Bride Who Fell in Love with Her Husband by Cheryl Ann Smith

Author:Cheryl Ann Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2012-04-11T04:00:00+00:00

* * * *

Rose spent the evening in Thomas’s arms and woke up the next morning a more confident wife. She went down to the kitchen and planned the day’s meals with the cook and instructed the housekeeper on the duties she wanted finished for the day.

The next few days were filled with activity as Rose spoke to every member of the household and familiarized herself with the town house from the eaves to the cellar.

“I need to speak to Ackers,” Rose said one evening, referring to one of their footmen. “I smelled ale on his breath this morning. I’ll not have him drinking while on duty.”

Thomas leaned back in his chair. “I’ll look into the matter. If there is a problem, the reprimand should come from me.”

“Thank you, husband.”

The staff warmed to her with her genuine interest in them. The maids no longer looked at the baroness before filling Rose’s requests, and were eager to please their new mistress.

The baroness was as grim as ever. However, Rose made a point of speaking to her only in a cheerful manner. If they never became civil, so be it, but it would not be because Rose did not attempt to ease the tension between them.

It was a quiet morning almost two weeks after Rose became Mrs. Stanhope when she was left alone for the first time, without the family somewhere in the house. The baroness and Thomas’s sisters were out and Thomas was meeting with the family solicitors. Once a month they discussed estate issues and how to expand their holdings.

With shrewd investments, Thomas had grown the estates, both the family’s and his own. With her husband at the helm, the family wealth had flourished in the recent years. Rose was proud of his astute mind.

Sitting in the upstairs parlor, she was attempting to do some needlepoint when the housekeeper announced a visitor. “A Mister Wilkinson is here, Mrs. Stanhope.”

Wilkinson? She grimaced. Her first thought was to refuse him. Then, upon remembering Thomas’s wish to stay in his good favor, she nodded. “See him in.”

Rose’s stomach tightened when Mr. Wilkinson strolled into the parlor with a cocky air. She wondered if the visit had been timed for a moment when he knew she’d be alone.

Had he been watching the house? The idea left her chilled.

Given the feral look in his eyes, she was confident his presence had nothing to do with Thomas and everything to do with her. She was as sure as she knew her own name that he had somehow scheduled the call to his benefit.

“Leave the doors open, Mrs. Black,” Rose directed.

“Yes, Mrs. Stanhope.” The housekeeper withdrew, scowling at the visitor. Clearly she had the same negative feeling for the man Rose did.

Wilkinson grinned. “You do not trust me?”

Rose had spent enough time in the presence of men, as the duke’s courtesan, to know how to read the signs of a man on a hunt. She’d not be trapped into a scandalous situation in her own home by a stranger bent on mischief.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.