A Bride By Morning by Kendrick Katrina

Author:Kendrick, Katrina
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: EM Alchemy
Published: 2022-03-31T00:00:00+00:00

18

Gabriel traversed the hallways of Meadowfield, searching for his wife.

Lydia was usually in the solarium writing long letters to her aunt at this hour. But he opened the door and found it empty, the desk scattered with uneven stacks of stationery and crumpled paper. That evidence of her unease hooked like a claw to his chest.

He’d wondered what she put in those notes to her aunt, if she had achieved a talent for lying in her letters. But the crushed, half-written missives were proof that it did not come as naturally to her as it did to him.

He picked up a crumpled paper, gently smoothing the edges.

We attended a gathering at the Arundells yesterday evening. My first time hearing an opera singer! Aunt, I think I held Lord Montgomery’s hand the entire time. What a lovely husband he is, to

We had such a marvelous time

I was so overcome that we left early. I

She had scratched ebony streaks of ink across the entire letter, mars that echoed across his heart. He’d hurt her last night. He’d been intentionally cruel to push her away, and rather than relief, the proof of her dismay only constricted his lungs.

Gabriel caught Lydia’s scent as he turned to the door, and the fist around his heart tightened its grip. “Mrs. Marshall,” he said when he spotted the housekeeper heading down the hall. He set down the crumpled letter and approached the older woman. “Have you seen Lady Montgomery?”

“I believe she’s in the greenhouse, my lord,” Mrs. Marshall said.

The greenhouse. The place Gabriel proposed might give her seclusion in nature within the restricted cage of Meadowfield’s house. Limitations for which he was responsible. The location alone suggested she didn’t want his company.

“Thank you,” he told the housekeeper as he passed her toward the stairs.

He needed to find Lydia and apologize for being an utter arsehole. He almost let out a bitter laugh at the thought—he hadn’t apologized for anything in years, and he owed her a hell of a lot more than the words, I’m sorry.

The greenhouse was silent as Gabriel entered. The air was redolent with the sharp aroma of botanicals, the fragrance of exotic blooms, and the air’s moisture. The glass ceiling arched above him, a view of the clouds beyond obscured by vegetation that thrived in the heat. His father imported it all from foreign lands in Gabriel’s absence. He had never taken the opportunity to wander the garden his predecessor had created.

The temperature reminded him too much of Kabul.

Gabriel strayed down the greenhouse’s main path. He didn’t walk far until he located Lydia near a stone bench beside the central fountain. She angled her head to one of the striking crimson flowers, her dark hair curling at the back of her neck from the humidity. God, but he longed to press his lips there. Kiss his way down the arch of her spine. He wanted to see her bare.

“It doesn’t have a strong scent,” he said. Lydia straightened, her gaze snapping to his. When she said nothing, Gabriel edged closer.

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