Back in the countryside, Eloise slipped away from Jane and Odette to steal a moment alone with Damien.

Since it was their last day, she wanted to spend as much of it as she could beside him before they returned to the capital and he was consumed by his duties again.

Eloise entered the bedchamber without knocking, hoping to catch him off guard, but he was already looking towards the door.

"I thought you’d be asleep," Eloise said, pouting as she shut the door behind her. "I wanted to surprise you."

"You wanted to watch me sleep. That is a little unsettling," Damien said, shifting his arm to rest across his forehead.

Eloise’s eyes moved over his figure on the bed. He lay without a shirt, the warm afternoon light spilling through the windows and settling across him in a way that made it very difficult to leave. She wanted to join him, but she had taken on the responsibility of watching over Jane and Odette.

"How long are you going to stand there staring at me?" Damien asked, without looking. "Come and lie beside me."

"I know that if I do, I won’t get up when I should. I don’t want Jane coming to look for me and finding us in a compromising position," Eloise said, sitting on the edge of the bed where it was safe. "You seem to be enjoying your time alone."

"I was, and now you have stirred something in me," Damien said, lowering his arm and opening his eyes. "You should be in this bed, making the most of the silence before we leave."

"I want to, but I have Jane to watch and the maids to oversee whilst they pack the trunks. We had a few more visitors arrive bearing gifts and apologies. You were right to buy the cart. I was wrong," Eloise admitted.

"What a lovely surprise," Damien said, reaching out to take her hand. "That man hasn’t come here, has he?"

"Peter? That wouldn’t be wise of him. None of the people who came is from his family, though his wife’s father did visit. I do not quarrel with her family as they are not to blame," she shared.

Eloise sighed. "Unfortunately, we are still receiving gifts for a baby."

She had given up trying to redirect them and simply accepted the offerings. "We now have enough clothing to dress a child that doesn’t exist for a week or two. I don’t want to turn any of it away, as it seems they made the pieces themselves. Rushed, but still sweet."

Damien traced his thumb slowly along the back of her hand. "They must know something we don’t."

"There is nothing to know. They likely assume we consummated the marriage the moment we wed, rather than whilst we’ve been here. I must ask, are you eager to have a child?" Eloise said, studying his face. "You behave as though you are."

"No. I’d rather not rush it. I know what comes with a firstborn, and I am enjoying having your full attention," Damien confessed.

"You don’t always have my full attention. I am currently chaperoning your sister whilst she sits with her friend," Eloise reminded him.

"I am the one who matters most," Damien said plainly. "I take priority."

Eloise shook her head, laughing quietly. "If you say so. This suits you," she said, her gaze lingering on him. "I keep picturing you as an ordinary man doing work around the house, cutting firewood. It would be quite the sight."

"Are you asking me to play a role for you?" Damien asked, his interest piqued.

A blush crept up Eloise’s cheeks. "I said nothing of the sort. You are twisting my words."

"I don’t think I am. If I were a man of simple means, you’d have been the lady creeping through the bushes for a glimpse of me whilst I worked. Is that what you have got up to out here, Eloise?" Damien said, watching for the reaction he knew was coming.

"I did not sneak around staring at boys. I know it wouldn’t be- wait!" Eloise gasped as Damien pulled her towards him without warning.

"There you are," Damien said, wrapping his arms around her and keeping her there. "It took you far too long to come to me. Jane won’t notice you’re gone. Isn’t she busy enjoying her friend’s company?"

"She is, but if she comes looking for me and disturbs you, that will be entirely your fault," Eloise said, though she rested her head against his chest all the same. Her cheek pressed to the warmth of his skin.

"For someone who didn’t want to stay, you’ve made yourself very comfortable. You still owe me your company for a bath to heal my knuckles. I’ve been generous letting it wait until we return to the estate," Damien said, his hands settling at her waist.

"I was promised I would spend the night leaning over a table, and yet I wasn’t. Why don’t we call it a truce and forget about both?" Eloise suggested as the boldness of that evening had faded.

"No. I want what was promised, and I intend to keep what I promised you in return. Do we want to become people who don’t keep their word?" Damien asked, already certain of the answer.

"You only say that to have your way. We are leaving tonight, so we cannot do anything that will tire us out. I shall keep my end," Eloise promised.

"And I shall keep mine."

A comfortable silence settled between them.

"I must confess that I keep thinking there will be trouble waiting for us when we return to the estate. I am probably jinxing it by saying so, but surely you think it too. Everything has been going so wonderfully. I keep wondering what we are going back to," Eloise said quietly, her fingers resting still against his chest.

"Perhaps someone has set the town on fire, or the king has died. I hope it is the latter," Damien said, partially as a joke.

Eloise lifted her head. "Wouldn’t the king dying mean the noblemen would have to gather? Then you’d be pulled away from me. Are you already tired of me, Lord Hawthorne?"

Eloise shifted to sit up so she would straddle Damien and look down at him.

"How could I ever be tired of you? The king’s death would bring celebration within the estate."

"Unlike you, I have no interest in making enemies of the royals. I will not celebrate anyone’s death." Eloise peered down at him. "What exactly are you doing?"

His hands came to rest on her thighs.

"Admiring my wife," Damien answered.

"There is something more to it than that, but I will allow it, since I am rather enjoying the view from up here," Eloise confessed, her palms resting flat against his bare chest. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Eloise’s brow furrowed, and she glanced towards the door. "Did you hear my name?"

"No. That’s a bird outside," Damien said, without missing a beat, as Jane’s voice crept into the chamber. "Ignore it."