Page 49

“Ah, Your Grace, these are questions I think can be answered at a later date,” Dr. Wallows interjected. “We have plenty of time to pick apart your most recent weeks, and I do have to caution against overdoing it.”

“Yes, right…” Roderick shook his head. “You make a good point, Doctor. Time is something we have plenty of, so let’s not get carried away. Speaking of which…” He smirked as he looked back at Violet, a look in his eyes that spoke of mischief. “I would appreciate a moment alone with my wife.”

“Yes, of course. Shall I…”

“If you head…” Roderick bit his lip. “My dear wife, might you inform the good doctor of the location of my study? It is embarrassing to say, but I have no idea where it is.”

“Your study?”

“I do have one, no?”

No, you do not. You have nothing here. This is not your home!

She did not say that, of course, as she was still struggling to come to terms with what was going on.

“Ah… upstairs,” she said vaguely, thinking quickly of a room that had once been his study. “And down the hallway, you’ll find the study… I think.”

“And I’ll meet you there shortly,” Roderick added.

Dr. Wallows bowed deeply to Violet again. “You Grace, it was a pleasure meeting you.”

“And you…” She spoke the words slowly, not certain that she believed them.

Dr. Wallows was quick to scurry out of the foyer and up the stairs, vanishing around the corner in a matter of seconds. And Violet found herself alone with her husband once more.

“Sorry about him,” Roderick offered. “He is eager, I will give him that, and extremely knowledgeable. I do hope you don’t mind having him around for the next few weeks.”

“I, ah…” She had no idea what to say.

“Now, where were we?”

Again, that same hungry look crossed his face, and he stepped toward her, reaching for her hand so he might pull her in for the kiss that he so clearly was desperate for.

This time, Violet was ready for him.

“About that… We need to talk.” She was quick to step back, pushing his hand down before he had a chance to wrap it around hers.

“Talk?” He glanced from his extended arm to her dismissive glare. “Talk about what? Well, a great many things, I assume. But there will be time to talk later. I have been without you for too long, Violet, and that requires urgent rectifying.”

She could not believe what she was hearing—not the amnesia, as strange as that was. But that Roderick was so unaware of the terms of their marriage that he simply assumed their union to be an amorous one. Did he think that she liked him? Or even loved him?

Or does he simply think that he is owed that which only a wife can give?

She did not care, because it made little difference.

“That will not be happening.” She folded her arms and looked defiantly at him. “For many reasons. But if you like, I can list them for you.”

He was unperturbed, smiling wickedly as if he thought she was playing a game. “So, seduction it is. Is that usual for us?”

“It is nothing!” she snapped. “You might have lost your memory, husband, but I certainly have not. And this…” She waved her hands at him. “Whatever it is, it has changed nothing.”

“Do you mean to tell me that you have no intention of coming to bed with me?”

“Exactly!”

“Huh…” He rubbed his chin, looking at her closely now, surely seeing the rueful glare she had him fixed with. If he did, he gave no sign of it, still looking amused by her rancor. “I do not know what you are playing at, dear wife. But I do intend to find out.”

“I am not playing at?—”

“I find it hard to believe that I could be married to a woman like you while not wishing to take advantage every single night.” His eyes flicked over her suggestively, and despite herself, her heart fluttered. “How very odd.”

“I assure you, there is nothing odd about it.”

“Perhaps…” He glanced toward the stairs, thinking. “A conversation for later, I think. Dr. Wallows is waiting for me, and I really need to see him settled. However…”

That was when he stepped into her. Quickly.

He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into him. She gasped, completely caught by surprise, her eyes going wide as he held her close to him.

“I do not need my memory to understand how I feel about you…” His hand squeezed her waist, and she felt her heart thump in her chest.

Violet knew she should push him away and tell him in no uncertain terms that he could not do that again! Only…

Why is my body not reacting as my mind wants it to?

Legs shaking. Limbs tingling. Warmth spreading. This was not what she wanted or expected.

“Just as I can tell from the way you look at me that you feel the same,” he purred.

“I… That is not… You and I…”

“Will discuss it later…”

He leaned in, and she thought for a moment that he was going to kiss her again. She half tilted her head back, but with nowhere near the revulsion she intended.

Lucky that his lips moved to her ear instead, grazing it as he whispered, “And you have no idea how much I am looking forward to it.”

Her pulse continued to race, and that same warmth turned into an inferno.

What is that? An answer I know, but an explanation I cannot fathom!

“That is not a good—There is nothing to discuss,” she stammered pathetically.

He chuckled, breathed on her ear, and then released her. “We shall see,” he said, stepping back from her, grinning proudly because he could likely see the effect his actions had.

Not effects she wanted, but as things stood, it didn’t look as if Violet would be getting what she wanted any time soon.

Without another word, still grinning with mischief, Roderick walked around her and started up the stairs.

Violet watched him go, struck speechless.

That he had returned was one thing. That he had amnesia was another. And the way he was behaving toward her…

Somehow, I sense that this is only the beginning. As to the end? I cannot even imagine.