Chemistry of Magic: Unexpected Magic Book Five (Unexpected Magic #5)(19)

Emilia read restlessly while her husband napped. She wasn’t a silly miss. She was a Malcolm, after all. She had access to her family journals. She knew women enjoyed carnal relations. Her fear of pain had led her to believe she wouldn’t enjoy them so much.

Instead, she sat here wanting more—much, much more, when she ought to be considering consequences.

Her entire existence had been predicated on the notion that she could not safely have a fulfilling marriage. What if she had been wrong? Had she thrown away her chance for love?

She cast her napping husband a glance. Although his color was healthy, and his broad chest rose and fell normally, she feared she had exhausted him with just that little bit of exertion. Or had her gift connected without her being aware, due to her. . . mindlessness? Should she refrain from indulging in sexual congress for the sake of their mutual health?

He had touched her more than any other person since her childhood, and his pain had been swallowed by her hunger and excitement. She wasn’t feeling exhausted, either, so maybe desire disconnected her healing gift. Witless lust was entirely new to her experience.

The whole downfall of having inexplicable gifts was that they were just that. . . inexplicable.

Lord Dare woke at the next stop but didn’t seem inclined to climb out and stretch, so she offered him their lunch basket. They ate and talked with none of their earlier seductive exchange. Instead, he picked her brain for the little bit she knew about her great-grandfather’s property and the abbey where she hoped to set up her experiments.

At the next stop, she needed to use the facilities. Lord Dare approved of this inn and climbed out after her. As they approached the door, a familiar groom raced up.

“My lord, the wagon has broken a spoke.”

In moments, all the servants they’d sent ahead had anxiously clustered around them. Deciding there was little she could do about a broken wheel, Emilia asked her maid to accompany her to the facilities, letting Bessie tell her all about the day’s exciting events. Only a little younger than Emilia, she seemed more a mousy, excitable child than an efficient lady’s maid. But she had been trained to be exactly what Emilia needed.

“And his lordship’s man, James, he helped push us out of the ditch, but it was no use. We had to walk here. He carried my bag! He’s quite handsome, although a little short. Isn’t this a fancy inn? I’ve never quite seen the like.”

Bessie’s chatter reminded her of home, and her younger sisters all nattering at once, and Emilia almost smiled, even though the news wasn’t good. She’d been dreaming of sharing a bed with her new husband, in their new home this evening. Now it looked as if they must delay their journey.

When she returned to the common room, she found Dare talking with the innkeeper, a frown creasing his handsome brow. He glanced up and smiled at her, making her heart dance just a little, but the smile faded as the innkeeper insistently shook his head.

“We are in a bit of a pickle, my dear,” her husband said. “It seems the wagon has lost a wheel and it will take a day to replace it, so even if we go on to our new home, it will have to be without our trunks and servants. I’ve asked if we might take rooms here, but our host says they are all spoken for due to a prizefight in Leeds. He can put up the grooms in the stable, but I don’t think you’ll find that satisfactory.”

Emilia wrinkled her nose. “So there will be no other inn between here and Harrogate for us?”

“Not even Harrogate, I fear, my lady,” the innkeeper said. “They hold a horse fair this time of year, which is why there’s a fight scheduled in Leeds. It’s all of a piece.”

“To catch the purses of traveling gentlemen, he means,” Dare said. “They’ll stop on their way up from London to see the fight, and if they have any coins left, will continue on to buy their horses. We could throw ourselves on the mercy of the clientele and beg that someone give up a room, I suppose, but I’d rather go on and leave the wagon behind.”

Emilia nodded agreement. “My grandfather had several elderly retainers who should still be looking after the place. I don’t see a problem. We might try to fit Bessie and James into the carriage with us, though. I don’t know if Mrs. Wiggs and Mr. Barton can manage the stairs these days.”

That meant no more instructions in the art of lovemaking until they were in the privacy of their chambers. And Bessie’s chatter was likely to drive them both into walking. But she had to offer the suggestion. The grooms might be happy to sleep in the stable, but a lady’s maid and valet were accustomed to better.

“All right, then we shall journey on,” he said. “Perhaps it would be best to take bread and cheese with us, and a jug of lemonade. We might be arriving late.”

With Bessie settled in the narrow slice of rear-facing bench that the mattress did not occupy, and James riding with the driver, the carriage set off, leaving their main baggage behind. It would only be another day, Emilia reassured herself. It wasn’t as if she were a clotheshorse needing fancy gowns three times a day. Her traveling gown and the changes of clothing in her valise should be sufficient.

Dare napped the better part of the afternoon. With Bessie watching, Emilia didn’t venture to feel his chest to see if he breathed any easier. His coughing was less when he slept, which she thought might be a good thing. She read and Bessie mended. As predicted, the remainder of the drive was long, and even though it was summer in the north, the shadows were lengthening by the time they arrived in the village of Alder Abbey.