Page 110 of The Heiress's Daughter
“Then trust me. It’s a surprise.”
He led her up to the rear gate of one of the houses that backed onto the garden. She halted. “This is the house that was sold a while back, the one the new owner is refurbishing.”
“That’s right.” He pulled out a key and opened the gate.
She didn’t move. “Do you know the new owner?” He inclined his head and she said, “So you have permission to enter?”
“I thought you said you trusted me.”
She did, so despite her reservations, she allowed him to lead her inside the house. The late-evening sun shone through the windows, gilding the signs of building works in progress with a gentle glow. The house smelled faintly of paint and plaster dust and sawdust. Tradesmen’s tools lay discarded in a corner, and a ladder, bucket and rolls of wallpaper sat at the entrance of one of the rooms.
Uncomfortable with trespassing, even assuming he had permission, she moved toward the front door. “Not that way, up here,” he said, directing her toward the stairs, which had recently been polished.
She hesitated. Surely they weren’t going to make love here, in this half-finished, empty, stranger’s house. She’d thought he’d take her somewhere nice, like maybe a suite in a hotel or something. “I thought—”
“Trust me?”
She sighed and began to climb the stairs, feeling quitelet down. “Very well.” But if he expected her to make love among the tradesmen’s tools on the floor—even on a dust sheet—he would have another think coming.
But no, surely he wouldn’t? She had to trust him.
They reached the first floor and he stopped in front of the closed door. “Close your eyes and keep them closed until I say ‘open,’ ” he told her.
She closed them and kept them closed as he led her inside the room.
“Open.”
“Ohhhhh.” She looked around her in amazement. The red-gold rays of the setting sun burnished the leaves of the trees outside, the light revealing a fully furnished bedchamber, papered in delicate Chinese-pattern wallpaper in pale blue and gold. The floorboards were polished to a high gloss and a large, soft, blue and cream carpet covered most of the floor. An elegant wardrobe, dressing table and washstand, complete with water jug and bowl sat along the walls, and in the center of the room sat a large, carved wooden bed, fully made up with mattress, plump pillows and a satin eiderdown. The bedclothes had been turned down invitingly, showing snowy sheets. The contrast with the scene downstairs was astonishing.
She turned to him in amazement. “Whose is this house?”
He smiled. “Ours.”
“Ours?” She glanced around the room again. “Really?”
He nodded.
“But how, Race? When? And why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“It certainly is that.” She wrinkled her brow, thinking back. “You must have bought this house…I don’t know, weeks ago? Months?” She couldn’t remember exactly, but it seemed to her that the sounds of workmen had been ringing across the garden for ages.
His smile deepened. “I bought it three days after theArden ball.” He let that sink in, then added, “I told you I made up my mind about you back then. I’d hoped to have the refurbishments finished by the time we returned from our honeymoon.”
She could still hardly believe it. “You bought this house? For me? Three days after the Arden ball?”
He nodded. “I thought you’d like to have your sister living just across the garden, and Lady Scattergood, too—you seem quite fond of her. And Lady Tarrant and the little girls. And, of course, you’ll still have your beloved garden—while we’re in London, that is. At other times we’ll be at my country estate.”
She gazed around the room in wonder. All that time ago…“I love it, of course. It’s wonderful. Perfect. But what if I’d said no?”
He shrugged. “I was hoping you wouldn’t.”
Stunned, she sat down on a chair covered in embroidered straw-colored satin. “And this room?” She gestured.
“That I had to pull together today. It was a bit of a rush job, and you can probably still smell the paint. I’ve had the windows open all day to dispel it.”
She shook her head. “It just smells new and clean. But I can’t believe you arranged all this today, even the bedclothes. It’s all just wonderful.”
