CHAPTER 25 #3
Edgar led her through the room, and no one stopped them. She wasn’t sure if it was because they knew what they were about to do, or if her nerves had her overthinking everything. He led her to the staircase, but from there she subtly took over since Edgar had never been upstairs.
“Is it silly that I am eager to see your bedroom? I have always wondered what it looks like. Bedrooms are deeply personal, and I wish to know you better.”
“I haven’t thought of it like that, but I guess it is rather personal. Very few people have ever seen my bedroom. I’ve kept the same rooms my whole life, but I have redecorated them several times.”
Diya—of course—had been there many times. She may have been the only person to see every iteration of her room, having slept in there many times over the years. Various cousins had been in there over the years, but even her parents seldom entered.
Valeria had been the last one to see her bedroom.
Caroline stopped before her door, turning to Edgar to point him across the hall. “Your rooms will be there. We can start looking for ideas for decorating tomorrow. There’s furniture and linens, but it’s been seldom used over the years.”
“I’ll let you decorate it, my sweet. I trust your taste in such matters. Besides, I want my rooms to be a place where you’re comfortable as well.”
“That’s quite considerate of you.”
“I expect we will be spending many nights together, and it doesn’t matter to me if it’s in my room or yours.”
Caroline opened the door and walked into her bedroom.
She was nervous about his reaction now, when previously she hadn’t even thought of it.
The draperies were replaced last summer, and she had redid the upholstery on her couch and chairs to match, but she wasn’t sure if pink and gold was fashionable.
Though she wasn’t sure if Edgar knew the current trends either. He spent more time in London, but she was sure he didn’t learn what was fashionable during his travels.
“It’s just as lovely as I imagined, though I shouldn’t be surprised that my lovely wife created such a romantic space.”
She wanted to scoff at the idea that it was romantic when it was simply her taste, but she stopped herself. He was paying her a compliment, and one should always accept such a thing from their husband.
“Thank you. I wouldn’t do your rooms in light colors like this. I would pick something darker. Unless you wanted something else.”
“I think red would be nice to complement your room.”
“Then red it is,” she said with a smile she didn’t mean.
Red would not have been her choice since it would look like a brothel, but that was part of why she insisted on keeping separate rooms. Her instinct to not trust his personal taste had been correct.
Edgar meandered through her sitting room, inspecting the few books she kept on her shelves and touching one of the porcelain figures she collected as a girl. Her hands twitched to fix it as he had rotated the dancing figure slightly. She made a mental note to fix it later.
He walked over to the small table she used for dining and drummed his fingers on the polished maple surface. “Do you eat many meals up here?”
“Only breakfast. Lunch and dinner are in the dining room as a family.”
“Then we will have breakfast here every morning.”
She tried not to grimace. She preferred to eat her morning meal. Even though she was an early riser, it still took her a while to fully wake up, and she preferred to do that on her own, but she wasn’t sure how to tell him that.
“The bedroom is over there.”
She wasn’t eager to get into bed with him, but she preferred that to him touching all of her belongings. Heaven help her if he started moving things around.
Lucy had turned down the bed to expose her white sheets. Her bed linens didn’t match the upholstery in her sitting room because she had made Lucy switch them with the green comforter from Valeria’s room. Lucy raised an eyebrow at the request, but smartly didn’t say a word.
They stood in front of her bed and awkwardly stared at one another. She knew what happened next, but expected him to make the first move.
“I can call my maid to undress me now, if you wish,” she said when the silence was too deafening, and she wanted to get it over with.
“I would like to undress you.”
Caroline nodded and turned so he could get at her laces. He made quick work of it, and part of her wanted to joke about how he had clearly done that before, but she didn’t want to offend him. And she didn’t care about his answer. He could bed whoever he wanted as long as he was careful.
She helped him with the ties on her skirts since those ribbons were smaller. He removed her corset, and she directed him where to place it as she took care of her dress. There was a good chance she would never wear it again, but it was beautiful, and she wanted to take care of it.
“Is it alright if I keep my shift on?”
“Of course,” he said, his voice scratchy as he looked up and down her body.
Her shift wasn’t as transparent as Valeria’s, but it was a lighter material. Her body didn’t prickle with interest as he took her in, but she didn’t feel disgusted, and that was a win. She crawled to the middle of her bed because it seemed as good a place as any.
Edgar stood at the foot of the bed and looked at her for a long moment before he undressed, carelessly throwing his clothing around.
She held her tongue to keep from snapping at him to pick them up.
There would be plenty of time to nag him later.
She didn’t expect this to take very long.
She lay back and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
“Master will be so pleased to know everything is going to plan.”
Caroline’s eyes flashed open to look at the canopy above her. Many questions bubbled up, but fear stayed her tongue. She prayed she misunderstood and waited for him to explain.
A spray of liquid landed on her, and she flinched. Slowly, she sat up, unsure if she wanted to know what the mysterious liquid was. Her entire body stilled as she saw Edgar vacantly staring at her.
“Cara mia.”