Page 40 of Charming Artemis

Was she really so exhausted as that? He eyed her more closely. “You aren’t growing ill, are you?”

She shook her head, a soft pull to her lips. “No, dear. I’m only tired.”

Charlie brushed the back of his hand along her forehead. Philip was forever doing that when Sorrel was unwell; she almost without fail swatted his hand away and told him to quit being a fusspot. Artemis would likely have done the same, but less gently, if not for the roles they were required to play.

“You aren’t feverish,” he said.

“Merely tired.”

But was she? He cupped her jaw with his hand, brushing his thumb along her cheek. Stanley did that all the time with Marjie. “I worry about you.” Something Philip said.

She leaned her head against his hand and closed her eyes. If he didn’t know better, he would think she actually took comfort in his touch, the way a wife would if she and her husband were on kindly terms.

“Perhaps youshouldlie down,” he said. “Your abigail will be waiting for you.”

She looked at him once more. “Thank you, dear.” With one last besotted smile, she slipped away and followed the proprietress’s daughter up the stairs to the room they would be given for the night.

“Might I trouble you to bring up a tray?” Charlie asked. “I cannot bear the thought of her being hungry, but she also seems legitimately exhausted. I wouldn’t wish to prevent her from resting.”

“Aren’t you simply the sweetest.” The proprietress sighed. “And she loves you, she does. Saw it in her eyes.”

He felt a little guilty at having deceived the poor woman. She didn’t deserve to be played such a trick. Yet, the two of them arriving unhappy and miserable would have been embarrassing for everyone, including her. “I’m very fortunate.” He hoped he embodied half the sincerity his brother Harold used when declaring how grateful he was for his beloved Sarah.

“I’ll bring you up a tray, sir. Is there anything in particular the lady likes? Anything I might include that’d be a joy to her?”

He knew the actual answer to that. Perhaps he wasn’t a complete disaster of a husband after all. “Do you have any bread pudding? It is her favorite.”

“We do, sir. I’ll send her up a warm bit of it along with her supper.”

Charlie didn’t have to imitate anyone with his reply. He was genuinely grateful to the woman. “I cannot thank you enough. We’ve had a long few days of travel. This will restore her spirits, I am certain of it.”

“Her happiness matters to you.” The proprietress nodded, clearly feeling she knew the answer.

Her happiness did, in fact, matter to him. He wanted her to be happy, to be hopeful about her future. He wanted her to find some pleasure in the life that had been forced on them.

“I’m happy when she is happy.” It was nothing but the truth. Their lives were too intertwined now for their happiness to not be as well.

“Go on up with you.” The woman kindly motioned him on, the gesture and the expression on her face as maternal as one was likely to find. “You could use a bit o’ rest yourself, I daresay.”

“I could at that.” Especially as he was certain he’d afforded Artemis time enough for Rose to help her change into her nightclothes.

They had formulated this approach before leaving Brier Hill. Their playacting as a loving and in-love couple meant they would be assigned a shared bedchamber at inns along the way, which was decidedly awkward for a couple who had only recently reached a degree of tolerance between them. So at each inn, she made her way to their room before he did—until that evening, she’d simply left the private dining room ahead of him—and Rose helped her change for the night. That allowed her to be settled into bed before he arrived. He slept on the floor or, if he was particularly fortunate, on an obliging sofa or settee.

Rose was only just stepping out of a room two floors up when he reached it.

“Is she all tucked in?” he asked.

Rose nodded. “And between the two of us, Mr. Jonquil, she looks done in.”

“Do you think she’s ill? I thought she seemed a bit pale.”

“Likely only worn down from days of travel.”

He hoped that was all. “Supper’s being sent up on a tray. She’ll get something to eat without losing any rest.”

Rose gave him a look of approval. Two people approving of him in a matter of minutes. He hardly recognized himself.

Charlie slipped inside the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Artemis was cozily situated under a coverlet, pillows behind her so she sat nearly upright. She had a book of fashion plates open in front of her.

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