Page 69 of A Marriage of Convenience with a Rake
He looked around the room. An Oriental style screen covered with thin paper decorated with a design of plants and flowers stood in one corner. He used it for dressing and undressing if a servant was in the room. He sighed, guessing she must have retired behind the screen to dress.
“Eleanor?” he called again, slipping lightly out of bed.
He paused, waiting for some noise or some comment from behind the screen, bending to organize the chaos of discarded clothing on the floor while he did so. When nobody spoke, his frown deepened.
She was not in the room.
Sebastian tensed, at first thinking that some terrible thing had befallen her—perhaps she had been taken ill during the night, or she had slipped out to the privy and fallen. Wild thoughts flooded his brain, from her being injured falling off the balcony to bandits abducting her from the terrace, and he took a deep breath.
“She’s surely fine,” he told himself firmly.
His belief that he could hurt those he loved had gone too far, reinforced over the years by Papa and Aunt Tessa. Oddly, after the discussion with Aunt Tessa about the origins of the curse, hefelt a little better. To say nothing of Eleanor’s comment about no curse being able to override God’s will. It made him feel a little less able to condemn all those he loved.
He dressed swiftly; his haste no longer inspired by fear but by longing. He wanted to find Eleanor and hold her close and kiss her again.
He chose a fresh pair of trousers and a clean shirt, then slipped his feet into a pair of lightweight indoor boots and hurried up the hallway.
A delicious smell of pastries wafted out of the breakfast room, and he paused in the doorway, stomach aching with hunger. Surely, Eleanor had come in for breakfast? His gaze moved swiftly to the three cups and plates laid out at the table—one for himself, one for Eleanor and one for Papa. None of them had been used as yet.
He glanced around, seeing nothing to indicate that Eleanor had been in there that morning, and then hurried to the drawing room. The butler was there, tidying things away.
“Good morning, my lord,” he greeted Sebastian politely.
“Morning. Have you seen her ladyship?” Sebastian asked swiftly.
“She was here not ten minutes ago, my lord,” the butler answered lightly.
“Thank you,” Sebastian murmured. “Have you any idea where she might have gone?”
“None whatsoever, my lord,” the butler answered honestly.
Sebastian inclined his head, feeling a little worried despite his resolve not to think of what harm might have befallen her.
He thanked the butler and hurried out.
One place he had not looked was the guest-quarters, where she had slept when she first arrived.
As he wandered up the hallway to the guest-quarters, he noticed that a door stood slightly ajar. He ducked in around thedoor and grinned, seeing Eleanor’s shapely body from the back, slightly bent forward as she rummaged in a cupboard.
“Good morning,” he murmured, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist firmly.
“Oh! Sebastian!” Her exclamation was one of sheer surprise and he grinned to himself. “Good morning.”
He smiled as she straightened up and turned to face him. He tightened his grip around her waist, drawing her close, her head resting against his chest. He reached up and stroked her soft, lovely honey-dark hair.
“Have I told you that I love you?” he said softly.
She giggled. “I believe you did,” she said, lifting her head from where it rested against his chest. “And I believe I told you how much I love you, too.”
“You did,” Sebastian agreed, leaning down, and kissing her lovely, soft lips.
“Have you had breakfast?” Eleanor asked softly.
“I have not, yet, no,” Sebastian admitted. “I must say, it was not the first thing on my mind when I awoke this morning.”
Eleanor went pink, her blush shading her cheeks beautifully, making her green eyes seem to sparkle with warmth. “It was likewise not on my mind,” she teased gently.
Sebastian leaned forward and kissed her again, holding her tight.
