Bridgerton Collection, Volume 2 - Julia Quinn Page 0,235

intercourse wasn’t the main reason for his current sense of contentment.

It was this feeling—this knowledge, really—that he had finally, and truly, for the first time since he’d become a father, done the absolute right thing for the twins.

He’d never be a perfect father. He knew that, and even if he hated it, he accepted it. But he had finally done the next best thing, and gotten them the perfect mother.

It was as if a thousand pounds of guilt had been lifted from his shoulders.

No wonder his muscles finally felt unknotted and relaxed.

He could go into his greenhouse in the morning and not worry. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done that, simply gone in and worked without cringing every time he heard a loud noise or shriek. Or been able to concentrate on his work without his mind wandering into guilt, unable to focus on anything other than his lacks as a father.

But now he walked in and forgot all his cares. Hell, he had no cares.

It was splendid. Magical.

A relief.

And if sometimes his wife looked at him as if she wanted him to say something different or do something different—well, he chalked that up to the simple fact that he was a man and she was a woman, and his sort would never understand her sort, and truly, he ought just to be grateful that Eloise almost always said exactly what she meant, which was a very good thing, since he wasn’t constantly left guessing what was expected of him.

What was that thing his brother had always said—Beware a woman asking questions. You will never answer correctly.

Phillip smiled to himself, enjoying the memory. Put that way, there was no reason to worry if occasionally their conversations dwindled off into nothingness. Most of the time they dwindled right into bed, which was perfectly fine by him.

He looked down at the bulge forming in his breeches. Damn. He was going to have to stop thinking about his wife in the middle of the day. Or at the very least, find a way to get discreetly back to the house in his condition and find her quickly.

But then, almost as if she’d known he was standing there thinking how perfect she was, and she wanted to prove it one more time, she opened the door to the greenhouse and poked her head in.

Phillip looked around and wondered why he’d built the structure entirely of glass. He might need to install some sort of privacy screen if she was going to come visiting on a regular basis.

“Am I intruding?”

He thought about that. She was, actually; he was quite in the middle of something, but he realized he didn’t mind. Which was odd and rather pleasing at the same time. He’d always been irritated by interruptions before. Even when it was someone whose company he enjoyed, after a few minutes he found himself wishing they would just leave so that he could get back to whatever project he’d had to put aside for their benefit. “Not at all,” he said, “if you are not offended by my appearance.”

She looked at him, taking in the dirt and mud, including the smudge he was rather certain he sported on his left cheek, and she shook her head. “It’s no problem at all.”

“What is troubling you?”

“It’s the children’s nurse,” she said without preamble. “I don’t like her.”

That was not what he expected. He set down his spade. “You don’t? What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know exactly. I just don’t like her.”

“Well, that’s hardly a reason to terminate her employment.”

Eloise’s lips thinned slightly, a sure sign, he was coming to realize, that she was irritated. She said, “She rapped the children across the knuckles.”

He sighed. He didn’t like the thought of someone striking his children, but then again, it was just a knuckle rap. Nothing that didn’t occur in every schoolroom across the country. And, he thought resignedly, his children were not exactly models of good behavior. And so, wanting to groan, he asked, “Did they deserve it?”

“I don’t know,” Eloise admitted. “I wasn’t there. She said they spoke to her disrespectfully.”

Phillip felt his shoulders sag a bit. “Unfortunately,” he said, “I do not find that difficult to believe.”

“No, of course not,” Eloise said. “I’m sure they were little beasts. But still, something didn’t seem right.”

He leaned back against his workbench, tugging her hand until she tumbled against him. “Then look into it.”

Her lips parted with surprise. “Don’t you want to look into it?”

He shrugged. “I’m not