Page 47 of A Spinster for the Rakish Duke
“You must have recognized how out of character it would be for me to send something like that,” Emma rushed to an explanation as Donovan gave her a perplexed look. “It was Martha, you see; she wanted me to act upon and express my feelings, so we would begin a romantic courtship. She wrote the letter.” Emma’s face was beet red.
“It’s funny. I was going to say I thought it was a little out of character until I met you,” he said with a smile.
Emma blinked at him in surprise. “What?”
“You’re bold, forward, and I’d go so far as to say courageous. And now that I know what a wildfire you are in the bedroom, I can’t say the letter seems all that shocking. Tame by comparison, really.” His smile was downright boyish as he made this comment.
Emma’s blush of shame turned to a bright red glow of embarrassment. “I cannot believe you just said that.”
“You don’t think it’s true?” Donovan asked.
“There is... there is stuff in that letter we haven’t even done,” Emma stated.
“Give it time,” Donovan remarked, which caused Emma to blush so fiercely that she couldn’t bring herself to reply. This embarrassment was twofold when Donovan revealed moments later that he still kept the letter.
“You need to get rid of that. Or at the very least hide it somewhere.”
“Why so red, my love? Is it the part where you describe yourunfulfilled needs? Or the part of the letter where you talk of your desire tomake me feel like a wild stallion being broken in?”
Emma practically choked on her words, which caused Donovan to laugh. His laughter only increased as she chased him around the room as she tried to snatch the letter from him.
“It was rather silly of you to send your valet back to London,” Emma remarked with a passive cluck, a voice she usually reserved for Benjamin, as she helped her husband dress for dinner.
“I’ve gone great lengths of time without a valet. I believed I could survive another week or so without one. Besides, someonehad to survey the transfer of possessions from the flat to here,” Donovan observed.
“Well, who dressed you before you hired Mr. Herst?” Emma asked.
“Why, I dressed myself, of course,” Donovan told her.
“Then why are you having me dress you for dinner now?” Emma demanded this time, completely befuddled.
“I thought it would be nice to be dressed by my wife,” Donovan said casually, a remark which turned Emma’s disbelief into merriment. She laughed and kissed her husband on the lips. “Come now, Your Grace, let us get down to our dinner. Traveling has awoken an appetite in me that I have not known in a long time.”
The dinner that they shared their first evening in Lowe Manor was one of the best meals Emma had ever eaten. It was rich and well prepared and a delight with every bite.
“Now, this was food that I missed. I am surprised as the man must be quite old now, but I can tell by the flavor that this has to be Mr. Arrezz’s cooking. My mother and father absolutely adored him, and this is the exact food I ate growing up,” Donovan said, between quietly relished bites.
“It is quite good,” Emma remarked, more enthused at her husband's enjoyment than anything but enjoying the meal all the same.
Donovan shook his head. “Good heavens, I got distracted by the food. I was going to take the opportunity during our first dinner to tell you where we are going for our honeymoon.”
Emma clasped her hands together in excitement. “Oh, do I get to find out now?”
“Do you? Perhaps it's better to hold it off just a bit longer. Then again, what if you anticipate it too greatly? What if it doesn’t live up to what you imagined it could be?” Donovan thought aloud, clearly trying to draw the last few moments out of his wife’s anticipation.
“No fair. You can’t promise something just to take it away again,” Emma cried out, clearly in on her husband's ruse and wanting no part of it. “Tell me, or I just might combust from the excitement.”
Donovan laughed. “Alright then, I suppose there is no more putting it off. I have arranged for us to travel to Skiddaw mountain and stay in a small cabin by a lake at its base. We shall spend our time climbing the slopes and exploring the valleys,” Donovan told her excitedly and was thrilled to see her face light up and her excitement come to match his. “I’m sure there will be no end of interesting and exciting things to see. Not to mention some peace and quiet to ourselves which sounds like a nice change of pace to me.”
“Skiddaw Mountain? Oh, Donovan truly? That sounds like a fantastic trip,” Emma exclaimed. “It is one of the tallest mountains in all of England. Surely there will be so much to study; I am worried I’ll forget it is our honeymoon,” Emma said with a bit of embarrassed chuckle.
Donovan stood up to move behind his wife’s seat and pull it out so she could rise. When Emma stood, Donovan leaned forward and whispered into her ear. “Worry not about forgetting that we are honeymooning; come evening, I’ll be sure to remind you.”
A shiver traveled up and down Emma’s body. Perhaps it would be much harder to forget than she originally thought. Trying to bury the feeling until she acted on it more privately, she turned and embraced her husband. “You know me so well, Donovan. Could I be luckier than to be married to you?”
“Yes, you could be married to you,” he told her and planted a simple kiss on her forehead before they headed for the stairs. “We should retire for the evening. We will have to prepare for another long journey tomorrow. But once we arrive at the base, then we will have as much time to rest and relax as we like,” he assured her.
“Just as long as we don’t have to ride in a carriage for a while,” Emma insisted.
