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Lily was so perfect, and all his.
He collapsed next to her, holding her tight against his chest as they both drifted off to sleep.
Lily woke to the afternoon sun streaming through the windows.
For a moment she attempted to remember where they were, until it came to her.
They’d reached London.
They’d made it home.
Home.
Her eyes widened as she lifted her head up to look about the room.
She was still clasped to Ash’s chest but that didn’t stop her from taking in the large space, the giant four-post bed, the large mattress, and the dark, masculine linens that surrounded them.
“You can redecorate if you’d like, any way you want.”
“What?” She turned to find Ash staring at her with a sleepy smile.
“This is the primary bedroom. Technically, your room is next door, but as I don’t plan on sleeping separately, feel free to make this room as feminine as you’d like.”
She blinked at him.
It wasn’t exactly that she didn’t have opinions. As a seamstress, she paired fabrics, put together various ensembles, and she could see how those coordinated preferences could easily translate to an entire room. It was more that such decadence had never occurred to her. Joy flowed through her. “Is that something you’ve done often? Redecorate?”
His smile slipped a bit. “A little. This used to be my father’s room…”
She winced at that. “I can understand wanting to change that. It’s just never been a luxury I’ve had.”
“I know you’ve had some rough times.”
She shook her head. “I’m not asking you to apologize for your life. I suppose I just never dreamed I’d share a world like this one. I’m still adjusting.”
“Your father was a duke,” he said pulling her closer again.
“And I’m a bastard.”
He grimaced. There was a time when he’d cursed his bastard siblings. He’d made plenty of his own mistakes too. Ash traced her hairline with a tip of his finger. “I’d like to say that your father was wrong to ever have had an affair with your mother, but then you wouldn’t be here…”
She smiled at that. “Well, we can say that he was wrong in leaving us to fend for ourselves.”
“Agreed.” But that twisted a different knife in his gut—because he’d begrudged the funds his father had left for the other children he’d sired. He stroked her cheek. “But I have to confess to you that I haven’t been nearly as generous as Bash. He’s attempted to make all your lives better and that is amazing to me. I’ve been much pettier.”
Lily gave him a soft smile. “In your defense, our father seemed to dislike all of us equally, legitimate or no. While your father…” She trailed off, not saying what they both knew. His father had always preferred his other family.
Still. He wondered how they fared. Did they live well or were they like Lily, barely surviving?
The very idea that he had potential sisters out there struggling filled with him with a deep pang of regret, which stayed with him as they dressed and then made their way down to the dining room for a meal.
They’d no more sat to eat when a missive arrived from Lily’s brother Bash.
Tearing it open, Ash quickly scanned the contents. The duke requested their presence for dinner. He had news he wished to share.
Ash handed the note to Lily.
He’d like nothing more than to spend the evening alone with her, but their business was not done and if Bash wanted to see them so soon, surely it was important.
With that in mind, he rose to pen a quick reply. They’d see Bash for dinner that evening.
