Page 76 of The Villainess Chose Naps Over Death Flags

But he carefully folded Sterling's letter and placed it in his personal effects.

Tomorrow evening, he'd be home.

He'd face Caroline's protective siblings.

He'd see what she'd done to the estate.

He'd find out if her words about missing him had been genuine.

And maybe—just maybe—he'd figure out how to navigate having a wife who actually seemed to want to build a life with him.

The thought was terrifying.

The thought was also something that felt dangerously like hope.

Chapter 16

Welcome Home

Carol had been trying not to pace for the last hour.

"You're going to wear a path in the carpet," Bea observed from her seat by the window.

"I'm not pacing," Carol said, taking another turn around the parlor.

"You've circled the room seventeen times," Jasper said, not looking up from his book. "That's pacing."

"I'm just... restless."

"You're waiting for your husband to come home," Bea corrected, smiling. "It's sweet."

Carol stopped mid-stride. "Sterling said they'd likely arrive by early evening. It's early evening now."

"It's barely past five," Jasper pointed out. "Give the man time. He's been fighting monsters for four days."

"Five days," Carol corrected. "He's been gone for five days."

"And you've been counting," Bea said, her smile widening.

Carol felt her cheeks warm. "I have not been counting—"

"My lady!" One of the maids burst into the parlor, slightly breathless. "The Duke's company has been sighted! They're approaching the gates!"

Carol's heart leapt. "He's back?"

"Yes, my lady! They should arrive within minutes!"

Carol was already moving toward the door before she'd consciously decided to go. Mochi, who'd been napping on a cushion, meowed and scrambled to follow her.

"Carol, wait!" Bea called, but Carol was already hurrying through the halls.

She could hear her siblings following behind her, but she didn't slow down. Five days. He'd been gone for five days fighting dangerous creatures at the border, and now he was back, and she needed to see with her own eyes that he was safe.

The main courtyard was already filling with servants and guards as Carol emerged from the estate. The gates were open, and she could see riders approaching in the fading evening light.

At the front, unmistakable even at a distance, was Caspian on his massive black destrier.

Carol's breath caught.