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CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
Elizabeth opened her eyes wide before the mirror the following afternoon. They were red because she had not been able to sleep the night before. “This is not good,” she muttered to herself in frustration.
Her first night at the castle had been arduous because every time she had closed her eyes, she had seen Rhys, and then she had wanted him. She had touched herself as he had taught her to, but she burned even more for his touch.
Brutus tugged at her hem, and she looked down at him. He wanted to go out, and it was already time for them to go to Cullfield. She looked at her red eyes once more before sighing. They had not been this red in the morning.
“Someone will think I cried,” she said to Brutus, and he dropped his head and whined. She smiled. “Come, my little one.” She led him out of the room. On the landing of the second-floor stairs, she met Rhys walking up, and her heart stuttered while her body warmed. She curtsied, not meeting his eyes. Then she hurried past him, but Brutus did not follow her.
Elizabeth wanted to call him but decided against it and continued down the stairs by herself. When she stepped out through the front door, she found Irene by the carriage, laughing at something Miles, who was standing near her, had said. They addressed each other by their Christian names after having a pleasant conversation the night before on the terrace.
Miles began to walk toward her the instant he saw her. His brows furrowed when he stopped in front of her. “Elizabeth, are you well?”
“Yes, I am,” she replied with a forced smile.
“Your eyes are red,” he observed, concerned.
“I had trouble sleeping last night,” she replied, knowing he would not stop asking her questions until she told him something convincing and, in this event, the truth.
“The howling kept you up as well?” he asked, and she smiled, recalling the howling she had heard and catching the figurative rope he had just thrown her.
“Yes,” she replied, “were those dogs or wolves?”
“The gamekeeper’s dogs. He keeps seven of them on the estate.”
“I did not hear any howling,” Irene said, joining them.
“Then your windows must have been closed,” Miles observed.
“Perhaps, but it could be because I sleep very deeply,” Irene commented a little sheepishly. She turned her worried eyes to Elizabeth. “I did not know you had trouble sleeping last night.”
“I did not want you to worry, but I feel well,” Elizabeth reassured her sister.
“Guildford,” Miles called, looking past Elizabeth’s shoulder. She turned in search of Brutus and saw him atop the marble steps at Rhys’ feet. How he was able to command her dog’s attention was beyond her, and she felt somewhat threatened by it.
“You must instruct your gamekeeper to keep his hounds quiet,” Miles continued. “My dear Elizabeth was unable to sleep because of their howling.”
“I heard them, as well,” Rhys replied, descending the steps with Brutus in his wake. “I instructed him this morning.” He looked at Elizabeth. “I am sorry they disturbed you.”
She nodded then glanced at Brutus and asked, “What did you do to him?”
Rhys smirked. “He is my friend now.” His gaze held hers, and she felt as if he was disrobing her even though he did not look down at her body. The Dowager and Elizabeth’s parents joined them, and the moment was interrupted. They soon left for the village.
As they promenaded Cullfield, Miles animatedly showed her where they played when he was a child. “My mother brought me to Guildford Castle often because she thought my cousin was lonely, and we loved to play in front of the apothecary’s shop.” He pointed at the shop ahead.
“And was he lonely?” she asked, curious about what Rhys was like as a child. He was walking ahead of them with Irene.
“He was,” Miles said quietly. “He still is. His father, my uncle, and his mother never spent time in Dorset, but they made him stay here all by himself.”
“That was most unfortunate,” Elizabeth whispered, her heart aching for the lonely child that Rhys had been. She could sympathize with him because she had been lonely before. In a way, she still was.
“It was,” Miles said ruefully. “Our grandmother was in London, too, most of the time. She did not start living with him until he left Oxford.”
What Miles revealed to her explained why Rhys behaved as though he did not have a heart, but she still believed it was not reason enough for him to behave badly and seek to dominate the woman he married. However, there was a part of his dominance that excited her…the way he kissed and commanded her body to obey his wishes during all the times they had been intimate.
Miles drew her toward a cart filled with flowers. “My story has made you frown. I wish to make you smile,” he said. She smiled earnestly. He purchased a posy and handed it to her with a gallant bow. “For you, my fair lady.”
“Thank you.” She grinned, feeling better than she had in days. She had felt that he would do her good when they arrived, and she was pleased to know she was not wrong.
