EGGIE stared out the coach window, but all she could see was her own reflection. She flushed as her belly growled with hunger but didn’t look at Nicholas to see if he had heard. He was across from her in the plush coach, which bore his coat of arms.

The interior lamp had been burning for two hours, but still they hadn’t stopped at an inn for dinner. She was hungry, but she was damned if she’d beg.

The wedding guests had been served a huge luncheon at Malory house, but Reggie hadn’t been there for it. Nicholas took her home directly from the church, telling her to pack an overnight bag and order the rest of her things sent on to Silverley. The two of them were gone even before their guests arrived.

He had made her ride all afternoon and into the evening, but she didn’t feel like complaining, not when he sat there so pensively, never once looking her way. He hadn’t spoken a word since leaving London.

He was married and furious about it. Well, she’d expected he would be. But it boded well, didn’t it, that he was taking her to his country estate? She hadn’t expected that. She didn’t know what she had expected.

Her stomach growled again and she finally decided to ask, “Will we be stopping soon for dinner?”

“The last inn was in Montieth. Silverley is just up ahead,” Nicholas replied brusquely.

It would have been nice if he’d told her that sooner.

“Is Silverley large, Nicholas?”

“About as large as your own estate, which borders mine.”

Her eyes widened. “I didn’t know that!”

“How could you not?”

“Why are you angry? Why, it’s perfect. The estates will now be combined—”

“Which is what I have wanted for years. But surely your uncle told you about that. He used your estate as the inducement to get me to marry you.”

Reggie blushed furiously. “I don’t believe it.”

“That I wanted the land?”

“You know what I mean!” she snapped. “Oh, I knew there was some land involved, and Tony even said it was what swayed you, but—but I didn’t believe it. No one told me about this. I didn’t know your estate borders the land that came to me through my mother. I haven’t lived there since—my parents died, in the fire that destroyed the house. I was only two at the time. I have never returned to Hampshire. Uncle Edward has always seen to what was left of the estate, as well as to the inheritance I got from my father.”

“Yes, a tidy sum that, fifty thousand pounds, which he was happy to point out has tripled due to his wise investments, giving you a sizable yearly income.”

“Good God, are you angry about that, too?”

“I am not a fortune hunter!”

Her own grievances were riding very close to the edge. “Oh, bother. Who in his right mind could accuse you of that? You’re not exactly a pauper.”

“It is no secret that I wanted your land, land I assumed belonged to the Earl of Penwich, since the Earl was the last to be in residence there.”

“My father was, not the present Earl. But as the land came to him through my mother, it was not entailed to Penwich and it was their wish it come to me.”

“I know that now! Your Uncle Edward thought it quite amusing to inform me as I left the church that I no longer needed to worry about buying the estate. He couldn’t wait to tell me. Wanted to relieve my mind, he said. Bloody hell. Do you know how it looks, madame?”

“Do you realize you are insulting me, sir?”

He had the decency to look surprised. “I didn’t mean to imply—”

“Of course you did. That is what you are complaining about, isn’t it? That people will say you married me for my inheritance? Well, thank you very much. I was not aware this was the only way I could get a husband.”

His brows narrowed and he said coldly, “Shall we discuss how you got a husband?”

Her eyes flashed blue sparks, and for a moment she feared she would lose all control. She managed, just barely, to keep silent, and Nicholas refrained from goading her. Both were relieved to find the coach stopping just at that moment.

He stepped outside and extended a hand to help her down. But as soon as she was standing on the ground, he got back into the coach. She stared up at him, her eyes widening in disbelief.

“You wouldn’t!” she gasped.

He said bitterly, “You can’t be surprised. I am a man of my word, after all.”

“You can’t just leave me here—not tonight.”

“Tonight, tomorrow—what difference?”

“You know what difference!”

“Ah, yes, the wedding night. But we have had ours, haven’t we, love?”

She gasped. “If you do this, Nicholas,” she said tremulously, “I swear I will never forgive you.”

“Then we are well met, aren’t we, if we both honor our oaths? You have what you wanted. You bear my name. I give you now my home. Where is it written that I must share it with you?”

“You expect me to stay here while you go on as before, living in London and…”

He shook his head. “London is too close for our arrangement. No, I’m leaving England altogether. Would that I had done so before we met!”

“Nicholas, you can’t. I am—”

Reggie stopped herself before making the one declaration that might change his mind. Her pride stubbornly reasserted itself. She would not follow the path of thousands of other women, just to keep a man by her side. If he wouldn’t stay because he wanted to…

“You are—what, love?”

“Your wife,” she said smoothly.

“So you are,” he agreed, his mouth tightening into a hard line. “But you will recall I didn’t ask you to be, and I warned you not to press the marriage. I have always been plainspoken about this, Regina.”

He closed the coach door then and tapped on the roof to signal the driver. Reggie stared incredulously as the vehicle moved away.

“Nicholas, come back!” Reggie shouted. “If you leave… Nicholas! Oh! I hate you! I hate you!” she cried in frustration, knowing he couldn’t hear her anyway.

Stunned, she turned around to face the large gray stone house. It looked like a miniature castle, a gloomy one, in the dark night, with its central tower and corner turrets. This was only a close view, however, so she did not see how it spread out behind and on the sides of the main block in asymmetrical heights and shapes. There even was a large domed conservatory at the back of the house, towering over the servants’ wing on the right.

The arched windows on either side of the door were dark. What if there was no one at home? Famous. Abandoned on her wedding night, and to an empty house!

Well, there was nothing for it. Squaring her shoulders, she forced a smile and approached the front door as if there were nothing odd about a bride arriving without her bridegroom. She knocked, first quietly and then loudly.

When the door finally opened, Reggie saw the startled face of a young girl, a maid. She was not at all confident about answering doors. That was Sayers’ duty. He took himself so seriously. He would have her hide to know she has usurped his place.

“We weren’t expectin‘ company, my lady, or I’m sure Sayers would’ve been waitin’ round to let you in. But you’ve such a soft knock… gor, listen to me ramblin‘. What can I do for you?”

Regina grinned, feeling ever so much better. “You can let me in, to begin with.”

The girl opened the door wider. “You’ve come to call on the Countess, Lady Miriam?”

“I guess I’ve come to live here—for a while, at least. But I suppose I can start with seeing Lady Miriam.”

“Gor! You’ve come to live here? Are you sure you want to?”

This was said with such patent surprise that Reggie laughed. “Why? Are there dragons and goblins here?”

“There’s one I could speak of. Two if you count Mrs. Oates.” The girl gasped, then went vivid red. “I didn’t mean... oh, forgive me, my lady.”

“No harm done. What’s your name?”

“Hallie, mum.”

“Then, Hallie, do you think you could inform Lady Miriam that I have arrived? I am the new Countess of Montieth.”

“Gor!” Hallie squealed.

“Precisely. Now, will you show me where I can await Lady Miriam?”

The maid let Reggie in. “I’ll just tell Mrs. Oates you’re here, and she’ll go up and tell the Countess.”

The entry hall was marble-floored and narrow, with only a single long refectory table up against a wall. An ornate silver platter was positioned in the center of the table for calling cards, and a lovely tapestry hung behind. A large Venetian mirror dressed the opposite wall with a brace of wall candles on each side, and a pair of double doors directly facing the front door.

Hallie opened the double doors, and a much larger hall was revealed, two stories high, with a magnificent domed ceiling way above. The main staircase was in the center of the right wall. And at the end of the hallway were opened doors that led into an antechamber, and Reggie caught a glimpse of stained-glass windows nearly covering the outside wall. The impression was of an extremely large house.

At the far end of the hall on the left was the library, and this was where Hallie led her. Forty feet long and twenty wide, the library had tall windows along the far wall, giving ample light in the daytime. The other three walls were covered with books, and huge portraits hung high up above the bookcases.

There was a fireplace, and sofas to either side of it. Beautifully crafted chairs, lounges, and tables were spaced near the windows for reading. There was an ancient reading stand in gold lacquer. A carpet in rich browns, blues, and gold covered the floor. A pedestal desk occupied the far end of the room, with chairs around it, and there was a painted leather screen which would turn that far corner into a cozy study set off from the rest of the room.

“It shouldn’t be long, mum,” Hallie said. “The Countess… oh, dear, the Dowager Countess now, isn’t she? Just like the old one, his lordship’s grandmother. But Lady Miriam will be eager to welcome you, I’m sure,” she said politely, not sounding at all convinced. “Can I get you something? There’s brandy there on the table, and mulberry wine, too, that the Countess likes.”

“No, I’ll just make myself comfortable, thank you,” Reggie replied with a smile.

“Very good, mum. And can I be the first to say I’m glad you’ve come? I hope you like it here.”

“I do too, Hallie,” Reggie sighed. “I do too.”