He hesitated. “Would you like to rest before seeing my mother? I recall how fond you are of naps.”
“I do love naps. But I can speak with her now, if you prefer.”
“There’s time,” he said. “Take a moment for yourself. You’ve earned it.”
Crossing to the bed, Olivia trailed her fingers over the silk coverlet. “Then I believe I shall close my eyes for a bit.”
“As you wish,” Evander said. “You’re my wife now. You may have anything you like.”
Wife.
There it was again—that word. She would have to grow used to hearing it. Saying it.Livingit.
A yawn escaped her lips, and she lifted a gloved hand to stifle it. “I suppose I am a bit more tired than I thought,” she murmured, offering Evander an apologetic smile.
His gaze was warm with understanding. “Then rest, Olivia,” he encouraged. “We’ve had quite the day.” With a soft click, he closed the door behind him, leaving her alone in the stillness of her new bedchamber.
She stood motionless for a moment, staring at the door. The silence pressed in around her, a reminder that this was her new life now.You did the right thing, she told herself. If she repeated it often enough, perhaps she would begin to believe it.
She sank onto the edge of the mattress, the silk coverlet cool beneath her palms. She reached to remove her gloves, but a soft knock halted her movements.
“Enter,” she ordered, sitting up straighter.
The door opened and in stepped Annie, her petite lady’s maid, balancing two hat boxes in her arms. Wisps of blonde hair framed her round, familiar face.
“Good afternoon, my lady,” Annie said cheerfully as she nudged the door closed with her foot.
A genuine smile broke across Olivia’s face. “Annie! I’m glad to see a friendly face.”
“I thought I’d bring these up first,” Annie said, setting the boxes down with care. “Shall I start unpacking the rest of your things?”
“Not yet,” Olivia replied. “I was planning to take a nap first.”
Annie tilted her head. “And how are you faring, truly?”
Olivia offered a slight shrug. “I am… Evander’s wife.”
“I’m aware,” Annie replied. “But that was what you wanted, was it not?”
“It was,” Olivia admitted, smoothing the folds of her gown. “Still is.”
Annie crossed the room and perched beside her on the edge of the bed, her expression probing. “Then what’s troubling you?”
With a weary sigh, Olivia leaned back and let herself fall against the mattress, eyes drifting to the carved canopy overhead. “It’s just… I don’t know the first thing about being a wife.”
Annie gave a soft laugh. “I don’t think anyone does at first. I suspect it’s something you figure out along the way.”
“But ours is a marriage of convenience,” Olivia said. “What if Evander regrets it? What if, one day, he resents me?”
The light humor drained from Annie’s expression. “And what if you two end up deliriously happy?”
Olivia turned her head to look at her maid. “I’m being serious.”
“So am I,” Annie replied. “You’ve endured so much. Surely happiness isn’t out of reach.”
“But none of it would have happened if I’d been wiser. The scandal, the humiliation… it was all my doing.”
“You were tricked?—”
