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“How do you do that?” she demanded in surprise.
“How do I do what?”
“How do you always seem to know what I am thinking?”
This wasn’t the first time it had happened either. It was a little perplexing.
“It is easy,” Aidan grinned. “Try to see if you can guess what I am thinking.”
She studied his smile and felt her own lips curve in response to the teasing look on his face.
“I dread to think,” she murmured ruefully. “Mrs Kempton’s apple cake, probably.”
“Wrong,” he replied huskily. “Guess again.”
Petal shook her head and sighed. It was going to be a very long day indeed if they were going to go on like this. She hadn’t got a clue what that twinkle in his eye was all about – or did she?
She peered at him a little more closely. Her eyes widened, and she watched his smile widen.
“Aidan, it is the middle of the afternoon,” she protested, glancing around the hallway in case any of the staff were nearby.
“It was the middle of the afternoon earlier and that didn’t stop us. It is early evening now,” he pointed out with a nod to the grandfather clock beside them. “Besides, there is one critical thing we need to do to make sure that the marriage is legitimate, and cannot ever be questioned.”
“What’s that?”
“Consummation,” he whispered leaving forward for a very thorough kiss.
“It will be dinner time soon. Mrs Kempton won’t like us being late.”
Aidan laughed. “I am sure Mrs Kempton will understand. This is our wedding night. She had a wedding night of her own once, you know. Besides, you don’t have to report to her now. She has to report to you.”
The atmosphere shifted; and lifted the hairs on the back of her neck. All of their worries suddenly faded into insignificance.
Petal felt a wild flurry of anticipation sweep through her at the look in her husband’s eye, and couldn’t think of a single objection. She knew immediately what he wanted and turned toward the stairs.
“Consummation, you say?” she murmured seductively.
Her entire being melted at the intent look on his face.
“Where are you going?” he asked when she turned around and began to walk up the stairs.
She looked at him over her shoulder.
“To bed,” she replied with a smile, and waited for him to catch up.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
For the next several days, while Aidan and Petal were blissfully happy, their joy was slightly dampened by the looming spectre of the dowager, who had yet to return.
Aidan had continued to regain his strength at a rapid pace; to the point that he was now accompanying his wife on walks around the garden. With each day that passed the distance they covered had increased until he had now decided to venture out on his first horse ride for three months.
“Are you sure you should be doing this?” Petal asked doubtfully when she saw the size of the mount the groom brought round from the stables.
She eyed the horse’s huge feet; they were the size of the dinner plates Mrs Kempton put out at meal times.
“I will be fine. I am not going to go far,” Aidan assured her, delighted by her concern for him.
He didn’t think he would ever lose the joy he felt at being married to her. It brought far more freedoms than he had ever anticipated and, in particular, one very special friend whom he adored having by his side.
