Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom(110)

“Yes,” she replied as Griffin handed her to the matching armchair next to his. “The baby is asleep and Rose has finally stopped her grumbling.”

“Thank God. I thought Phelps was going to throttle her about two hours into the journey.”

Justine rounded her eyes at him. “Really? I could have sworn that was you.”

He laughed. “Touché, Madame Wife. Would you like a brandy?” He wandered over to a sideboard with a row of crystal decanters.

She sighed. “I’m sure I shouldn’t, but perhaps it will help me to sleep.”

“Think of it as medicinal.”

When he handed her a glass, she wrinkled her nose at the generous amount. “Mr. Steele, I do believe you are exercising a deleterious effect on my morals.”

He braced one hand on the fireplace mantel and studied her, looking both elegant and dangerous. Clothed mostly in black as always, with his long hair pulled back in a queue and with the faint scar carving down the side of his temple, he seemed plucked out of time and place. One could easily imagine him as a highwayman or buccaneer, or even the crime lord that so many believed him to be. But, somehow, he also looked at home in this domestic setting, as if he’d just sent the children off to bed and was finishing his brandy before he joined his wife upstairs.

Which, of course, would be her. She blinked, disconcerted by the sudden wave of longing that washed over her.

“One can only hope,” he murmured. His wickedly sensual smile made her lose her breath.

“Um, hope what?” she asked, having lost the thread of conversation.

“That I’m corrupting your morals. One does try one’s best, you know.”

She blushed and took a sip of brandy to cover her confusion. Fortunately, he didn’t pursue the line of conversation that she’d been stupid enough to initiate, instead lapsing into silence as he stared at the fire. She gradually relaxed, letting the strains of the day seep away.

“I was surprised to find you sitting here in the dark,” she finally said, “since you usually have every candle and lamp in the room at full blaze.”

He glanced at her. “I prefer the light but the dark doesn’t discomfort me. Surely you realize that by now.”

“And are you comfortable in the country? Rose told me that you never leave town. I wondered if it bothered you to be forced into exile with such a motley little band.”

“Rose talks too much,” he said drily. “And no one can force me to do anything I don’t want to do, Justine, which is another thing you should know by now.”

“Really?” she said, not hiding her doubt. “Because I can’t help feeling that you’ve been terribly put out by all of this. Not only by the baby but by being forced to marry me, as well.”

She finally allowed herself to acknowledge the guilt gnawing away at her, the guilt about how she had disrupted his life. True, hers had suffered as great an upheaval, but he had been saddled with a wife and responsibilities he’d never wanted, upsetting what had clearly been long-standing plans. She knew what it was to have one’s dreams thwarted, and she hated the idea that she’d done that to him.

He let out a disbelieving snort. “Don’t be a ninny, Justine. None of this is your fault. Well, charging to the rescue at The Golden Tie and revealing yourself was your fault, but I don’t hold that against you. You obviously weren’t thinking in a rational manner.”

“Thank you, I think.” She obviously didn’t agree with him, but there was no point in rehashing the subject. She also realized that he hadn’t answered her question. “So, you don’t mind spending time in the country?”