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“If anything,” she said, “I needlesscloset space. What did you imagine I would put in a wardrobe that size? I haven’t filled up half of it.”

“We’ll have the seamstress measure you in the morning,” Conor said. “You’ll have to be fitted for new clothes.”

Astrid looked down. “I knew it. I knew something was wrong with my dress.”

“It isn’t that,” Conor protested. “The dress is very nice, Astrid. But you’re a countess now. You’ll be attending balls and social functions. You’ll need to have appropriate gowns for those things.”

Astrid nodded slowly. “And what about here?” she asked. “What about when I’m in the manor? Are you going to want me to dressappropriatelyat home, too?”

This is the first real test, Conor realized.She’s not asking this because she cares what she wears. She’s asking because she wants to know how restrictive her life is going to be, how much freedom she’s going to have as my wife.

And there was only one answer he could give her.

“No,” he said. “While we’re alone in the manor, not entertaining anybody, you’re free to wear whatever you’d like.” He smiled at her. “I quite like the dress you’re wearing now. If you prefer it, you should hold on to it.”

Surprise registered on Astrid’s face, and Conor could see that she had expected a different answer. She had thought he would tell her to get rid of her old things and embrace her new life.

“Don’t you worry that someone will see me dressed like this?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “I don’t worry about that.”

“The servants could talk. Even if no one ever visits and sees that I’m wearing my common clothes, the servants could whisper about it at the market. Word could get out. People might speculate about what it means.”

Conor shook his head. “People are going to speculate no matter what we do,” he said. “We might as well make ourselves happy and comfortable, since there’s no avoiding gossip. Don’t you think so?”

“I never thought about it that way,” Astrid admitted.

She was looking at him now, not warily, as she had when she’d first sat down, but shrewdly. As if she was coming to some sort of conclusion about him. Conor was curious, but at the same time, he was afraid to ask. What sort of impression had he just made on his wife?

Whatever it was, a little of the tension seemed to disappear from her body as she picked up her fork and resumed eating. “All right,” she said. “I’ll meet with the seamstress tomorrow and see aboutappropriate gowns.”

And a wicked little smile crossed her face.

Conor’s heart soared at the sight of that smile. She was teasing him. She had let go of some of her discomfort and made an actual joke.

Maybe she was on her way to calling this place home.

He couldn’t fool himself. He knew the two of them had a long way to go before they trusted each other as husband and wife. But the first day had gone better than he had expected, and that was saying something.

And maybe tomorrow will be even better, he thought, returning to his own meal.At any rate, there’s reason to hope.

Chapter 16

Astrid had feared that the days would drag once she was established in Middleborough Manor, but to her surprise, time seemed to fly by. There was so much for her to do here, and so much to see and discover.

On her first full day in the manor, as Conor had promised, she was seen to by a seamstress. The woman measured her quickly and efficiently, talking rapidly as she did so, and then asked Astrid to choose some of her favorite fabrics. Astrid selected bright colors, wondering as she did so whether she had been given this choice because of the question she’d asked at supper the night before.

Maybe he realizes, after speaking with me, that I want more choice in the things I do, she thought.

That was a scary idea. Astrid was used to fighting for choices, pushing back against her father’s restrictive rules. But she was not used to being listened to. How many times had she begged her father to let her out of the house, and how many times had she been told no?

She had thought she’d hated how protective he was. But now she wondered. If Conor was going to give in to her, would she still be safe?

Don’t get carried away,she told herself sternly.There’s nothing unsafe about choosing your own fabrics for gowns, for God’s sake.

But it had shown her something, a fact she hadn’t realized. At home, she had known exactly how much rope she had tying her to her father and her life. She had known how far she could run before being brought up short.

That was gone now.