Page 85 of Beauty and the Rake
Hearing no reply from her, he looked down and found her asleep. She was beautiful even asleep, and he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have, after all these years, reconnected with her in the deepest way. For Graham, sleep eluded him as it normally did. He would finally succumb to slumber early in the morning. Perhaps his wife could help change this.
The reason for his sleepless nights was due to, or at least he thought was due in part to whatever happened during the day. Tonight, it was not only his wife, but the strange meeting he and Arthur had with the man they knew deeply had knowledge of the disappearance of his wife’s father and mother that captured his brain. He couldn’t get it out of his mind that the man thought he could play innocent in the matter. Some of his remarks, plus Arthur’s father’s ring on his hand, made Graham certain the man knew far more than he was letting on. He was old enough that he could have even played a part in their deaths.
Why, he could have done it himself. Why, was the huge question. Why were they murdered? No one had ever come up with a satisfactory answer or conclusion. Bandits had been the reason, and being that neither the duke nor duchess had survived the incident made that became the official version. No one believed it. Any attempt on the family’s part to reopenthe case was met with a huge lack of cooperation from law enforcement. They made it abundantly clear that the case was closed and would not be reopened no matter who requested it. That refusal to help in the case spoke volumes. He and Arthur would get to the bottom of it all.
Feeling his eyes grow heavy, Graham wondered if he could truly fall asleep. Perhaps if he concentrated on one thing, shutting his mind down, he could sleep. The next thing he remembered was his bride snuggling as close as she could to him. Cold. She had to be cold as they had nothing covering them. Slowly he found a piece of the cover and pulled it up over both of them. He hadn’t realized how cool the room had become and wondered if it were time for someone to come restart the fires. It was going to be hard for him to keep from making love to his wife. His cock was so hard, it wasn’t going to allow him to sleep until he either took himself in hand or relieved himself with her.
*
After a quickcoupling, Roxanne fell back to sleep well satisfied. Graham waited a while until he was sure he wouldn’t wake her by getting out of bed. Still, he rose quietly and, grabbing his robe, he walked over to the windows to see what sort of day it was going to be. Dawn was just beginning to show its pinks and purples. A perfect day for a ride. A ride with his wife; a ride to the lake where he was intent on proving to her they had more privacy than needed.
First, though, he would dress and have breakfast before he spent most of the morning in his study. Today would entail more than his usual days. His estate manager was expected with his monthly report. Sometimes it was lengthy, sometimes not. He expected it would be lengthy because there were activities about to take place. Livestock, harvest. Everything being prepared forwhen they did happen. Roofs of tenant houses needed to be repaired if necessary. He didn’t want anyone having a leaky roof in the cold. This was where he’d find out if any repairs were needed to the rock walls or stables. Fortunately, his estate manager knew the land as well as Graham did. He’d taken over when his father was no longer able and proved himself over and over again. He was someone Graham could leave for months at a time and know the estate would be just as he left it. The man kept up to date on all the farming changes, new inventions to help make things easier. Graham tried to remember everything he had on a list sitting on his desk. He knew he was interested in how much money was being brought in by the various products made on the estate.
Roxanne had an idea regarding the tenants that he wanted to discuss with his manager. It was done by others, but not with the personal touch she wanted to give it. She wanted to be the one who gave everything out to them. She had given him a list of what she needed. Foodstuffs that would last better during the colder months than in summer. He had no hesitation letting her represent him. She was, after all, the countess, and as such, she wanted to be one who was seen by tenants. That she wasn’t some entitled aristocrat who sat in her manor and never mingled with anyone outside her social standing spoke volumes.
*
Once the estatemanager arrived, the pair sat at a round, mahogany table and went over every entry made in the past month. After which, he told Graham what needed to be done before it got too cold. They settled on what was priority, after which he brought up how Roxanne wanted to take foodstuffs to the tenants. She wanted to give out shoes and coats, but that would be done another time and would probably be set upsomewhere close to the manor. He told the manager he could deal directly with the countess regarding what she needed.
As the two finished up their meeting, Graham happened to mention taking Roxanne to the lake. He was told there was a group of workmen cutting the brush back and cutting the grass. Graham was glad he’d thought to mention it because he certainly didn’t want to ride over there and be surprised they weren’t alone. That would be for another time.
He bid him farewell and returned to his desk now filled with papers, which he now gathered and placed together in a pile to his left. He could always take the camera and plates with them. Then they would both get some practice with this.
Deciding it was time to find his bride, he took one more look at the top of his desk. As far as he could tell, there was nothing so important it couldn’t wait.
Roxanne was descending the stairs when he went in search of her. She was a breath of fresh air, dressed in a light-blue day dress. “Did you have a good meeting with your estate manager?”
“Yes, it was excellent. We got a lot accomplished, and he is looking forward to meeting with you about the delivery to the tenants.”
“Wonderful.”
“What have you been doing this morning?”
She smiled broadly. “I’ve just spent the past hour with Mary and her nanny.”
“I can see you enjoyed your visit immensely,” he said.
“Yes, she’s such a joy to be around. To be that innocent. It’s too bad that all changes as the years pass.”
“A lot of that has to do with the environment a child is raised in,” he said.
“True, but even if it’s the best, sometimes a child is just going to be unpleasant. There is little that can be done to change it. It’s the way they were born.”
“Fortunately, we won’t have that arise in any of our children.”
“What do you have in store for us this afternoon? Unless you have other matters to attend to,” she said.
He rubbed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I was hoping we could ride to the lake, but I understand there is a work crew down there cutting back weeds and shrubs.”
“That’s too bad. I was so looking forward to seeing it.”
“Another time,” he said.
“Yes.”
Just as she was going to add an idea she had, the butler came out of nowhere with a letter for Graham. He took the paper and studied it after dismissing the older man. It was from Arthur and if he was sending him a missive this soon, the investigator must have found something new and sent Arthur a report.
“That’s Arthur’s handwriting,” she said, standing next to him.
