And now she was closer, she could see that “Aspreys” was stamped in gold lettering across the top of the case.
“Oh,” she breathed. “He didn’t.”
She picked up the case and, holding her breath, opened it—and found herself staring at the ruby parure she’d so admired. The stones glinted and gleamed. Her first impulse was to don the entire set, but that would be too much for a day about the house. Looking around, she hesitated, then saw the bellpull and crossed to it and tugged.
When Kitty arrived, bearing a pitcher of warm water, Stacie insisted on dressing in one of her ruby-red gowns.
After sitting on the dressing stool to allow Kitty to arrange her hair, she opened the new jewel case and picked up the bracelet.
Kitty’s eyes flew wide. “Ooh, my lady! They’re so beautiful.” She lowered her voice. “Are they from the master?”
Stacie smiled. “Yes. Sadly, I can’t wear the whole set during the day—the bracelet and ring will have to suffice.” So Frederick would know she treasured his wedding gift.
After directing Kitty to retrieve the rest of her clothes from the marquess’s bedchamber, Stacie walked into the marchioness’s bedroom.
Although the room had clearly been prepared for occupation, as Frederick had intimated, the furniture and fabrics were from decades past.
She looked around, then, having decided that before redecorating, she should wait to ask Frederick’s mother, now the dowager marchioness, if she wished to claim any of the pieces or hangings for her rooms, either those she would keep here or those at Albury House, Stacie quit the room in search of her husband.
She found him in the breakfast parlor, having been directed to the pleasant room that looked onto the garden by Kitty, who had put her early-morning hours to good use learning the layout of the house and the ways of the household. Apparently, for those who preferred to dine downstairs, breakfast was available from the sideboard in the breakfast parlor between the hours of seven and nine.
It was a quarter to the latter hour when she walked into the well-lit room and found Frederick perusing a news sheet. On seeing her, he lowered the sheet and, his lips curving, nodded. “Good morning, my dear.”
Smiling, she inclined her head. “My lord.” That seemed appropriate in multiple ways.
She went to the sideboard and allowed Hughes to hand her a plate and lift the lids of the silver serving platters. Once she’d made her selections, she turned to the round table. Frederick rose, waved back the footman, and drew out the chair beside his.
Pleased, she sat, her bracelet helpfully tapping against the edge of her plate, then as Frederick—who had noticed the sound and its source—leaned over her, easing in her chair, she looked into his face. “Thank you for your very thoughtful gift, my lord. It’s beautiful—I’ll treasure it forever.”
He remained hovering over her as his eyes searched hers; he was transparently gratified that her thanks were obviously genuine. “It was, indeed, my pleasure.” His gaze shifted to her hand where the ruby ring glowed. “The stones and design suit you—the set was made for you.”
He started to straighten, and suddenly struck, she caught his eye. “I just realized—I haven’t given you anything.”
The smile that lit his face rendered the austere planes quite beautiful. “You’ve already given me a treasure beyond price.”
She tilted her head, staring at him as she tried to imagine…
His smile deepened, and he whispered, “You.” Then he straightened and returned to his chair.
She decided his unexpected answer was simply that of a sophisticated gentleman seeking to put his new bride at ease. While she ate, he questioned her as to what she wished to do that day, and she admitted she felt a strong need to learn her way around the large house and the immediate grounds.
He readily offered to escort her—another thing she hadn’t expected—but he seemed infinitely more relaxed here, in the country, than he had in London. And she quickly realized he knew Brampton Hall better than anyone else.
Rather than guide her, he encouraged her to explore as she would, while he adopted the role of “font of local knowledge.” He had tales, most funny and many self-deprecating, about the places he followed her into.
By the time the bell for luncheon rang over the gardens and he caught her hand and unerringly led her out of the hedge maze in the shrubbery, she’d learned a great deal—not just about her new home but also about the man she would share it with.
On the fourth night they’d spent at the Hall, Frederick lay on his back in the center of his decidedly rumpled bed, one arm bent with his hand behind his head, the other looped around his pleasurably exhausted and now-sleeping wife, and marveled at the changes she’d brought into his life.
Through showing her over his home—the house, gardens, and estate—he’d found himself viewing each aspect through her eyes, seeing those aspects anew, appreciating them all the more.
As for the contentment he felt in moments such as this, bone-deep and abiding, a sense of home that extended so much further than simply place, he had no words with which to do it justice. He dwelled on the feeling, on the peace and calm certainty it brought, then turned his head and, through the shadows, studied what he could see of her face.
All in all, in securing Stacie as his bride, he was inclined to feel not just lucky but blessed.
The resolution he’d made on the night of their wedding to protect her from all harm had expanded and taken on a broader scope; he no longer wanted only to protect her, he wanted to set her free.
He wanted to lift the shadows from her mind, wanted to erase them so she no longer feared love.