Page 86 of Wedded to the Beastly Duke
But although she knew there wassomethinggoing on with Nicholas, she prayed he wasn’t the reason William had died. That would be a blow to Adam that he may never recover from, and he had already suffered so much pain and grief. If it were possible, she would have placed herself at pain’s door and absorbed it before it could ever reach Adam.
He gave her a small smile. “What are you thinking?”
“I am thinking how happy we will be together as soon as this is over.”
“Yes,” he said, his smile widening a little, before fading. “As soon as this is over.”
* * *
They reached Nicholas’s home after the sun had set. Adam commanded that the carriage stop at the end of the street, and they dismounted. His hand was in Emmeline’s, and she held on tight as they made their way to the house.
Despite the fact that Nicholas was still in London, the lights were on, and golden light peeped from behind the curtains. It was the picture of domesticity, and Emmeline had a sudden thought, tugging Adam to a stop behind a tree before they could be seen.
“What about his wife?” she hissed. “It’s the summer—the ton will be thin on the ground. Won’t she be in the house?”
That would account for so many rooms being flooded with light.
“We will enter through the back door,” Adam murmured, his breath warm against her temple.
Their bodies were close, and although they had been intimate multiple times since they had been reunited—although she knew the taste of his skin on her tongue and the rhythm of his heart against her own—she still felt a thrill from their proximity.
Was this what it meant to be in love? Was this what marriage was supposed to be like? She would never tire of him.
“Do you know which way to go once we are inside the house?” she whispered back.
“I do. Do you trust me?”
“Always.”
His hand found hers, and he gave it a small squeeze. “Be careful not to be seen,” he said and bent to kiss her as though he could not help himself. “We will go upstairs. If he is keeping anything of note in the house, it will likely be in his dressing room.”
Emmeline frowned. “Is he not concerned about what might happen if his wife discovered it?”
“I doubt it,” Adam said, an unreadable note in his voice. “I doubt she ever enters his dressing room.”
She understood immediately, recalling the pale girl who had been so desperate for her husband’s affection. Poor thing, if she was fighting so hard for his love and was so ruthlessly and perpetually denied. Emmeline knew a little of how it felt like to understand that what she wanted was an impossibility. And she had been lucky—Adam had come back to her and reaffirmed that he wanted her and that, most importantly, he wanted to share his life with her, but evidently, Lady Sarron was not that lucky.
“Does he really respect her so little?” she asked as they crept toward the house.
“He certainly feels nothing for her,” Adam said quietly, his eyes on the drawn curtains should they twitch. For now, they were in darkness still, cloaked and invisible, but they would have to step closer soon. “A sentiment I thought I understood.”
“If you changed, can he not?”
He chewed on his lip, placing a hand on her waist and guiding her to the side. The wind shook the leaves above them, concealing any noise their progress made. “I think… he feels less for her than I did when I first met you.”
“You disliked me when you first met me,” she said, amused.
“I thought you were bold, and perhaps a little objectionable in the way you disregarded authority, but I never disliked you.” He placed a finger on his lips and nodded toward a small side door in a darker side of the house. “They’ll be locked soon,” he murmured, lowering his voice until she could barely hear it. “When the servants go to bed, which will be soon. We must slip inside before then.”
She nodded and glanced back at the house. There was no movement that she could see, and waiting any longer risked them being discovered.
“Now?” she whispered.
“Go.”
Like shadows, they slipped toward the house, and eventually through the side door, rejoicing when they found it unlocked. Once inside, they paused, listening for footsteps. With only Lady Sarron in the house, the servants would unlikely be busy this late. All the rooms would be clean, and the only thing they would to do is to ensure that all windows and doors were locked.
Adam put his hand on her arm and guided her out of the small room and into the large receiving room beyond. At this time of night, everything was cast in shadow, but he was unerring in his movements, showing her where she needed to go with a tug on her hand or arm. Evidently, he knew this house almost as well as his own.
