Haunted Hearts

19

As the first week of their marriage passed, it became apparent—at least to Rufus—that he and Elphi thoroughly enjoyed one another's companionship. And that Rufus should have set a time frame for how long they must wait before becoming intimate instead of leaving it open-ended because he very much wanted her.

He couldn't keep from kissing or touching her any chance he got—small, involuntary touches simply because he craved the feel of her. And it drove him to distraction that Elphi had developed the same habit.

So Rufus kissed her upon waking. And before going to bed. And he'd started planning his schedule to ensure he was home for lunch whenever possible for two reasons.

The first, so that he could kiss Elphi good afternoon upon returning from his morning investigations if she couldn't go with him and once more before seeing afternoon clients in his study.

And second, because seeing and being with Elphi even for an hour in the middle of his workday renewed him the way sunlight and water revived a wilting flower.

But after he put away the case files, closed his study for the night, and they had finished their evening meal, an unmistakable tension settled between them—the only drawback that had arisen from their passionate encounter at Kernwith Hold.

It was as though they became more aware of each other with every passing tick of the clock until it struck the hour of ten.

He never knew an hour of the night could be dreaded and blessed all at once or how they'd silently agreed on ten to be the time they retired. Nor did he wish to bring the subject up for discussion, not when it meant he could lay in bed with his wife, uninterrupted, for the next nine hours.

Even though Elphi began the first hour and a quarter out of reach, despite inevitably waking up in his arms every morning.

Surely, if she had any complaints about their nightly routine and sleeping arrangements, she would have mentioned them by now?

But she hadn't.

So, when they weren't having dinner with Roderick or Rosalind and Reggie, at the first chime of ten o'clock, they would look up from their attempts at reading while sitting in opposing chairs at the farthest reaches of their drawing-room.

Well-worn books from Rufus's limited library of twelve were slowly set aside—any keen-eyed observer would notice their books of choice remained on the same page as when Rufus and Elphi first opened them after dinner.

Rufus's heart would race with maddening speed, his hands would tremble, and butterflies inevitably took flight as he escorted Elphi to their bedroom, unable to stop himself from wondering if tonight would be the night.

But it never was.

And as the nights passed and they approached their third week of marriage, Rufus wondered if he was the only one who'd noticed the ritual they'd fallen into when it was time to retire to their bed chamber.

He would close the door and silently count to forty-five—sometimes sixty—both hands gripping the handle behind his back to keep from reaching for her.

Elphi would blush and convulsively swallow before quickly crossing to the opposite side of the room to let down and brush her hair, then gather her nightgown and robe.

He would cast furtive glances as she slipped behind the privacy screen he'd purchased their first week of marriage, all while he pretended to rearrange his clothing within the armoire for the thousandth time while she changed.

Elphi would maintain a steady stream of nervous chatter as he stripped down to his drawers.

He would glance out of the corner of his eye to see if she watched him—he'd caught her twice— before quickly dousing the lamps, crawling into bed, and then echoing her whisper of goodnight in the dark.