fallen into his arms? They'd both been so startled that neither moved for several long moments.
And then he'd kissed her. Just like that. No whispered apologies, no permission sought, just a heated pressing of his lips to hers, culminating in a night of passion that should have dispelled any social barriers between them.
Indeed, Maria's doubts were assuaged until the following morning brought a dawning awareness that physical intimacy did not mean the same thing for him that it did for her. He still held her at arms length and so she placed a few more bricks in the wall she'd built to protect herself.
Now, while she reminisced about kisses and caresses, Richard's smile grew strained at the corners, his impatience making itself known. Maria glided forward, her many years of training in ladylike deportment coming to her rescue.
“I was woolgathering, my lord. My apologies.”
Richard's strained smile eased. “You seemed many miles away just now.”
“Not so far, I assure you.” She couldn't meet his eyes, for fear of revealing exactly what it was that distracted her. “You have something to show me?” She gestured to the ignored box under his arm.
Glancing around the room, Richard frowned, just a bit, before noticing the table placed in a ray of sunlight, just under the window. He grasped her hand and tugged her across the room, pushing her down in a straight-backed chair. Placing the box before her on the table, he inserted a key. The lock gave with barely a sound, a clear indication that this box was opened often. In a melodramatic gesture completely at odds with his normal dukely mien, he threw the lid back.
Maria's eyes widened. Emeralds, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and garnets winked up at her in the sun's light. The array of wealth startled her, as she'd been given to understand that the duke faced penury, thus his marriage to the daughter of a man in trade.
“They're all paste, of course,” he said, solving that particular mystery, “but they're very good and exact copies of my family's heirloom jewels. As the debts mounted, the real gems were replaced with glass. By the time I had need...” He trailed off, a quick glance at her the only indication he'd spoken without thought and regretted his words.
“They are beautiful, my lord,” Maria told him sincerely as she trailed one finger over a sparkling emerald pendant.
“They are for you.”
Her head shot up. “For me?”
“Of course. You are the duchess. My duchess.”
Maria's breath caught. His duchess? Had she just imagined that note of tenderness in his voice?
“I know they are nothing compared to what you father bought for you, but these will be recognized for what they represent.” He stepped back as he spoke. By the time he said his final word, he'd reached the door to the corridor. A second later, he was gone.
It was a full twenty seconds before Maria managed to drag her eyes from the door and focus again on the jewels. Pushing a few pretty baubles from side to side, thinking of her husband more than what she was doing, she almost missed the dull gold shine of an object at the bottom of the box.
At first glance, she thought it was a pocket watch. It was certainly a cheap little thing, assuredly not a bauble for a duke. She released the catch. Not a pocket watch, she mused, but a compass. She turned in the chair, smiling as the little needle jumped and jiggled its way north.
And then she saw the engraving.
For Richard. May you never lose your way. FH.
FH? Felicia Hensley?
Richard burst through the door. Maria snapped the compass shut, dropping it back in the box as she rose to her feet, hiding her trembling hands in her skirts. “My lord? What's amiss?”
“Forgot something, that's all,” he said, reaching into the box and extracting the compass she'd just dropped in. Shooting her a smile, he exited as quickly as he'd entered.
A dark cloud passed over the sun, mirroring the darkness in Maria's heart.
Part 4
In
And then he'd kissed her. Just like that. No whispered apologies, no permission sought, just a heated pressing of his lips to hers, culminating in a night of passion that should have dispelled any social barriers between them.
Indeed, Maria's doubts were assuaged until the following morning brought a dawning awareness that physical intimacy did not mean the same thing for him that it did for her. He still held her at arms length and so she placed a few more bricks in the wall she'd built to protect herself.
Now, while she reminisced about kisses and caresses, Richard's smile grew strained at the corners, his impatience making itself known. Maria glided forward, her many years of training in ladylike deportment coming to her rescue.
“I was woolgathering, my lord. My apologies.”
Richard's strained smile eased. “You seemed many miles away just now.”
“Not so far, I assure you.” She couldn't meet his eyes, for fear of revealing exactly what it was that distracted her. “You have something to show me?” She gestured to the ignored box under his arm.
Glancing around the room, Richard frowned, just a bit, before noticing the table placed in a ray of sunlight, just under the window. He grasped her hand and tugged her across the room, pushing her down in a straight-backed chair. Placing the box before her on the table, he inserted a key. The lock gave with barely a sound, a clear indication that this box was opened often. In a melodramatic gesture completely at odds with his normal dukely mien, he threw the lid back.
Maria's eyes widened. Emeralds, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and garnets winked up at her in the sun's light. The array of wealth startled her, as she'd been given to understand that the duke faced penury, thus his marriage to the daughter of a man in trade.
“They're all paste, of course,” he said, solving that particular mystery, “but they're very good and exact copies of my family's heirloom jewels. As the debts mounted, the real gems were replaced with glass. By the time I had need...” He trailed off, a quick glance at her the only indication he'd spoken without thought and regretted his words.
“They are beautiful, my lord,” Maria told him sincerely as she trailed one finger over a sparkling emerald pendant.
“They are for you.”
Her head shot up. “For me?”
“Of course. You are the duchess. My duchess.”
Maria's breath caught. His duchess? Had she just imagined that note of tenderness in his voice?
“I know they are nothing compared to what you father bought for you, but these will be recognized for what they represent.” He stepped back as he spoke. By the time he said his final word, he'd reached the door to the corridor. A second later, he was gone.
It was a full twenty seconds before Maria managed to drag her eyes from the door and focus again on the jewels. Pushing a few pretty baubles from side to side, thinking of her husband more than what she was doing, she almost missed the dull gold shine of an object at the bottom of the box.
At first glance, she thought it was a pocket watch. It was certainly a cheap little thing, assuredly not a bauble for a duke. She released the catch. Not a pocket watch, she mused, but a compass. She turned in the chair, smiling as the little needle jumped and jiggled its way north.
And then she saw the engraving.
For Richard. May you never lose your way. FH.
FH? Felicia Hensley?
Richard burst through the door. Maria snapped the compass shut, dropping it back in the box as she rose to her feet, hiding her trembling hands in her skirts. “My lord? What's amiss?”
“Forgot something, that's all,” he said, reaching into the box and extracting the compass she'd just dropped in. Shooting her a smile, he exited as quickly as he'd entered.
A dark cloud passed over the sun, mirroring the darkness in Maria's heart.
Part 4
In
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