Harlequin Historical April 2019--Box Set 2 of 2 by Janice Preston

Author:Janice Preston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

‘Then when the first low matin-chirp hath grown

Full quire, and morning driv’n her plow of pearl

Far furrowing into light…’

—Alfred, Lord Tennyson: ‘Love and Duty’ (1842)

‘Good morning, Violet.’

‘Good morning, Jane.’ Her younger sister-in-law gave a warm smile.

‘Good morning, Violet.’

‘Good morning, Arabella.’ Her elder sister-in-law gave a haughty nod.

Violet stopped at her mother-in-law’s empty chair at the long table in the hall.

‘Mama is unwell,’ Arabella answered Violet’s unspoken question. ‘She is having breakfast in bed.’

Breakfast in bed.

Violet took her own place at the long table and reached for some toast from the silver rack and the pot of marmalade.

Only a few weeks had passed, but it seemed an age since she and Adam had shared violet creams in bed for their breakfast after spending their wedding night together in his room. Her night in his bed hadn’t been repeated. The next day, after the floor surrounding the area that had fallen through had been checked and boarded over, Adam had deemed it safe for her to return to her own bedroom. It was as safe as any other part of the first floor of Beauley, he’d said, so firmly she hadn’t dared argue with him.

A full survey of the state of the manor was now underway. The entire building was being assessed, from attic to cellar, and the results would soon be known.

Meanwhile, the connecting doors between them had been shut tight.

Violet was shocked by how much she missed him. They had only shared a bed together that first night, but she now found it difficult to sleep alone. Each night, as she undressed, washed in a copper tub by the fireplace and brushed her hair in front of the mirror, she would hear him moving about in the next room before he went to bed. Each night, she would gaze at the connecting doors and wonder what he was doing. Whether the doors were locked any more, she wasn’t sure. She didn’t dare try the handle. Once or twice she approached the closed doors, tempted to tap, or lay her cheek against the wood. Yet so far, she hadn’t given in to such temptation.

Her awareness of Adam beyond the door continued once she was in her bed. She would read a little, but she found it hard to concentrate. When she blew out the lamp and lay against the pillows, she would imagine him lying in the next room. She knew now the way he fell asleep, the way he slept, turned, rolled. On their wedding night, she’d fallen asleep beside him into a slumber so deep, so refreshing, that all sleep since had been disturbed.

What must it be like, then, to sleep in his arms?

Violet spread her toast with the orange marmalade.

In the mornings, she often didn’t see him. Violet was up promptly for breakfast in the hall by nine o’clock, but Adam was often long gone, out on the estate with the workers. He worked harder than anyone else and was held in great esteem by the estate workers.

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.