August Sunrise (The Silver Foxes of Westminster Book 2) by Merry Farmer

Author:Merry Farmer [Farmer, Merry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-04-05T16:00:00+00:00

For as long as she could remember, Marigold had listened to the tales of her friends with houses in the country and longed to have that kind of escape herself. Now that she was firmly settled in Wiltshire with a vast estate of her own—or rather, Alex’s—to manage, she longed for the faster pace and familiarity of London. Winterberry Park was perfectly lovely, and she and Alex were in high demand at parties and gatherings all across the county. But since her arrival two weeks before, she hadn’t felt grounded or focused.

She settled onto the stool in front of the vanity in the dressing room Alex had encouraged her to set up across the hall from their bedroom. The fashionable gown she’d donned for the soiree at Alex’s brother Edward’s house that night swirled around her in a cloud of peach chiffon, but she could have been wearing sackcloth for all the joy it gave her. What use were beautiful gowns when nothing felt right?

“Would you like to wear the diamond earrings or the sapphire, ma’am?” Ada, the housemaid who had been elevated to her lady’s maid asked, holding up both pairs.

Marigold dragged herself out of her thoughts, glancing between the two stunning sets Alex had given her in the weeks after their wedding. Each was gorgeous in its own way, but they held little interest to her. She could see now that Alex had bought them out of a sense of guilt, or worse, obligation.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said with a sigh. “Whichever you think would look best.”

Poor Ada’s shoulders slumped, and her brow creased with worry. “The sapphire would be more dramatic, I think, ma’am,” she said, returning to the bureau, where all the rest of Alex’s guilt offerings were stored, to put the diamonds away.

Marigold’s gaze shifted to the view out the open window. Wiltshire really was lovely. Alex had been spot on the other day when he told her that August sunsets were beautiful. Their walk through Winterberry Park’s gardens had been enjoyable, even if it hadn’t been particularly comfortable. She sensed that Alex didn’t really know what to say to her, and if she were honest, she hadn’t been much better. The worst of it was that she couldn’t, in all honesty, say that the awkwardness between them was new or unexpected. It was merely what was left over when the excitement of making a rash decision wore off.

“There we go, ma’am.” Ada brought the sapphire earrings to Marigold with a smile.

“Thank you, Ada.” Marigold returned the maid’s smile, then faced the mirror to put the earrings on. “How is James settling in?” she asked Ada’s reflection.

The young woman’s smile brightened. “He’s making himself quite at home, ma’am. Though it’ll be a blessing when the nursemaid you’ve sent for arrives. The maids have their hands full minding a little tike with Master James’s energy. He does so like to wander off.”

Marigold managed a tired smile. “Little boys are always a handful, I suppose.” She stopped short of saying she looked forward to having one of her own.

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