Page 49 of Married to the Duke By Midnight

The walls in the lounge had burgundy silk wallpaper and wainscoting in dark mahogany. It seemed that the dark look from his bedroom carried over to hers as well, even though his grandmother, who had redone the house some thirty years ago, had opted for much lighter colors downstairs.

Several paintings of landscapes and flowers lined the walls. One of Riddlesmarsh Hall as seen from the forest. The trees lined the front, then a meadow of flowers until the large sandstone structure rose from the ground as natural as if it had always been there. A pang of longing hit him. It had been more than six months since he had last been back, and he found that he missed it.

The room felt lived-in in a way that immediately made him feel comfortable. A few books were lying on a desk, a shawl haphazardly thrown over the back of a high-backed chair, and a collection of seashells was lined up on the marble mantel by size. Jo had evidently instructed the staff not to clean up after her, since he knew Mrs. Taylor would never willingly leave a shawl draped over a chair in such a manner.

“Please, sit,” Jo told him with a smile and gestured to the table and two wooden chairs by one of the windows. It was meant for playing cards, but Robert had eaten dinner at a similar-sized table in his own suite quite a few times and knew it was possible.

A side table beside it was laden with dishes from their dinner. They sat down opposite each other and started filling their plates in silence.

Robert wanted to haul Jo into the bedroom and pry her clothes off. If it was up to him, they would sleep together tonight and any night after this, but he knew she was not ready, and for her sake, he could wait. For his own sake as well, he supposed. He trusted her to give herself to him often and willingly, if he was patient these first few months of their marriage and allowed her the time she needed to adjust. Which was what he wanted from the marriage, he told himself. Companionship and sexual relations.

“Have you been to Brighton before?” Jo asked after they had eaten in silence for several minutes. Robert recognized it as a similarly benign question like the ones he had thought of himself yet sent her an appreciative smile for her efforts.

“Yes, we have been quite a few times.”

“Do you go every summer?”

“Not every summer. Sometimes we would head straight to Barforth Castle. Perhaps make a visit with someone for a few weeks.”

“Is there much to see and do? I have never been.”

Robert did not know what he wanted their conversation to be, but he knew he wanted it to be deeper. Yet he told her of the Royal Pavilion, the libraries, and the beach that he wanted to show her while they were on their honeymoon.

“My mother told me that they will not come by the house we are staying in unless invited,” he added as an afterthought.

When Jo did not reply, he looked up from his roast chicken to find her staring horrified at him.

“What?” he asked.

“Why would she make such a promise?” Jo squeaked. Her fork with beans was hanging over her plate, but she seemed to have forgotten it.

“Because I talked to her yesterday about the house. I…” Robert looked away and sighed, suddenly unsure whether they were on the same page. “I thought it strange that she would rent a place close to them. And the rest of the ton. I thought she would find something more… secluded.”

“Me as well,” Jo muttered and seemed to remember her green beans. She stuffed them into her mouth and chewed vigorously.

Robert was pleased that she had also hoped for a more secluded location, just the two of them. He hid his smile over it though, since Jo still seemed perplexed and he did not want to cause her distress.

“She said that we are always welcome to visit them, but that they would stay away unless invited. We are still newlyweds after all.”

Jo was looking at him with wide eyes, chewing her beans for far longer than seemed necessary.

“Do you think that means that…” She cleared her throat. “That she believes that we…”

She gestured with the fork between the two of them.

“She told me quite bluntly that she is hoping for a gaggle of grandchildren, so yes, I do think it means she believes…” Robert trailed off.

Jo blushed deeply and avoided his eyes, focusing on cutting a piece of her chicken breast instead.

“A gaggle,” she muttered under her breath.

“You did agree to five,” Robert could not help but tease her which only made her cheeks glow even brighter.

Then he recognized his tone as flirting and decided to pull back a little. Since she had invited him into her bed, he needed to be more careful than ever so that he did not confuse her feelings.

“Do you want to wait with the… eh, the consummation, because you do not wish for a child at the moment?” he asked when the thought struck him. He briefly glanced at his food then forced himself to look at her face.

She was his wife. He should be able to have this conversation with her without feeling embarrassed.