Jessica Howerty fell for her brother's best friend when she was a young girl, and never quite recovered. Now, all grown-up, she knows that a disreputable rake like Jacob Hurst is the last thing she should want. After two seasons in London, she's tir...
When Jacob woke up the next morning, he found Jessica sleeping snugly in his arms. It was a peculiar feeling to wake up holding a woman. Usually, he would leave after concluding his business, or if a lady visited his house, she usually slipped out when she'd got what she wanted. He couldn't remember a single time he'd spent the entire night with a woman, at least not sleeping. It felt good. He pulled her a little closer and buried his nose in her soft, blonde hair. She always smelled amazing. Lavender might be his new favourite scent. She made a little sound and nuzzled his neck, but didn't wake up. He could get used to this.
Several minutes passed when he just lay in bed, enjoying her presence. She'd crooked one of her legs over his, had draped an arm snugly across his chest, and her head rested neatly in the nook of his shoulder. As if she fit there perfectly. As if she were made for him. He frowned. That was ridiculous. This whole marriage business must have gone to his head. After another moment, he carefully extracted himself. She made a little noise of complaint, but settled into the pillows and continued sleeping. He watched her as he dressed, marvelling at her beauty. Surely no other woman had ever looked quite that adorable while sleeping. She slept with one of her hands loosely fisted close to her face, which was relaxed in sleep. Quite unlike the misery and discontent evident of late.
As soon as he was properly dressed, he left the room. It was still early in the morning and few people of the household had woken up, which suited him fine. He didn't much care to hear questions about the wedding night. It still didn't sit quite right with him that he'd spent his wedding night sleeping instead of making love. Though, for him, sleeping with a woman was more rare. More special. But he didn't want to think about it like that. He couldn't let her be special to him. If he allowed that, then... He shook his head. Obviously, he was thinking too much again. Self-reflection be damned, he didn't want to delve any deeper into his own feelings. Better to go to the dining room and break his fast.
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Jessica woke slowly with the feeling of something being different. It took her a moment to remember that she was a married woman and that Jacob had been there when she fell asleep. Sitting up, she glanced about the room to ascertain that her husband was no longer around. She called for a maid and got out of bed to get ready. A short while later, she walked downstairs to the main hallway. In the hall, it surprised her to see a sizeable amount of coffers and boxes. Surely all the guests weren't leaving at once?
When she entered the dining room, she found most of her family already there. Nathaniel sat at the head of the table talking to Angel and Aunt Jane while Jacob sat between Rain and Nick. They all looked up when she came inside, and Jessica motioned towards the hallway.
"Who is going away?"
Aunt Jane frowned a little. "You are. I had the maids packing last night and finishing up this morning so that you'll be ready."
"I... Where am I going?" she asked, feeling confused.
"We're leaving for London this morning," Jacob said, looking up from his cup of tea. A frown grazed his brow. "Didn't we discuss this? I could have sworn we did."
