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The funeral had been hell. Making small-talk with strangers who used sympathy as an excuse to meet him was far from how he had wanted to spend his time. His mourning for Gower was a complex beast. Though he had arrived at Bagleyhurst with nothing but derision, the longer he’d walked the halls, the more the power of the dead man had begun to infiltrate his soul. It brought a heaviness to him he hadn’t expected to feel.
And yet the funeral had still been an act. Caradoc had no interest in showing his conflicting feelings to the world at large. He did not grieve publicly. It had been an arduous afternoon.
But here was Seraphina, and everything was okay again. At least, it would be, as soon as they could be alone.
CHAPTER SIX
His hand was tracing intricate patterns in the small of her back. Finn’s lips lifted in a groggy smile, but she could do little more. Her body was exhausted; her mind spent.
She smothered a yawn and pressed her head into the pillow.
“What were you and Madison whispering about when I found you?”
Caradoc, in contrast, sounded as energized as ever. How did he do that? She sometimes wished she could bottle his energy.
Finn’s eyes were heavy. She blinked, and tried to focus on the thick velvet of the curtains across the room. “Were we whispering?”
He smiled. “Yes.”
Finn smothered another yawn. “We were talking about books. Have you started reading The BFG yet?”
He frowned. “The what?”
His forgetfulness irked her. “The book I picked for you.”
“Oh.” He loved the way her skin felt; so soft and warm. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because, beautiful Seraphina, the time I have when I’m not working,
I much prefer to spend like this.”
“You could read in bed,” she said with a pout.
“That would be a waste of the time I have you for.”
Something heavy tugged at her heart. It felt like a reminder of the temporary state of their relationship.
“You are very good with Madison.”
Finn pushed the worry from her mind. She knew they were temporary. Nothing he could say would change that. “I like her.”
Caradoc’s voice was thick with an emotion she didn’t comprehend. “The funeral was hard for her.”
His admission surprised Finn. She rolled over in the bed, her eyes scanning his face. “Just for her?”
He wore an implacable mask, and Finn wondered how he did that? Surely he felt the same as everyone else. And yet he behaved as though nothing and no one had the ability to upset him.
“She is a child; and she was close to Gower.”
“Yes,” Finn nodded, her eyes not leaving his face. She didn’t know it, but Caradoc was often unsettled by that habit she had of staring at him as though she saw every crenulation of his soul.
“My father’s wife Elizabetta is not attentive to Madison’s needs.”
Finn compressed her lips while she sought for the appropriate rejoinder. “Isn’t she?”
Caradoc smiled slowly, and Finn’s heart turned over in her chest. “If you have been speaking with Madison as much as I believe then surely you have come to this conclusion yourself.”
