it a point to understand his business. If you don’t mind, I’d be more than willing to go over yours.”
He didn’t answer her immediately, but she was learning that this was his way. He thought before he spoke and said only that which was necessary.
“I will think about it.” His voice rumbled under her ears.
She sat up and stared at him curiously. “I would not offer if I was not confident.”
He wiggled his shoulders and shifted on the bench, as though something about her offer discomforted him. “We shall see.”
Lila turned and rested her cheek against him once again. She had more work to do.
He must learn to trust her.
The remainder of the afternoon, they’d pressed on diligently, stopping only twice on the side of the road so Pemberth could check the wheel and so she could stretch her legs.
She had not expected to enjoy getting to know this husband of hers, nor had she expected to feel so comfortable in his protective embrace.
He was a man who’d married her under duress.
Likely, these strange emotions had merely been stirred up by the exquisite sexual gratification he’d given her.
Twice.
Even the thought of that second time had her reaching for her fan.
It was as though her father, a man she’d hated for most of her life, a man she’d feared, had somehow handed her the perfect husband.
Who also made a most comfortable pillow.
Admittedly, he was not much of a talker, but she was gradually learning a little at a time. Feeling truly optimistic for the first time in her life, Lila snuggled deeper into her husband and dozed.
The darkness woke her. And then the cessation of the bouncing and rocking she’d endured over the last few days.
She sat up from the bench she’d taken over completely only a moment before the door swung open and a tired-looking Pemberth peered inside.
“We’re home,” he announced.
Lila gathered her belongings and allowed him to assist her down the step. There wasn’t much to see. It must be the middle of the night, but she could hear ocean waves crashing in the distance.
Most of her life, she’d been told her arrival as duchess would be honored by the servants standing at attention for inspection in lieu of a greeting. She would be wearing a fine gown and the household would be anxious for her arrival.
Her mother had told her all of this anyhow. Her father insisted it was their due.
As she stepped onto the gravel, though, she welcomed the quiet. She was cold and exhausted and only wanted to crawl into a warm bed so that she could fall back asleep.
With a few words to his servants, her husband took her bag from her and led her to the large front door.
The arched doorway was tall, at least three feet taller than her husband even. She tilted her head back and only saw that the stonework reached high into the sky. The tower disappeared in the darkness.
Pemberth steered her forward and, if possible, it seemed even colder inside.
She glanced around in search of a housekeeper, or butler even.
“They’re abed. They’ve too much work to do tomorrow for me to awaken them in the middle of the night.” He seemed to have read her mind.
Lila nodded in understanding, still feeling a little dazed from being awakened in such unfamiliar surroundings.
“Did you ride on the box with Drake?” Calvin had taken his mount.
“Until the sun went down. We took turns walking ahead with a lantern.”
She was coming to realize she appreciated this aspect of her husband. He was not unwilling to do anything he’d ask another to do for him.
But he was also the duke.
And she was the duchess.
They’d shared a bed the night before out of necessity. It had been a good start for them.
Pemberth struck a flint, lit a lantern set on a nearby table, and then gestured with it for her to precede him. As they climbed a narrow and winding staircase to the second floor, she wondered if he was taking her to a separate chamber than his, or if he would wish to keep her with him.
They reached the landing, and he turned to face her. “I haven’t set up in the master’s chamber yet. And yours hasn’t been tended to since my mother’s death, decades ago. If you’d prefer, I suppose we can wake Mrs. Smith to have a guest-chamber made up, but—”
“You are my husband, no? I will share yours.” Sometimes her mouth functioned without her brain telling it to do so. “That is unless—”
“No.” He gave her that almost-smile. She was learning his expressions so much that she recognized it even in the flickering shadows. “I’ve a large bed. I’d prefer to keep my wife with me.”
Despite being practically asleep on her feet, an odd thrill ran down her spine.
They’d share this room for now, but in the back of her mind, she was already making a list of matters she would tend to.
One of the first would be to establish her and her husband in the ducal suites. This man had not completely embraced the title left to him by his brother.
She was the perfect person to help him do just that.