Page 88 of How to Wed a Courtesan

‘Did you see my mother tonight?’ He lifted his brows.

Lottie shook her head and one of her partially pinned curls cascaded downward. Before she could reach for the pin, Evander got to his feet and slid it free. The lock of hair glided from its restraint and tumbled over her shoulder.

‘The Dowager Countess of Dalton was at her side, along with her true friends.’ He gently liberated one pin after another. ‘I dare say with so many widows in one small cluster we’ve a good deal to worry after. One never knows what schemes may be afoot with those ladies.’

Lottie offered a weak smile as several more curls were released from her coiffure.

‘Losing a false friend is no loss at all,’ Evander said. ‘My mother said that to my father when the adventure club fell apart. It stuck with me.’

‘Perhaps she feels differently now that it’s happened to her,’ Lottie said softly.

Evander ran his fingers through Lottie’s thick, dark hair, confirming that he had removed all the pins. ‘Perhaps you ought to speak with her about it, as you have me.’

Lottie looked up at him, her lovely glossy hair falling around her shoulders like black silk. God, she was so beautiful it almost hurt him to gaze upon her.

‘I don’t want you to regret...’ She twisted her fingers together.

He put his hands over hers to stop the nervous action. ‘You never need worry after that. The King himself could give me the cut direct and I would still not regret having married you.’

‘The King?’ Lottie gave a little laugh at that. ‘Truly?’

He drew her hands higher, encouraging her to her feet. ‘Truly.’ His arms came around her in an embrace. ‘I swear on my life, Lottie, I will never regret loving you.’

He lifted her chin with his fingertips and gently kissed her.

Later that night, however, as he lay in bed with her sleeping on his chest, their predicament rolled about in his head with more insistence than he liked.

Whether Huntly Manor was ready or not, he would have their trunks packed for departure on the morrow. While a few days in the country wouldn’t fix their situation, a much-needed break would do Lottie a world of good.

Lottie found Evander at breakfast already the following morning, with a broadsheet stretched out in his hands. Upon her entrance he lowered it, and smiled at her in the familiar way that set her heart fluttering.

‘What would you say if we left for Huntly Manor today?’ He set the newspaper on the table in a crinkle of thin paper.

A footman approached and held out a seat for her. Lottie sank into the chair and nodded her thanks at the young man. ‘Have you received word that it’s ready?’

‘How can it not be ready?’ he asked. ‘They’ve had nearly a fortnight, which is plenty of time.’ His hand reached across the table and took hers. ‘Being at the ball last night made me realise how much I long for some time alone with my wife. In the place where we fell in love.’

Heat blossomed over her cheeks. ‘I confess, it would be nice.’ And indeed it would—to be away from the ton, from judgement and rumour and gossip. At least for a little while.

‘We don’t need the entire house,’ Evander continued. ‘Just a warm fire for chilly evenings. Coverlets and sheets on a bed that’s had the mattress turned. How does that take a fortnight?’

She hesitated, knowing how displeased Sarah would be if everything wasn’t in proper order. Let alone how Andrews might take their precipitous arrival.

‘Imagine it, Lottie,’ Evander said wistfully. ‘Oxfordshire. Binsey. To be back in the village, to see the old vicarage. To walk our path.’

She couldn’t stop her mind from wandering back, and her heart ached for its familiarity with a sudden pang.

‘Very well,’ she conceded. ‘When shall we leave?’

‘In the time it takes for our trunks to be packed for us.’ Evander sat forward in his chair and kissed her cheek. Before all the servants.

Lottie flushed with pleasure and noticed one of the maids hid a smile.

‘Good morning.’ The Dowager Countess entered the room as Evander pulled away.

He regarded his mother. ‘Did you rest well, Mother?’

‘Heavens, too well.’ She made her way to a chair as the footman quickly pulled it out for her. ‘I slept later than usual. I fear the ball drained me of all my energy.’ She smiled fondly at Evander and Lottie. ‘Such revelries are better left for youth, I think.’