Her gaze slid to the decanter of wine. Before pouring herself a glass, she should probably wait for Neville—her husband—to return.
He’d gone into the dressing room to tell his valet his services would not be needed that night. Tonight, she supposed, Neville expectedherto be his valet. And he, her lady’s maid. And, quite possibly, he’d expect them both to be unclothed.
Again, she’d had fair warning.
But what did she know of braces and cravats and whatever else men wore in the hidden layers beneath their outer clothes?Heavens, was it possible Neville wore a male corset?
A few months ago, Emily had gossiped that the Prince Regent wore one. No young lady in her right mind would have dreamed of such a horrid image. Millie certainly had not.
She grabbed the decanter, drank directly from the rim. The liquid lingered, rich and earthy on her tongue. She set the wine back down with a thud.
With shaking fingers, she removed her gloves. Then, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.Transgression concealed.
She smoothed the gloves across her lap and then folded them into neat squares. Restlessly, she stood up and then moved to place them onto the bedside table.
As the door opened, she glanced back. Neville’s gaze dropped from her face to her hands.
“I had wanted to help with that.”
Removing her gloves?Why?“No trouble.”
He smiled warmly. “No trouble at all.”
She hadn’t thought it possible, but her pulse beat just a little bit harder.
“Is something amiss, beloved?”
“No,” she squeaked. “Nothing.”
He came toward her with outstretched hands. She let the gloves drop and held onto him instead. Surely there was not enough room for a corset under that tightly fitted coat and waistcoat…
“Do you mind overmuch?”
Mind that abrute beastwas about totake his satisfaction? “Pardon?”
“Do you mind that we must spend our wedding night here instead of in our own home?”
“As I’ve never been to our own home, I wouldn’t know.”
“You haven’t!” He looked rather stunned. “Of course, you haven’t, have you?”
She forced herself to move her head slowly back and forth. “Will I like it, do you think?”
“Yes. I think. Or, rather, I hope. Millie…” He looked pained as he took her hands into his own. “I can’t imagine how you must feel. My life has been…augmented, while yours has fundamentally changed.”
Huh.Her brows involuntarily stitched together. Just what had he thought marriage meant?
“Everything has happened so fast,” he continued. “There’s so much we’ve, well, skipped.”
Perhaps the deep gulp of wine had helped, or perhaps his warming hands. Or maybe the concern shining from his eyeswas the reason the sensation slowly returned to her limbs. Neville was not some brute beast. Neville was her Auggie.
She was perfectly safe.
And she would remain so. She simply had to trust what Eliza had said.If the way Neville looks at you is any indication of his future efforts, you will find every subsequent joining will get better.His gaze was, in fact, rather yearning, sweetly tender and fond, with hints of deeper emotion. Emotion that brought the flutter back to her throat.
“What have we skipped?” she asked lightly.
“Courtship, parties, trousseaus… But I will make what you’ve lost up to you.”