Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
The morning after Owen had come home, Milly awoke, smiling, and then wincing as her lower body protested with soreness.
Last night had been wonderful, explosive, and certain more feminine parts of her were feeling the effects of her and Owen’s bedplay.
Despite the discomfort, she still grinned and let out a breathless giggle of pure happiness.
She didn’t regret anything. Last evening had been wonderful.
Owen was home and they would be working side by side again. It truly felt like her home now, too.
The last week or so she’d worked alongside the staff to make Wesden Heath hospitable again, and the pride from knowing she’d helped to make a difference made her almost bursting with joy.
The bedroom door opened and Owen came in, holding a breakfast tray.
“Morning, sweetheart. I took the liberty of taking this from Constance so she could see to her other duties.” He set the tray across her lap and kissed her lips.
“Thank you.” Milly put one hand up to cover the spreading blush on her cheeks.
“I thought you might like to join me and Jack for luncheon before we go into town.”
“You and Jack were planning to go to town?” It wasn’t that she was jealous of Jack, but…
he’d sworn last night to stay with her, to spend time with her after the last ten days apart.
The last thing she wanted was to feel alone when her husband only lay beside her at night and spent no time with her during the day.
Did that mean his only interest lay in her between the sheets?
As pleasing as that was…she couldn’t survive in a marriage based only on sex.
She’d always wanted love and equality, not just physical intimacy, and she’d hoped that Owen was the same.
“I planned to only take you into town, but I realized we ought to force Jack to go with us. Fresh air being good for his constitution and all that. I was merely uncertain whether luncheon would interest you or not.”
His reply made her heart flutter, but she tried to stay calm, not wanting him to know just how much that meant to her. She picked up a piece of toast and spread liberal amounts of marmalade over it. “What do you need to do in town?”
“Books. I’m afraid I read through most of the stack Hampton bought me while I was with Jack in London. My library here is quite lacking in decent novels. It’s all political essays and historical treatises on various governments of France, Italy, and Spain. Not in the least bit interesting to me.”
A giggle escaped her. “You’re quite serious?”
He laughed and walked over to his dresser, where he opened the top drawer and pulled out a book. Her book. The copy of She that she’d been reading on their ride to Wesden Heath that first night.
“I finished this and need to return it to you.” He held the book out to her, but when she reached for it, he leaned down to whisper against her lips a quote she had underlined with a pen.
“Yea, all things live forever, though at times they sleep and are forgotten.”
Milly laughed and kissed him back before quoting from Allan Quatermain. “Passion is like the lightning, it is beautiful and it links the earth to heaven, but alas it also blinds.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled with faint lines as he grinned.
“Hmmm…shall we spark a bit of lightning, wife?” He nibbled her lips as he rested one hand against the bed frame behind her.
She curled her fingers into his shirt, holding him prisoner for more of those deep, all-consuming kisses of his.
After several long moments, she let him go and their mouths parted with reluctance.
“Maybe later this evening we could continue this?” she asked hopefully.
He ran a thumb over her well-kissed lips. “There is no maybe; we shall continue this,” he assured her.
“Good. Let me break my fast, then I’ll join you and Jack in an hour.”
Owen nodded. “Excellent. I’ll be waiting.” He kissed her forehead and left her alone to eat. She was famished and had no problem tucking away her meal before she rang for Constance.
After a bath and her usual morning ablutions, her maid helped her dress in a warm walking suit that had a long coat with military braiding.
“You look very smart, milady,” Constance said, her eyes sharp with approval.
Milly smiled. She’d given up trying to remind Constance she was merely a gentleman’s wife and no longer the daughter of a peer.
She touched up her hair before Constance settled a large hat on her head with a navy-blue bow that matched the dark blue fabric of her walking suit.
The skirt’s train was a little fuller than the current style of hobble skirts, but she despised when fashion made a woman’s mobility nearly impossible.
Her skirt also enhanced her figure, taking the curves she possessed and displaying them leaner in places and fuller in others.
“Are the men ready for luncheon?” she asked, temporarily removing the hat now that she’d been assured it looked well with her suit.
“Yes, milady. They are waiting in the dining room.”
“Thank you.” She rose from her vanity and lifted her skirts with one hand while she headed for the door.
It would be her first time meeting Mr. Watson and she wished to make a good impression.
He was one of Owen’s closest friends, after all.
She wanted to care about the people he cared about and for them to like her in return.
In the past, she wouldn’t have cared about making a good impression on a fortune hunter’s best friend, but now that she really knew Owen and had seen into his heart, it mattered.
Her nerves were a little frayed and she tried to quell the restless fleet of butterflies in her stomach.
Would Jack like her? Would she like him?
Surely they would get along; they both cared about Owen after all.
When she descended the stairs and walked toward the drawing room, she paused just outside the door at the sound of male voices.
Her husband was laughing. The sound, heavens, the sound made her weak-kneed with desire and yet excited enough that if she spread her arms they might turn to wings so she could fly.
“She’s convinced you to take up reading? Good God, Owen, I ought to shake her hand or kiss the lady. I’m so glad someone finally forced you to enjoy the finer things in life. I used to love reading before…” He trailed off a little. The man’s voice was low and rich, a bit like Owen’s yet different.
That had to be Jack Watson speaking. The man liked to read. What else did she need to know that spoke well of his character? Nothing. A man who read was a man she could converse with.
“Milly has a way of making me see things differently,” Owen said.
“I can see that.” This time Jack laughed, the sound no less pleasant, even though it didn’t affect her the way Owen’s had.
She chose that moment to enter the room, lest she be discovered eavesdropping on them.
“Ahh, there you.” Owen came over to greet her, grasping her gloved hands in his as he kissed her on the lips, right in front of their guest. Her face flamed, but she couldn’t help it; she always responded to him strongly.
“Mrs. Hadley, I’m delighted to make your acquaintance.
” Jack came around the table to greet him.
It was the first chance Milly had to get a good look at him.
He was tall like Owen, but thin. She could see he’d once been a muscular man, full of strength.
He might yet regain that strength, but it would take time, food, and physical activity.
Yet despite his slightly diminished state, he still had a reserved sort of charm some men possessed, a quiet dignity that drew friends and influenced people.
Owen was more like a bright fire to Jack’s single flame. Both burned hot, but in different ways.
“Mr. Watson, I’m so glad you’re here.” Milly smiled and leaned a little into Owen as she spoke, hoping he’d see her touch as supportive. “My husband needs a friend to keep him busy and entertained lest he get in the way of my restorations to the house.”
Jack snorted. “I highly doubt he has any need of being entertained while you are around. He talked of nothing but you while he…” Jack coughed, his face paling as he seemed to realize he’d confessed too much. “Well, I’m sure he’s told you how he’s helped me.”
She nodded, her smile fading. “Yes. And we are both glad you’re feeling better.” She meant it.
“I am.” He patted his stomach. “Wesden Heath has one of the best cooks in this part of the Cotswolds. I’ll likely outgrow my trousers if she keeps preparing such meals as I had last night.”
Milly had to agree. Cook kept things simple, but hearty and tasty.
She’d come from a world of ten-course meals with elaborate dishes and exotic garnishes.
Expensive tables were displayed as a sign of Pepperwirth wealth.
Wesden could not have been more different.
Her old self would have been rankled at the idea of modest dishes and a home in great need of repairs, but marrying Owen had changed her.
Being around him had made her see things different, value different things.
“Shall we sit?” Owen offered, and they took their seats at the dining room table.
Luncheon was brought in by a footman, a young man named Jennings who was another of the new staff.
He grinned, as though delighted in his job, but when he saw Milly watching him he quickly wiped the expression from his face.
That was something else that had changed inside her.
She would have been disapproving of a servant who had caught her attention in such a manner, but after spending the last two weeks of working with them, she’d gained a sense of camaraderie.
When Jennings looked her way again, she offered him a small smile and he beamed at her.
After the young man left, she turned her attention back to Jack and Owen.
She froze when she saw her husband watching her, his eyes hot with desire, and there was a softer, subtler emotion shadowing the desire that she couldn’t quite read.
She ducked her head and focused on her meal, trying to ignore how exposed she felt.
In many ways, it was like the night when they had dinner at Hampton House, but without the anger and resentment that had been between them.
This was…a heated exchange born of affection.
Milly couldn’t help but smile as she finished her lunch.
When she, Owen, and Jack were ready to leave, she collected her hat from Constance, who helped pin it on her head before she met the men at the front door. A hired cab was waiting for them.
“You know,” she leaned in to Owen to whisper, “we can afford one of our own now.” The money she’d brought to the marriage could certainly cover a car and so much more.
He glanced down at her in surprise. “Only if you wish it. I wouldn’t make such an expensive decision unless you wanted it, too. It’s your money, Milly.”
Milly stumbled but Owen caught her by the waist and kept her upright. She was stunned. Hadn’t it always been his intention to marry solely to gain access to his wife’s funds? What had changed?
“But I thought—”
With a shake of his head, he cut her off. “My desire, my hope, was that any woman I married would love my home enough to make the costly decisions herself. I never planned to spend your money without your permission or counsel.”
And just like that, tears stung her eyes.
She was going to cry right there in front of him and Jack, like some silly ninny.
That had been one of her darkest fears, that she would be trapped into marriage solely for monetary gain by a husband who would not see her as an equal and use her money without consulting her.
Yet here Owen was, defying every awful expectation she’d had, except one.
He did not love her, or if he did, he hadn’t yet told her.
She wanted love, wanted it so much she’d forced herself to believe she could never have it, that life wouldn’t give her that one true dream.
Could Owen’s like someday turn to love? Her inner voice was that of a younger girl, the one who’d lived in France and dreamed of a man loving her as much as she did him, as equal partners in love and life.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” He motioned for Jack to go on ahead of them to the car while he remained on the steps, holding her close. He cupped her face, wiping away a rebellious little tear that dared to drip down her cheek.
“It’s nothing.” She flashed him a falsely bright smile. “Would you kiss me?” she asked.
He chuckled. “It would be my greatest pleasure, wife.” He bent his head and stole her breath with a heady kiss that made her float on air. How could he always do that? Seize her heart and body with just a kiss?
“Cab’s running. You two better get down here so we can go to town.” Jack’s hooting laugh made them break apart, sharing shy smiles.
“Tonight.” Owen promised everything in that one word.
“Tonight,” she agreed.