“Even to bookshops?”
His smile widened. “If that is the most shocking and debauched place for a lady to visit that you can think of, then certainly.”
A flush climbed across her cheeks. “I shall not be visiting shocking and debauched places.”
He closed his book with a snap, setting it aside.
“Of course not. By the way, most of your things have been sent on ahead, so your clothes and whatnot will have already been unpacked ready for you. Since you don’t have a maid of your own, I’ve taken the liberty of securing one of the housemaids to wait upon you. Her name is Ruthie, and I believe you will approve of her. She’s most pleasant, and rather good at hair-dressing and at other lady-like pursuits.”
“A lady’s maid?” Ursula echoed, bewildered. “Mama’s maid always attended to me before balls and such.”
Graham tilted his head. “I’m sure that worked very well for Lady Ursula Fairmont, but not for Lady Sinclair, viscountess.”
A slight tremor climbed down her spine. “It’s so odd to think of myself as Lady Sinclair. Or indeed a wedded woman at all. And I suppose you feel the same, imagining yourself as a wedded man?”
Graham sighed, crossing one leg over the other. “I suppose so. For my part, however, my life will not change very much. Gentlemen’s lives do not change when they enter into matrimony. Nevertheless, a woman’s life is indeed changed irrevocably.”
Ursula swallowed hard, and forced herself to meet his eyes. “Would you say this change is for good or for bad, my dear husband?”
He gave a wry smile in response. “For good, I hope.”
They relapsed into silence after this. Graham picked up his book and began to read, and Ursula stared out of the window, wishing that she, too, had a book. The journey to Sinclair House would take the better part of an hour, which was a long time when one had nothing at all to do.
After a moment, Graham reached for something underneath a cushion and withdrew a second book.
“I thought you might require a little entertainment,” he said, handing her the book. “Here isGaston De Blondeville.”
Ursula brightened, taking the book from him.
“This is a new release!”
“Indeed it is. I was not sure if you have read it already…”
“In fact, no,” Ursula confessed, chuckling. “Mama heard that there was a real ghost in it, and forbade me to read it. I shall read it with great pleasure, Graham. Thank you, this was most considerate.”
He shot her a quick, sharp glance over the top of his own book, and there was something in that look which made Ursula’s insides constrict. The sensation was not an unpleasant one. It was warm, and almost achy, stealing her breath and making herblood pound faster in her veins. The heat descended into the pit of her stomach and quietly boiled there.
In an attempt to regain her composure, Ursula directed her attention to the page. For once, however, the words could not engross her. Minutes ticked by. How long had they been travelling? Ten minutes? Twenty? Forty?
He never kissed me,Ursula found herself thinking, heart thudding.The rector did not bid him to kiss the bride. What would he have done, I wonder?
Perhaps Graham would have pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek or simply kissed her hand. Or perhaps he would have put chivalry aside and kissed her full on the mouth.
What would that feel like?
Ursula found her fingers creeping up towards her lips. She had not, of course, ever been kissed. Notproperly, in the way the stories discussed. Some books described kisses, and while she was extremely careful about not being caught reading such books, there was a breathless, fascinating quality to those stories. There was somethingthrillingabout them, especially since she knew she ought not to be reading such descriptions.
The thought of Graham kissing her made the fluttering feeling in her stomach increase, and she found herself squeezing her thighs together, quite without thinking.
Stop it,she scolded herself.This is not proper. You’ll discourage him.
Discourage him from what though, I wonder?
Glancing over at Graham again, she saw that he was entirely engrossed in his book, eyes intent on the page. As she watched, he delicately turned another page and chuckled at something he was reading there.
He could kiss me now, if he wished,Ursula thought.It would be entirely within his right.
Graham glanced up at last, offering her a faint, curious smile.
