“No, I just wished to make sure this is truly what you want. Do not believe I have ever seen a wedding performed so hastily or packing done so quickly. The man came back here when we had thought him gone, helped get you away from that scum, and then appeared to see the pastor and think, well, I might as well get married while I am here. I just was not sure that was what you wanted. What you truly wanted. I do not want you doing this because you have been traveling with him and been his lover.”
“And now we are both blushing,” Primrose said, and laughed. “I am marrying him for the same reasons he is marrying me. I want him in my bed, I want to share his home, and I want him to father my children. I have known in my soul and my heart that he is mine. That is what he said to me and it is what I agree with. Actually, he said his belly and his heart. I think I can wait for the sweet words as that says more than enough.”
“I think, in his way, he gave you a lot of sweet words. As a man, I think I am hearing what he is saying a lot more clearly than you are. You love him, do you not? And that is what you want him to say.”
“Of course I want him to say it but what he has said is enough for now. It is certainly enough to get those words I want before too long, I think. Yes, I may have to coax them, but I do not mind.” She frowned. “I am, however, running out on you on the very day you actually step into the role of Baron of Willow Hill.”
“Do not fret. I will admit it might be good to have you round for a while as I get used to it, but I have been in training for it since the day I was born. As for the household business, I believe Mrs. Jakes and Jenson will suit. And we both know Mr. Sutton is as trustworthy as the day is long. So I believe I will manage.” He grinned when she swatted him on the arm and then he hugged her. “I will miss you, though.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “And I you. And—oh!”
Primrose suddenly recalled their mother’s journal, grabbed the basket with Boudicca sitting proudly in it, and bolted out of the room. A puzzled Simeon hurried after her. Once in the room she snatched the cushion off the settee and breathed a sigh of relief as she picked up the journal and handed it to Simeon.
“Ah, I had wondered if that is where you disappeared to. You may keep it for a while if you choose, Prim,” he said.
“Mayhaps another time. I would not wish to tote it for all those miles to Wales and into a house that still needs some work. Too many risks.” She turned to go out the door and then paused to look back at him. “Do you think there is something wrong inside me that makes me not shed one tiny tear for our aunt? I even looked at her lying there dead and could only think, ‘Finally it is done.’”
“That is much the same as I thought. Go join your new husband, Prim. He is probably getting concerned that you have changed your mind.”
Directing the servants concerning her bags, Primrose stepped out of the manor to watch Bened hitch their horses to a carriage even as servants tied their bags on top. Poor Mercury, she thought, and laughed softly. The animal appeared to be comfortable in his new role. Smudge did not look as certain but that could be because she was riding in tandem with a large gelding.
Chapter Twenty
Primrose stole another look at her wedding rings, loving the way the sun glinted off the metal and small gemstones. She was married to Bened. It was a wondrous feeling. The fact that she had come very close to being married to that evil troll her aunt had sold her to made her good fortune even more precious.
She had told her brother she was satisfied with all Bened had said and she was, but on the journey to Bened’s lands she had decided she might not be as patient as she had thought she would be.
Primrose badly wanted to hear him say those three little words because she ached to say them to him. She feared they would burst out of her at any time, especially when they were making love, and then he would fail to say them back to her. It was a childish concern, she told herself.
“There it is,” said Bened. “Wolfsbane Hall.”
“Wolfsbane?”
He grinned. “According to Aunt Dob, the ancestor who owned this first was a little odd.”
She stared at the huge manor house built of dark stone. Iron gates were set into a high stone wall that encircled the building. There was even an attractive gatehouse of the same stonework. The place was only a few steps away from being a castle. To her relief height was one of those steps, for the manor was only three stories high. The latest resident had been, it was said, responsible for all comforts and changes that dragged the sturdy buildings out of the dark past.
“That earl gave you a very fine gift, Bened. I think your cousin Modred is correct. The tale of how the place was taken away from your family must have been well recorded and told often. The earl saw a way to remove that small stain from the family shield and took it.”