Page 38 of A Bride for the Beastly Duke
After dinner, Lily’s governess appeared to take her to bed. Lady Lanton yawned. “Well, I am feeling just a bit tired. I am afraidI will not be able to join you for adigestif. I feel the need for a warm bath and an early night.”
Edward blinked at her in surprise. His aunt was not one for early nights. Just the opposite in fact. She was something of a night owl, like himself.
“All right, Aunt. Are you sure you are quite well?”
“I am just tired.” She kissed his cheek. “Thank you for your concern. Now, go on, take your wife to the parlor. I shall find my way to bed.” She waved him off dismissively, and he had no choice but to offer Ava his hand and go with her.
She hadn’t uttered a single word the entire time, and Edward found that he was somewhat nervous about being alone with her. He sat her down on the sofa just as Notley came in with a tray piled with chocolate gateau and hot chocolate with a decanter of brandy on the side. Edward’s face lit up. That was just what he needed to liven the evening.
He poured a generous measure of brandy into each glass before cutting up the cake, placing a piece on a side plate, and passing it to Ava. She took it with a nod of thanks and then put it down on the side table. She turned to face him, hands demurely in her lap.
“So, do tell me, how was your trip to London?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “I did not know you were interested.”
“Why would I not be interested? You are my husband. Your business is my business.”
He drew back, face closing. “I do assure you, I was not spendingyourmoney.”
Her brow furrowed, and she inclined her head at him. “You have misunderstood me. I was not watching your pocket. I simply wanted you to know that I am interested in your business. Was the trip to do with your brother?”
He picked up his cup and took a sip before nodding. “Yes, I was following up on the letter you found.”
“And?”
He turned to look at her, eyebrow cocked. “You want to know what I found?”
“If you would not mind telling me.”
He took a deep breath. “Well, I met with the man who brought the letter. He was my brother’s batman. He was able to give me more insight into my brother’s movements in his last days.”
To Edward’s surprise, Ava put a hand on his knee, squeezing gently. “And this has been helpful in finding the killer?”
“Not yet, but I do have hope.” He snuck a quick glance down to the warm place where her hand was still on his leg. He wanted to ask her about it, but at the same time, he did not want to draw attention to it.
He took a deep breath, “I have some hope of finalizing this case and getting the killer to justice soon.”
She smiled, looking genuinely pleased. “That is good news.”
He nodded jerkily and cleared his throat. “Er, yes. It is.” His hand flicked downward to where her fingers were tapping gently against his knee and then he looked up again, at a loss on how to proceed.
She took a deep breath. “We might have left things unresolved when you left, and so I wanted to talk to you about that.”
“You did?”
She nodded slowly. “We seem to have been at odds, I am not entirely sure why…” She gave him an enquiring look.
Edward shook his head, having no clue how to respond. “Go on,” he said.
“And I wanted to remedy that. We are husband and wife, a family. We should be able to maintain civility toward each other, do you not think so?”
“Indeed, I do.” Edward cleared his throat. “And I, er, apologize if I was rude.”
“I think we both were a bit… abrupt with each other…” Her hand moved slightly higher on his thigh, and he stopped breathing. He nodded wildly in agreement; he was ready to do just about anything if she could provide an explanation for her actions. “I would like for us to be kinder, gentler, with each other. Is that something you feel you can do?”
He realized she was close enough that he could feel the warmth of her breath on his cheek. Goosebumps broke out on his skin. Slowly, he nodded. “O-of course. I would… I would like that too,” he said hoarsely.
She smiled, leaning back. “That’s wonderful. I expect you are rather tired from your journey, so I will not keep you.” She leaned in again and pressed her warm soft lips onto his injured cheek in a chaste yet searing kiss. “I will say goodnight,” she whispered into his ear before getting to her feet and walking away.
