A sheepish giggle escaped Verity, and she covered her mouth with her free hand. The flush grew warmer as she quietly admitted, “I do love it. I really do. Perhaps that should have been my answer.”
“I shall allow you two answers on this front if that will help,” he offered with a slight smile. “Would that be more or less orderly?”
“Now you’re teasing me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of such a thing.”
Verity laughed. And when she laughed, her arm tightened around his as he guided them through a narrow area of the lane. He felt her knees brush against his legs. They nearly stumbled feet over feet across the spot of rubble, chuckling together, before righting their way back on the main path.
Their walk might not have fit Dominic’s routine, but he found it all the better for that reason. Never had the sunlight felt so warm or the touch of a woman’s hand on his so comfortable.
Perhaps this match for them had always been the right one.
CHAPTER 12
Verity returned breathless from the walk, tossing her walking boots off the moment she made it to her bedchamber.
She laughed with Dominic. A stroll with her husband had been just perfect. He could tease her when he was comfortable, he could even laugh. It was a charming sort of noise that she hadn’t expected. When they met, she wasn’t entirely convinced he could laugh.
Quite the delight.
“You were gone forever, Your Grace!” Lucy hastened into the room, immediately snatching up her boots. “Is everything well?”
“Perfectly well,” Verity reassured her. She plucked off her gloves one by one, handing them over. “I shouted and I laughed and I ate roasted nuts in the middle of the park. It was all splendid.”
Straightening up, her maid sent her a querying look. “Indeed, it sounds utterly splendid. I am glad to see you happy here.”
“Yes, yes, happy.” Verity stretched. Walking over to the window, she looked out to the gardens behind the house. They truly were lovely from any angle. Colorful and well-maintained. Very precise. Keeping management of a place already so well organized was very satisfying.
Hopefully, it always will be.
She hummed while her maid helped her change into a house dress. Lucy was going to go off to hem a loose stitch on her night robe when she paused to ask, “Is it truly going well with His Grace? I should like you content here, my lady. And with your secrets…”
“They shall remain secrets,” Verity reiterated immediately. She kept the smile on her face though it pained her. “I trust you can help me with that?”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Lucy nodded, curtseying before going off.
Verity was left to her own devices then. She turned back toward the window and was surprised to see Dominic out there. Over in the corner by the pond he stood, hands clasped neatly at his back while looking down.
What do you feel towards your own mother, Dominic? What was that expression you made this morning? The questions I have for you keep piling high, taller than any of us.
Yes, the morning stroll had been lovely. No longer did she feel like such a stranger to him, or he to her. There was charm in the man, and kindness and respect. She could see them managing their household and future well together.
Which meant he would surely trust her soon.
So long as he would trust her enough to share his secrets, that was what she wanted most right now. It was a hunger inside of her. Deep beneath her ribs, Verity needed to know what Dominic knew. What he was up to.
Whatever secrets exist now cannot be hidden forever. Not so long as I am on the trail.
If only she had more ideas. There wasn’t anything particularly fish about the duke that she could see thus far. And in the little research she had explored, her brother and husband had very little in common.
“I’ll be polite and proper and allow him his routines. He will trust me,” Verity told her reflection in the vanity mirror, “and he will lead me with clues he doesn’t even know. I’ll find the answers that way. Or I will show him I can be trusted to learn the truth.”
She could be trusted, couldn’t she?
While she gnawed on her lower lip, Verity stared at herself.
“Sometimes I wonder if I really know who you are,” Lucien had told her the morning of her marriage. “What are your desires? This marriage? Did you want anything else?”
