Black Richard's Heart (The MacCulloughs #1) - Suzan Tisdale Page 0,102

more than a vessel in which he could slake his own desires without any regard for her own. Even though he still refused to remove his tunic and would not allow her to touch his scars, she still felt important to him. But was it enough?

Still, something was lacking and add to that the realization that he wasn’t actually sleeping with her each night, and she was left to wonder.

Tired of laying in the big empty bed all alone, she tossed the covers aside and carefully slid to her feet. The floor felt cold against her soles making her shiver. As she tended to her morning ablutions, she searched her heart and mind for plausible answers.

Trust.

That was what was missing.

Trusting your spouse, she believed, was a level of intimacy that she and Richard hadn’t quite reached yet.

With all her heart, she knew he would never hurt her, at least not physically. But her heart? Nay, Richard didn’t protect her heart with the same thoughtfulness as he did her body.

Pulling on her dark green gown she tied the laces, growing more and more depressed. She wanted Richard to trust her enough that he would share his problems with her. She wanted to be his partner for more than just an hour each day when they loved one another.

There has to be more to our marriage than that, she told herself as she slipped on her shoes. Just as man cannae survive on bread alone, a marriage cannae survive on that alone.

Mayhap Marisse would have answers.

“What do ye mean, he leaves yer bed each night?” Marisse asked incredulously.

Aeschene had just confessed her worries to her, ’twas an embarrassment to be certain. Marisse was the only one she could make her confessions to and ask for advice.

“Just what I said, Marisse. I wake up each morn to an empty bed. He leaves almost as soon as we are done—” she struggled to find the least embarrassing word she could think of.

“Joinin’?” Marisse asked. She shook her head when she saw the blush creep up Aeschene’s neck. “’Tis not as if I dunnae ken what ye mean. I was married once, ye ken.”

“I know that,” Aeschene said. “Still, it is difficult for me to discuss.”

Marisse finished braiding her hair, chose a dark brown leather tong to tie it off. “Ye should simply ask him where he goes each night.”

“I fear he will not tell me. We do not talk much, save for when we sup. And those conversations usually revolve around Colyne and Raibeart, or what we have done that day.”

Marisse thought on it for a brief moment. “Aye, ye are right. Does he nae talk to ye once ye retire for the night?”

“Nay. There is verra little time for talkin’.”

Embarrassed for her friend, Marisse struggled to find words of comfort to help soften her distress. They sat in quiet contemplation for a long while before Marisse came upon what she believed a most excellent plan.

“Ye need to spend more time together,” she said as she jumped to her feet. “He works far too hard but there is naught to be done about that. But ye can carve out a wee bit of time each day, just the two of ye. And doin’ somethin’ other than joinin’.”

Aeschene thought it a sound idea and smiled.

“After we sup this night, ask him to take ye for a walk,” Marisse said. “There be nothin’ more romantic than a quiet walk with yer husband.”

“Oh, that would be lovely,” Aeschene said, hope beginning to fill her heart. “I truly would like to get to know him better.”

“’Tis settled. Ye will ask him to walk with ye and I will keep anyone else from tryin’ to come along.”

With the plan formed, Aeschene felt immeasurably better.

For the next sennight, Aeschene made the same hopeful request while they supped. Would ye walk with me after we sup? And each night, she was met with the same answer, Nay.

It was becoming painfully evident that he truly did not wish to spend any time with her. He refused to make polite conversation with her, but would talk all the night long with the men at his table.

Her mind told her she should not feel such a deep sense of hurt. Richard was, after all, a very busy man. It stood to reason he would be tired after a long day. But her heart? Her heart was an altogether different matter.

Two nights ago, she had offered to bring his lunch to him while he worked