Page 67 of The Lord's Compass
“I should like some time alone with you,” he said. “From the moment we were actually married, we have been surrounded by other people.”
“Our families.”
“Yes,” he said. “I do have to ask… are you happy? Ever since our wedding night, you have been rather subdued.”
Eric knew that his words might be dangerous, but he had to say them anyway. It had been a week since their wedding, and their stay at Newfield had been… routine. He couldn’t complain – how could he when Faith had been in his bed each night or he had been in hers – but at this point, he would almost trade the camaraderie they had shared when travelling to Spain and back together, without any of the physical intimacy, to what they had now.
The Eric of a few months ago would have laughed at such a thought.
While they spent their nights together, their days were primarily apart. He understood. Faith wanted to be with her family every moment possible before she left them, which provided him the opportunity to pass the time with his brother and Whitehall, but still… he had missed her.
He studied her from across the carriage. Her head was tilted upon her long neck as she stared out the window at the scenery passing by. Damn, but she was beautiful. Her features were strong, yet fit together perfectly.
As perfect as she was for him.
She turned her head to look at him now, and he almost lost himself in the ocean of her eyes.
“I will miss my family,” she said, busying her hands in her skirts. “Especially my sister.”
He leaned forward and took her hand in his. “You can see her whenever you wish,” he said. “Just say the word.”
“Thank you,” she returned with a small smile.
Eric cleared his throat, unsure how to say the next words without further upsetting her. She was already missing her family, so perhaps it was not the best time, but he had never been one to hold back on what he was thinking.
“I feel as though you are keeping yourself at a distance from me.”
“Why do you think that?” she asked, but the telltale dance of her fingertips upon her knee gave her away.
“Can’t say exactly,” he said. “But it seems as though things have been rather stilted. Even when you hated me, it was with such a fiery passion. Now you seem to have turned off that part of you.”
“You want me to hate you again?”
“I want you to show me who you truly are and not hold yourself back.”
She dipped her head now and when she finally looked up at him, the sheen of wetness covering her eyes took him aback.
“But what if you do not like what you see?” she said, her voice near a whisper as she was no longer able to disguise her fear. “What if, now that you have me, you tire of me? Or worse, grow to resent me?”
“Why would I ever resent you?”
“Because you are stuck with me and me alone.”
Eric couldn’t take this melancholy self-pity of hers anymore. He leaned over, his arms coming beneath her and lifting her onto his side of the carriage.
“I would like nothing better than to be stuck to you,” he said with a grin.
“Eric!” she gasped as she settled on his lap. “We are in a moving carriage.”
“All the better,” he said, laying her down beneath him, as cumbersome as it was on the squab that was too short for her height.
“You do know that not all problems can be solved this way,” she said sternly, but Eric was pleased to see that he had achieved his aim of causing her tears to disappear.
He trailed a finger along her cheek. “If only they could,” he said mischievously but then sobered when he saw the seriousness in her eyes. “I know they cannot,” he said. “But it didn’t seem my words were working to convince you that you are all that I want, so I thought that I would show you instead.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “You have been quite the demonstrator until now.”
“There is always more to explore,” he said. “Even the most travelled road can make for the greatest of journeys.”
