Never Courted, Suddenly Wed (Scandalous Seasons #2)(64)

Christopher studied his wife. A wistful gleam filled those eyes that normally sparkled with cheerfulness.

The pit in his stomach, continued to grow. “Are you unhappy, Phi?”

Her head jerked over in his direction. She winced as though it had caused her pain.

“Not at all,” she said, a touch too hurriedly.

Sophie used one hand to caress the nape of her neck, the other she used to hold onto that miserable little cur in her arms.

Christopher sighed. Who would have imagined that he’d be jealous of a dog that didn’t even stand all of one foot in height?

It also didn’t fail to escape his notice that Sophie didn’t say anything else on it. She redirected her attention out the window at the passing scenery.

He used Sophie’s distractedness as an opportunity to study her. Resplendent in an ice blue, satin gown, she put him in mind of some kind of ice queen. A row of crystal had been embroidered along the trim of her bodice, drawing his attention to her splendid décolletage.

Sophie looked over at him. Her brow wrinkled. “Where are we going?”

He grinned. He’d wondered just when she’d ask that very question. “Kent.”

Her eyes lit to rival the glimmer of the enormous tear-shaped diamond at her neck.

Christopher continued. “I thought a small wedding trip would be beneficial. You always loved Milford House.”

His family’s property in the country bordered her brother’s land, and was frequently inhabited by the marquess. As a result, Christopher had taken care to avoid visiting Kent. With the marquess in London, and Sophie’s love of the lush, green hills and crystalline lake, Christopher had thought it the ideal time to visit the country.

“Oh, Christopher. I can’t think of a more perfect gift.”

The pit in his belly became a boulder. He reached into the front of his jacket and pulled out a long, thin box. She looked from the box to him. “Go on,” he urged.

Sophie set Duke down and the dog favored Christopher with a black look. She opened the lid and gasped. With tremulous fingers she removed the heart-shaped porcelain painted locket. “Christopher, it is lovely.”

He wished he could give her more. But since his father had shared with Christopher the direness of their financial situation, Christopher had been loath to spend any money. “It belonged to my mother,” he said at last. “’I’m sorry it is not diamonds or emeralds.”

She shook her head. “Do not be foolish. It is lovely. Truly,” she said, at last picking her gaze up from the pendant. “I don’t even like diamonds and emeralds.”

It didn’t escape him that now he would be in a financial position to purchase her nothing but the finest jewels…but that realization felt empty, made his skin crawl at the truth that he’d in a sense stolen her fortune.

“Every woman loves diamonds and emeralds.”

She shook her head. “Not me. I hate them. So garish and attention-getting.”

What a great tragedy; that a woman who so loved her privacy and solitude had attracted the frequent notice of Lady Ackerly and the ton.

She set the box down on her lap. “How long will we stay in the country?”

“I’d thought a fortnight.”

Sophie’s lips turned down in a small frown. He ventured that anything shy of ‘forever’ would have been too short for Sophie.

Christopher reached over and tugged her onto the seat beside him. He draped his arm over her shoulder, holding her close.

She snuggled against his side. “Sometimes I imagine how my life would be different if you’d married Emmaline.”

A sound of protest worked its way up his throat. “Phi…”

“No. It’s fine. Truly.” And when she said it like that, with her matter-of-factness, he rather believed her. She peeked up at him. “But I do. I think how I would have probably always resented you for things you’d done as a boy and would have never known the man you’d become.”

Again, the tendrils of guilt unfurled and crept like a fast-growing vine throughout him. He wasn’t the man she believed him to be. Christopher cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had gone. “Why don’t you rest, Sophie? We’ve a long trip.”

Her lips tipped up at the corners. “So it is to be Sophie? My, how very serious of you, husband.”

He managed a smile and closed his eyes.

“Are you trying to silence me? Humph.” She seemed to interpret his silence as a confirmation of her question. “Very well. But I’m only resting because I’m exhausted and not because you’ve ordered it.”

“Of course,” he said with mock solemnity. “But it wasn’t an order, it was a suggestion.”

“Yes, yes,” she said with a wave of her hand. Sophie nestled closer to his side, and with a yawn promptly fell asleep. When her breath had settled into a smooth, even rhythm, Christopher opened his eyes. He used Sophie’s stillness as an opportunity to consider his new wife.

“Wife,” he said the word aloud, breathing it to reality. A few short months ago, he’d imagined there was nothing he wanted less in the world than a union with Sophie Winters.

The plan he’d crafted to avoid marriage to her had been borne of resentment of his father’s dictates on his life and also a desire to be free of Sophie Winters. She’d been the only person, aside from his father and Mallen, to even come close to gathering the truth about his struggles to read. And for nearly ten years, he blamed her for the fire in the stables.