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Chapter Five
Thaddeus felt like an errant schoolboy as he knocked on the door to the room next to his. Behind the wood panel, the whisperings of female voices halted. He waited, clasping his hands behind him and cocked his ear to listen for the light tread of feminine footsteps. His heartbeat stirred to such a degree that he wasn’t certain he would be able to hear over it.
The door opened to reveal the plucky maidservant, Hattie. If she was surprised to see him in the corridor, she hid it well. She merely turned up her freckled face and blocked him from looking past her into the room.
“Might I help thee, sir?”
“There’s no need to be so formal about it. I wondered if I might have a moment with Perdie.”
The feminine twitters resumed, hasty words that didn’t quite reach his ears. The angle of the door cut off his line of sight. He clutched his hands tighter as he awaited her response.
Without a twitch betraying her amusement—though surely she was having a laugh at him—the maidservant said, “Please, sir, if you would wait but for a moment, I’ll see if she’s at home.”
As if they were in a daft London townhouse as opposed to this cozy little country inn. The ceiling in the corridor was slanted, so the only place he could stand with ease was pressed right up against the door. He sighed as that door was shut in his face and the maidservant left to confer with her mistress, who undoubtedly was inside. He’d had Lionel bring up the trunks only half an hour before.
Perdie made him wait an ungodly stretch before she answered the door. Her hair was out of its pins but brushed and neatly plaited for bed. In the glow of the firelight within, her hair seemed a burnished gold. So lovely that he wondered if some of that warmth would transfer to his hands if he were to touch it.
He kept them firmly clasped at his back.
She raised an imperious eyebrow. “Yes, Thaddeus? You asked for my company?”
He cleared his throat, feeling suddenly nervous. Why, he couldn’t say. It wasn’t as though he didn’t have experience with the opposite sex. He had six sisters, for God’s sake. And a lover or two in the past. But he’d never thought much of marriage before. It had always been something that he would get around to doing eventually.
Now that he was set to inherit, eventually had arrived. And standing before him was the most charming, brazen young woman he’d ever met.
He offered his hand. “I wondered if my wife might like to take a walk with me through the village. The night is exceedingly lovely.”
Almost as lovely as you. Thaddeus bit off the compliment before it reached his lips. He didn’t want to overstay his welcome, and from the way she’d shied away from previous compliments, she was not open to his spoken admiration.
He watched her cheeks turn rosy and her eyes bright. Her hand tightened on the handle of the door, almost as if she were warring with herself over whether or not to shut it in his face.
Before she made the decision, her companion, Felicity, wrapped a lace-edged shawl around Perdie’s shoulders.
“There you are! All set to be off. I daresay you need to stretch your legs after spending all day in the carriage. I know what a beast you are when you’re confined.”
Perdie’s eyes narrowed to a glare, one she thankfully aimed toward her companion, rather than him. Through gritted teeth, she said, “You speak as though you’re not coming with me.”
Felicity widened her eyes almost comically. “Dear me, you know how riding in a carriage makes me ill. I do need to rest for a bit. I think it’s best I stay in bed. Besides, we’re not in London anymore.”
Those words seemed to sink into Perdie like a stone skipping through water. Her lips tested them again. “Not in London.” Her mouth stretched in an almost giddy smile, one she hastily hid behind her hand. When she composed herself, she dropped her hand and said with an elegant tilt of her head. “Yes, of course. I think a walk will be just the thing. I’m certain my…Thaddeus wouldn’t let me come to any harm.”
She had been about to say my husband. He pressed a hand to his chest, over his stuttering heart. “I’ll protect you with my last breath.”
Perdie snorted daintily and stepped through the door, but she didn’t close it behind her. Instead, she turned to look at her two companions and said pointedly, “Besides, Hattie will be following along to make certain I come to no harm.”
The maidservant bit the corner of her lip as she looked between the two women, uncertain. Felicity glared daggers at her.
“Begging your pardon, milady, but what if Miss Felicity is sick all over the floor? You wouldn’t want to return to a room that stinks to high heaven. I think I ought to remain with her.”
Perdie’s eyes flashed with the promise of retribution but didn’t say a word aloud.
Thaddeus interjected. “I assure you, we’ll be perfectly safe so long as we remain confined to the village grounds. But if you’re worried for your safety, I could have Lionel follow us at a distance.”
What he wanted most was time with her. Time alone. That morning, when they’d ridden abreast, had been the best few moments of the day.
During the rest of their travel, Perdie had shut herself away inside the carriage, and the only thing that had passed for company was Lionel’s griping. At one point, Thaddeus’s instincts had gone on high alert and he’d been afraid of yet more highwaymen. However, when he’d removed the knife from his boot and used it to trim his nails while riding ahead of the carriage, if someone had been lurking, they’d obviously decided that the carriage wasn’t worth their trouble. Thaddeus could look menacing when he needed to. No doubt a benefit of his wild Scottish blood.
Perdie lifted her face to meet his gaze. She was made of steel, this woman, and he doubted even he was hot enough to render her supple.
