Taken by the Baron_A Novella by Yasmine Nash

Author:Yasmine Nash [Nash, Yasmine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2020-07-24T04:00:00+00:00

5

Chapter 5

Amanda took her supper in her room that evening. No sense in sitting at that big table all by herself if her husband wasn’t going to join her.

Her husband.

Amanda’s face still went red when she thought of how he had so casually promised to visit her bed tonight. She supposed it was time. Most couples consummated their marriage on the wedding night, after all. And until they did so, their marriage wouldn’t be considered valid in the eyes of church or state. Even so, she was a mess of nerves at the thought of what was to come.

At least now, she felt like she had a better understanding of her husband. She would never have expected an admission like the one he had shared with her, but it made her look at him in a different light. And then he had been so polite in learning all about her family while they enjoyed their tea earlier. For a moment, he had seemed like a different man.

Amanda was wearing her nicest nightgown, one covered in lace and delicate whitework which had taken her months to complete. She had let Sara take her brown hair down and brush it out, so it curled around her shoulders in soft ripples.

This waiting would drive her mad with nerves. Amanda had tried writing to her family, but she was unable to concentrate. She couldn’t even decide whether she was dreading the event or looking forward to it.

It would have been better if her husband hadn’t told her it was coming, so she wouldn’t have to suffer through this interminable waiting. After several minutes spent pacing around her large room, Amanda forced herself into the bed.

She would occupy her mind with a book, she decided. But every passing servant in the corridor made her start, wondering whether it was her husband coming at last. Finally, she heard a clock strike 11 in some distant room.

Perhaps he had changed his mind. Blowing out the candle beside her bed, Amanda lay down to sleep.

She was woken sometime later—she wasn’t sure when—by a knocking on the door connecting her room to her husband’s.

“Are you awake, wife?” came her husband’s low voice.

Amanda sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes blearily. So he had decided to visit her after all.

“I’m awake,” she said, her voice raspy with sleep. “Come in.”

At her words, Descamps entered her room, taking in the sight of Amanda in her bed. He stared at her for a moment, his expression in shadows. Amanda watched him nervously, all traces of sleepiness suddenly gone. He looked so imposing, standing there at the foot of her bed in silence.

He came forward then and placed the candle beside Amanda’s unlit one, then sat next to her on the mattress. She caught a faint whiff of the brandy he had probably drunk after his meal.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting,” Descamps said. “I was detained.”

“Think nothing of it,” Amanda managed to squeak out. It was hard to think with him so close to her.

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