Wed By Proxy by Alice Coldbreath

Author:Alice Coldbreath [Coldbreath, Alice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-06T18:30:00+00:00

They slept in late the next morning. Guy did not awake until he heard low conversation in the room. He cracked an eye open to find Mathilde and the servant Prudence pouring water into the washing basin. They shared a few quiet words and then the maid withdrew. Guy lay still, reluctant to admit he was awake. He felt an incredible sense of contentment, that he could not remember feeling in — well — forever. Even before the war he had not felt anything like this. The sun was shining through the window and slanted across the room, adding to his general sense of satisfaction. A thaw must be surely be setting in. He could hear the rustle of cloth and splash of water as Mathilde washed. Lifting his head, she could see she was wearing a shift this morning, though she had slept naked in his arms all night. She turned her head and saw him watching her. “Good morning,” she said, with a smile.

“Morning,” he rumbled in reply.

“You did not leave at the crack of dawn,” she commented, drying her hands.

“This time, you’re the one who rose too soon,” he said placing his hands behind his head.

“You said we could go for a ride today, before you return,” she reminded him.

“So I did.”

“Are you still agreeable?” she asked cautiously.

“Even more so.”

“Really?” Eagerly, she spun round, and he watched her approach the bed wreathed in smiles.

“Come here first, though.” He drew his hands from behind his head and sat up. At her approach, he reached out, caught her hands and drew her in close to him.

Mathilde waited patiently for him to speak, and when he did not, and simply gazed down at her upturned hands in his, she frowned. “Is this where you ask if I’m too sore for horse riding?” she asked shrewdly. Guy looked up, his face coloring hotly. “I’m a grown woman,” she reminded him. “And you do not need to keep worrying as to my welfare.”

“Of course, I worry,” he said swiftly. “You are my concern.” He raised one of her hands to his mouth and kissed the palm, then the other and kissed her wrist. “I don’t suppose I can convince you to come back to bed for a while?”

She gave a gurgle of laughter at that. “I’m wide awake, and raring to go.”

“So am I,” he growled, heaving her onto the bed. Mathilde shrieked and giggled as he tickled and pinned her to the mattress. Finally, he rolled to his back, taking her with him so she was lay across him. They lay like this for several minutes, neither inclined to disentangle from the other. In truth, he wished he could stay like this all day.

After breaking their fast, the two of them took a ride through the woods and up to Braeburn Heights. Mathilde rode the bay mare she now called Sabrina and they galloped along past the tor, basking in the sunlight, which was quite dazzling against the snow. He had been right, she had a good seat and was a more than competent horsewoman.

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