Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

His wife had been correct, of course.

And if Ian was going to prove he was even remotely worthy of her love, he needed to fully earn her trust. Ian had planned this evening’s surprise to aid with that.

“Once you warned me you didn’t bite,” Charlotte said, waving her arms out in front of her in the carriage. She wore a simple silk blindfold over her eyes.

Ian reached out and drew her back into his lap, whispering against her ear, “Only when it will bring you pleasure.”

“Ian!” She wriggled her fine bottom against him just to emphasize her frustration.

He chuckled, loving the flush jumping to her cheeks. He kissed the side of her neck before guiding her back to her seat across from him.

“Are we almost there?”

“Where?”

“I swear, you are the very devil today.” She bit her lip and looked toward the window out of habit before sighing.

“That’s not what you said this morning.”

Charlotte reached out to swat him once more, laughing. “Ian. Please? I feel like I’ve been in this carriage all afternoon. ”

He glanced out the window, smiling to himself as they approached the busy square where the unassuming building stood.

“Can I have a hint?”

She bit her bottom lip, waiting out his answer, and Ian thought she couldn’t look more perfect in her pink dress and bonnet. He was going to love seeing the look flashing across her face when he finally revealed their outing.

“A hint… hmmm.” He purposely drew out his response.

“Devil,” she hissed again, kicking her boot against his.

“Very well. No more teasing. A hint? Let’s see. There will be horses.”

“That could be all England! Give me a better hint.”

“I never promised you it would be a good hint.”

“Ian, I swear to heaven.” She moved to push up her blindfold, but he stilled her hands, wishing he could feel her touch instead of the beautiful new gloves he had bought her two mornings earlier.

“No peeking. Just a moment longer.”

She sat back and crossed her arms, doing her best to pout, which was unlike her. It didn’t matter. He couldn’t resist her when she was pouting. Or smiling. Or laughing. Or lately, moaning his name while they shared a bed.

The street outside was teeming with patrons queued up along with waiting carriages.

“You made me wait,” he reminded her. “Tough, isn’t it?”

“You don’t have to sound so smug, darling.” She leaned forward with a grin on her face. “I remember how I made you squirm.”

He leaned forward, ghosting his lips over hers. “We can do it again if you’d like.”

She sat back as if to recline back against the bench seat, then reached for his jacket, and hauled him close enough for her lips to brush against his. He deepened their kiss, reaching back around to untie the blindfold and tossing it to the floor beside their feet.

Charlotte drew back and rested her forehead against his, her blue eyes studying him with that heavy-lidded desire he craved. “I like kissing you. Even if you are terrible at providing hints. ”

“But think of everything I excel at.”

“Are you fishing for a compliment, Husband?”

“It would never hurt my pride to hear one.”

She laughed again, curling her fingers back into his hair. “Where have you taken me?”

Ian moved, allowing her a better view from the carriage window, but all the while, never taking his eyes off her face, watching as confusion, then surprise, and delight washed over her features.

“Astley’s?”

He nodded, grabbing her hands as the carriage finally rolled to a stop. “We will only be two patrons in a sea of hundreds, Lottie. Whatever we must contend with as Duke and Duchess can wait until tomorrow. Tonight, let us have fun.”

The apples of her cheeks rounded as she flashed him a giddy grin. “I’ve never been here. My parents would have never allowed it.”

“I haven’t been here since I was a schoolboy.” The carriage door opened, and he stepped out, handing her down to the street on the warm late spring evening.

“And there are horses?”

“I heard there will be an elephant this evening.”

She looped her hand through his outstretched elbow and glanced over at him. “An elephant? Are you certain?”

He shrugged. “I guess we will need to see.”

“Can you imagine?”

“I've never seen one before, so I don’t know what to expect.”

“Very smart creatures, elephants,” Charlotte said matter-of-factly. “This promises to be quite the adventure.”

“If it is too much, we can always turn around and return home. I shouldn’t have assumed you would?—”

“No, this sounds lovely, Ian.”

It did. An evening where they could disappear among the rest of London to laugh together and watch all sorts of spectacles—the likes she never would have encountered if they remained at Stonehurst.

As they filed into the building and found their seats, Charlotte continued to sneak peeks at him, tearing her stare away to study the stage curtains or the ring or the large chandelier suspended from the middle of the open room.

“What is it?” he asked, nudging against her shoulder.

“It’s only…” She sighed, reaching for his hand as the light dimmed slightly. “This reminds me of the afternoons we would spend reading together or riding together, and we would talk about the most pointless things. It all meant nothing, but we had everything to say. I could have listened to you for hours.”

“And now?”

“I am doing a terrible job of making my thoughts make sense. What I am trying to say is that I enjoy spending time with you best when we have nothing to do. When it is us…” She shrugged as he gestured toward the crowd filing in. “We are only two people in love this evening, enjoying one another’s company. What a simple pleasure. I’ve missed it very much.”

He grabbed her hand and brought it against his lips, dropping a kiss against her gloved palm just in time as the show began.

“An elephant?” she asked, quickly wiping at her eyes. “Can you imagine?”

He could envision many things now that Charlotte was back in his life. Why not elephants?

“Elephants and John Ducrow will be performing tonight. Another one of his poses plastiques.”

The crowd buzzed around them until a box was set out in the middle of the ring, and the inside of the amphitheater fell to a quiet hush.

Charlotte leaned forward in her seat, watching intently. And though he should have been doing the same, he was watching his wife instead. For too many years, she had hidden away or worse, suffering in the company of the ton while he was away. That playful wonder he had fallen in love with the first night they met hadn’t disappeared after all.

He grabbed the orange he had bought at the stall outside and gently pressed his thumb into the thick rind, perfuming the sawdust-heavy air with the bright zing. Slowly, he unpeeled the piece of fruit, dropping the pieces at his boots, before separating the segmented flesh and offering Charlotte a piece.

She leaned close, allowing him to slip a piece into her mouth. With a laugh, a small dribble of juice ran down her chin. He wished to lean over and lick it off, struck once again with such a deep want for her. Instead, he reached over and wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. Charlotte reached for his thigh, giving it a gentle pat as she remained transfixed at the curious sight unfolding in front of them in the ring.

A few attendants scurried around the box until one side fell away, revealing a Punch marionette.

“What’s going to happen?” Charlotte whispered.

A little boy who sat with his family beside Ian gasped as a clown on stilts emerged and lumbered toward the box. The clown bent down and pulled a string, lifting the marionette’s left arm, then another string to lift his right arm.

Ian ate another piece of orange, smiling at Charlotte before the marionette stood.

“That’s Ducrow,” he whispered, but his voice was nearly drowned out as the crowd cheered when the clown began leading the marionette around the ring. “Watch, Lottie.”

A beautiful horse was led out next, and Charlotte grabbed his hand, a smile still pinned to her face, her eyes bright and wide.

It was rather masterful to watch. The clown next led Ducrow onto the horse.

“He can’t be…?” Charlotte squeezed Ian’s hand before the marionette flapped his arms and squeaked like a rusty trumpet before the horse slowly trotted around the ring.

Ducrow suddenly threw off his marionette costume, and Charlotte gasped, clasping her hands together. The riding master emerged next, and his speed around the ring nearly doubled as he began performing tricks on horseback.

“Can you imagine?” Charlotte asked Ian. “Oh, this is so wonderful.”

He laughed, shaking his head as she bent her head next to his. “Thank you,” she whispered against his ear before pressing a soft kiss against his jaw, stealing another slice of orange, and returning her attention to the show.

Could he imagine?

With her? Yes. But certainly, he hadn’t dared to dream it ever being like this again for some time—so easy and comfortable. He never wished this evening to end.

His heart felt a lot like the magical madness unfolding before them and the rest of London.