Clockwork Blue (47 page)

Celeste exhaled and returned her expectant nod.
"
Well, then.
Sidney and I look forward to hearing from you. Congratulations on your nuptials, my lord.
I
do
look forward to seeing you again."

She smiled sweetly at
Malcolm
.

Malcolm
blinked, startled.
"
Appreciate it
,
"
he replied.

Inclining his head,
Malcolm
watched Lady Celeste vanish through the doorway, his jaw slack. Then he turned to
Nicola
with a frown.
"
What has gotten into her? Is she feeling well?
"

Nicola grinned, suddenly feeling giddy, as if she'd drunk too much sherry.
"
She must have caught a glimpse of
my dear pixies.
"

"
Don
'
t start with that rubbish. What did you say to her?
"

"
Why, nothing, my lord. Shal
l we say farewell to our guests?"
She
brushed by
him and walked to the doorway.

The heels of his Wellington boots clicked against the mahogany flooring as he followed her.
"
Why do I have the feeling you
'
re hiding something from me?
"

"
Perhaps because I am.
"

"
That
'
s not a way to start our partnership.
"

She decided the best way to handle the situation was to change the subject.
"
Speaking of partnerships, what really happened between you and Thomas Hill?
"
Smaller problems first.

"
Nothing that
'
s any concern to you.
"

"
Nor to anybody else,
"
she murmured.
"
It is as I thought. Don
'
t worry, my lord, I
'
ll take care of everything.
"

He frowned.
"
What are you planning?
"

"
Retribution, my lord. Isn
'
t that something you
'
re fond of?
"

"
Are you meddling in my affairs?
"

"
Of course
," she replied as she walked toward the corridor leading to the ballroom
.
"
Isn
'
t that what a wife is supposed to do?
"

"
No, your responsibility is much more important.
"
He
grasped her elbow and
stepped
in
close, his gaze as warm as a furnace fire.

"
What?
"
she asked, suddenly breathless.

He tilted her chin.

The broad finger he ran across her cheek made her tremble with excitement. Anticipation roiled inside of her just thinking about lying next to him, skin to skin. Would he take his time with her? Was he looking forward to the encounter? Would she be able to please him? Would he appreciate her in that manner? As for that matter, how would she even know what to do?

Her attempt to swallow didn
'
t alleviate her suddenly dry throat, but she rallied, deciding to call his hand.
"
I think you
'
re all bluff.
"

"
Excuse me?
"

"
You do not plan to spend time with me twice daily to create a babe.
"

He raised his brows.
"
The night I announced our betrothal, you gave me a piece of advice. Now I
'
m giving it back to you.
"

"
Which is?
"
she asked.

"
Don
'
t be so certain you know me.
"
He swiveled on his heel and made for the departing guests.

Long shadows stretched where the wall sconces in the
corridor leading to the stairs
couldn
'
t reach. The day had
faded
in almost a blink of an e
ye
. After breakfast all the guests had left, and
Nicola
managed to slip away from Windmere to spend the remainder of the da
y setting up her millinery shop. She'd been
careful to go in the back way so that nobody would think it strange she wasn
'
t spending time with her new husband.

Better to concentrate on her struggling commerce because her marriage would not warrant her time. All day she
'
d halfway expected
Malcolm
to come into the shop and demand his conjugal rights, or at least insist on retribution for cornering him into
having
tea with Lady Celeste. But as the day wore on, she
'
d come to the conclusion that he would never again actively seek her out.
Malcolm
didn
'
t want her.

Gaspar stepped out of the shadows and bowed low. "His lordship already retired, my lady."

She met Gaspar
'
s solemn gaze with all the pride she could muster.
"
I
'
ll do the same, then
.
"
As she swept toward the stairway, she glanced toward the hall that led to
Malcolm
'
s chambers and sighed. He
'
d merely tried to intimidate her with his talk
of
making
bab
i
es
.

Her disappointment was her own ridiculous fault. Her meddling and goading had caused him to respond in kind. He
'
d merely been jesting or trying to
browbeat
her with the business of making
babes
, and she should be relieved because she didn
'
t know the first thing about the act.
She was relieved, really.
So, why did she feel this gaping emptiness at the thought of going to bed alone?

With heavy steps, she
plodded
toward her chambers and pondered her new shop. The pamphlets advertising the next day as her first one of business in the new location would
,
with any luck
,
attract customers. She
'
d hired a boy to distribute them on the streets that afternoon. And she was very optimistic that her new shop would generate income. She hadn
'
t been able to sell many hats, she assured herself, because she
'
d been stuck in the back room of the old mercantile. But that had changed. She had a
prime location, beautifully appointed, all thanks to
Malcolm
. She owed him a tremendous debt of gratitude for that.

Stepping inside her chamber, she rubbed at a smudge of dirt on her skirt. A movement caught her e
ye
, causing her to freeze. Shock coursed through her to see
Malcolm
lounging on the chaise longue.

"
Good evening, Countess Falconwood. Are you prepared for our business?
"

The predatory look was back. He
'
d removed his cravat and his shirt was open. The broad expanse of his chest with dark whorls of hair made her breath catch. Sprawled on the dainty sofa he looked virile and powerful, making her go weak in the knees.

"
Wh-what business?
"
she asked, her fingers plucking nervously at her skirt.

The light in his e
ye
s as he studied her, the way his gaze practically caressed every part of her, the intensity that seemed to crackle the air around him—all suggested that the
Clockwork
Blue
wasn
'
t the only thing he
'
d wanted to possess.

"
Why, the business of creating an heir.
"

Knees like pudding,
she would have sat if there was a chair nearby.
Instead she thrust out a hand to
steady herself against the wall.
"
Really? I mean, you
'
re truly going to go through with your threats?
"

"
Promises,
Nicola
. Pure promises that will lead to pure pleasure.
"