Blame It on Bath Page 0,40

said it.

He tipped up her chin until she looked at him. His blue eyes were thoughtful. “I don’t know what sort of chap Lord Howe was, but I gather he wasn’t much like me. Rest assured I shan’t beat you for disagreeing with me, or punish you for speaking your mind. And for God’s sake stop thanking me. You’ve brought something of unquestionable value to this marriage, while time will only tell if you received as much in return.” A corner of his mouth crooked up, and his eyes sparkled with mirth. “How are you to know if I’m preferable to Lucien?”

The very fact that you could ask the question, she thought. “I have no doubts, Captain.”

He released her. “Gerard. You said it this morning.”

She hesitated. “Gerard,” she said softly.

“Much better.” He yawned and stretched his arms overhead. The ceiling wasn’t terribly low, but he could have pressed his palms against it. “Shall we go to bed? Tomorrow will be another long journey.”

Her muscles knotted up even worse than before. Somehow she nodded. Katherine took off her dressing gown and laid it across the chair. She climbed into the bed, keeping self-consciously to one side, and stared at the ceiling as he moved about the room, tossing another log on the fire and shedding his breeches and stockings before blowing out the lamps. The whole mattress dipped as he slid in beside her.

“Good night, Kate,” he murmured, leaning over her. His lips brushed hers, too lightly. “Sleep well.”

“Good night,” she whispered back.

He turned onto his back and after a moment of shifting was still. Within minutes his breathing deepened into the slow cadence of sleep. Katherine wished she could do the same. It was her wedding night, and even though she told herself it was a relief he hadn’t tried to make love to her, part of her was irrationally let down. He had said he wanted to make love to her, and now that it was time, he went to sleep. She was sore and tired from the coach ride, but her mind refused to rest, not when he was lying beside her so close she could feel the warmth of his body. She lay listening to the sound of his breathing for some time, until she was certain he slept deeply, then slipped from the bed.

The room was dark, but the moon was near full. She pulled back the sturdy curtains at the window, letting a slice of pale moonlight fall across the bed, onto Gerard’s face. She crept back across the room and settled herself in bed again, lying on her side facing him. For the first time she felt at liberty to look at him as much as she wanted, and she did so, as greedy as a hungry child left unattended with a whole pudding.

He had changed a great deal, but she would never forget her first sight of him more than a decade ago. She had walked into town by herself that day in search of the latest Gothic novel. Her mother had told her to go in the carriage, but Katherine wanted to be free to take her time, to dawdle along, to read a chapter or two if the novel proved engrossing. The rain put an end to that idea, of course; she’d had the book tucked tightly under her arms and cloak before she was halfway home. She was pretty well soaked to the skin, bonnet drooping hopelessly, when a horse pulled up beside her, its prancing hoofs splashing mud onto her skirt.

“Whoa, there!” The young man controlled his horse with ease. “It’s rather a dreadful day for a walk, miss.”

She remembered looking up in astonishment, shocked both that someone stopped to speak to her and at the manner of that address. Even on that rainy day, his blue eyes seemed dazzling. He was smiling at her, with an air of exuberant merriment about him quite at odds with the wretched weather. Somehow she gave a hesitant nod and mumbled something inane. He leaned down and extended his hand, sending a cascade of water from the brim of his hat. “May I take you up, miss?” he asked. “It’s dashed cold in this rain.”

The words would be forever branded on her memory. He had offered so gallantly, as if she were the town beauty instead of the plain, awkward daughter of an upstart merchant, as another young buck had once referred to her. And he was no ordinary young man being