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Oliver gave her a puzzled look. “I thought you didn’t have a dowry.”
“I don’t,” she replied. “At least, that is what my uncle and aunt have told me.”
“Would you like me to go speak to your father’s solicitor for you?” Oliver asked.
Emmeline shook her head. “I was hoping that we could go together.”
“That sounds much more pleasant,” Oliver responded. “When would you care to go?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
Oliver smiled. “I shall have to move some things around, but I would be happy to accompany you.”
“Thank you, Oliver,” Emmeline replied. “That would mean a great deal to me.”
Oliver’s eyes roamed his wife’s lovely face and asked, “Would you care to go on a carriage ride through Hyde Park this afternoon with me?”
He watched as Emmeline’s lips curled into a smile, causing his eyes to linger on them. He had kissed those perfectly formed lips before, and he hoped it wouldn’t be the last time.
“That sounds delightful,” she replied.
“Wonderful.” He cleared his throat and took a step back. “Then I shall see to the preparations.”
Chapter Nine
“Iam sopleased that you are here.”
“As am I,” Mary replied, smiling. “Although, I daresay it might take months before I can navigate my way through Hawthorne House.”
“I must agree with you there. It is rather enormous.” Emmeline smoothed down her pale blue gown with its square neckline. “Furthermore, I am relieved that you brought my gowns with you.”
“I imagined that would be the case.”
Kneeling next to the trunk, Mary reached inside as she asked, “How have you been enjoying being married?”
“Frankly, I don’t feel any different.”
“No?”
Emmeline sat down on the settee. “It isn’t as if this is a true marriage,” she replied. “Oliver has been kind, at least when he is around.”
Mary gave her a curious look. “Why do you say that?”
“When we arrived back in Town yesterday, he left to spend time with his friends and didn’t come home until this morning.”
“Oh, dear,” Mary murmured.
“He told me that he was with his friends, and I want to believe him,” Emmeline said hesitantly. “But I would be foolish to dismiss his reputation as a rakehell.”
“Do you think he was with a woman?”
Emmeline winced slightly. “I don’t, but I am not naïve enough to think that might not change one day.”
Mary removed a gown and placed it on the floor next to her. “What can you do about it?”
“Nothing,” she replied honestly. “I am his wife, and I am completely at his whim.”
“There must be something you can do.”
