Page 27 of A Marriage is Arranged
“Are you expecting his lordship home for luncheon?” Louise asked Lisle later that morning.
“Yes, my lady. He said to expect him.”
She tried to appear nonchalant, but her heart leaped.
“Please serve it in the breakfast room. I know he prefers that. And tell me, Lisle, is there a smaller sitting room I could use? The drawing room is beautiful, but it’s so vast, I feel quite lost in it.”
“Well, my lady, her ladyship the Dowager used to like the small parlor next to the breakfast room, but it was shut up when she left the house. His lordship has never used it, preferring the library. Would you like to see it?”
She hesitated. “Yes, I would, though before using it I think perhaps I should ask his lordship.”
“I’ll just fetch the key.”
When he returned, the butler led her into the breakfast room. To her astonishment, he walked up to the trompe l’oeil wall and fitted the key into a door that was invisible amongst the painted foliage. It swung open and they advanced into a room about the same size as the one they had left. The curtains were drawn over the long windows and it was quite dark. Lisle threw them back, and a cloud of dust danced in the sudden light from the French windows that opened, like those next door, onto the lovely garden. The furniture was shrouded by holland covers, and when she put her hand on something that looked like an armchair, it came back white.
“I’m sorry, my lady,” Lisle apologized. “It hasn’t been cleaned in many years. No one ever comes in here, you see.”
“One can see it’s a lovely room, all the same. Thank you for showing me, Lisle. It would be perfect.”
Louise could see herself in here, reading with the doors wide open onto the garden, the sound of the fountain in her ears. She reluctantly turned to leave when the wide shoulders of the Earl suddenly blocked the doorway.
“This is where you are!” he said coming into the room. “Good lord, I haven’t been here in years.”
The surge of emotion caused by the unexpected appearance of her husband, together with the sense she was invading a private space rendered Louise speechless.
“I… I…,” she stammered.
Lisle came to her rescue. “Her ladyship was looking for a smaller sitting room. I took the liberty of showing her this.”
The room apparently aroused no sentimental memories for him. He answered shortly, “Yes, well, it looks as if it needs a good cleaning. Is luncheon ready?”
Apparently unperturbed by this abrupt reply, Lisle merely bowed, “I’ll ask Cook, my lord” and slipped out of the room.
Louise hesitated, unsure of what to do or say next. In spite of the previous night’s revelation, or perhaps even because of it, as she dressed that morning she had been even more determined to be her normal self. She had put her hair in its braid and was wearing the shapeless pink dress.
Her plan worked all too well. Looking at her now, her husband could see nothing of the passionate creature who had fascinated him the night before. The twice a month contract suddenly didn’t look so unreasonable.
“Good morning, Louise,” he said, distantly polite. “I should have said that before, but I was surprised to hear voices coming from in here. I’d forgotten the room existed.”
Louise tried to calm the thump of her heart.
“Good morning, Gareth.” She hesitated. “I hope you don’t mind my being here. It’s lovely. I should like to use it, if I may.”
If she was hoping for a reminiscence from his childhood, or some sort of remark exposing the heart of the man beneath the frown, she was disappointed.
“Of course,” was his only reply.
“Thank you,” she said maintaining the same distant politeness as he stepped back to allow her to walk into the breakfast room. “Lunch is to be served in here. In fact, I was hoping we could eat all our meals in here when we are alone. It will make conversation much easier. Is there anything particularly interesting in the newspaper today? I haven’t seen it yet.”
And as Lisle served their lunch, they talked lightly of this and that, though more than once Louise’s lively wit made her husband smile.