Page 64 of Beauty and the Rake
Roxanne sat back against the squabs and giggled.
“What is so funny?” Graham asked.
“That we accomplished what we intended. Our surprise marriage and Mary will be the talk of the ton thanks to those two ladies.”
“We did that, though I’m a bit disappointed we weren’t able to take a longer walk.”
“You’ll get your chance again,” she said.
“We’re going to do this again?”
Roxanne nodded with a grin. “Yes.”
“I’m beginning to believe my wife likes to stir the gossip mill.”
“You know me too well, husband.”
He glanced outside the carriage and turned back to her. “Since we’re back at the house, I thought we could have a pot of tea brought up to our bed chamber and we can get out of these wet clothes while we wait.”
“That sounds splendid. You can go over any correspondence that has arrived.”
Graham had other plans. “Actually, I was thinking after the tea arrives and I’ve at least seen who’s written that we could be a little naughty.”
“Naughty? Like yesterday?”
He gave her a devilish grin without saying a word.
To her surprise, she caught a glimpse of the house as the carriage pulled down the short driveway and stopped in front of the steps. “We’re home.”
“I’ll order the tea and such and join you upstairs,” he said.
“Excellent,” she replied. “Do have some of the ginger biscuits sent up with the tea. I smelled them baking in the oven this morning and have wanted one ever since.”
He walked her across the reception hall to the stairs. “I’ll be behind you momentarily.”
Nodding, Roxanne held on to the railing as she walked up the stairs. Standing in front of the door, she swung it open. Kicking off her short boots, she went to the countess’s suite. She was sure by the neatness of the room, her maid had more than likely come in once she and her husband left the suite. There were alsovases of fresh flowers throughout the two suites which hadn’t been there before. It was a thoughtful gesture, trying to make the rooms a little more hers.
She returned to Graham’s suite as soon as she was out of her damp clothes and into something dry. He appeared as though he had just arrived. He had divested his suit jacket and thrown it over the back of a chair. There was a small stack of correspondence in his hands.
“Tea should be here momentarily,” he said.
Roxanne neared. “Anything interesting?” she asked as she neared a little closer to him.
“There’s a missive from your brother, but I haven’t read it yet.”
“I thought you weren’t working for at least three days. Whatever Arthur thinks is so important can wait.”
“It might be important.”
“If it is that important, he can physically come here.”
“True, but maybe he doesn’t want to interrupt our time,” Graham said.
“Arthur is considerate like that.”
Graham placed the letter down on the writing desk, walked away, and began removing his vest and shirt, tossing them to the floor. He picked up another shirt folded on a chair and put it on. He walked back to the writing desk where Roxanne still stood.
He picked up the letter and opened it carefully. He read the contents before re-reading the missive. “Well, this is interesting…”
