immediate sense of acute relief. Mary Rose was finally where she belonged.
His greeting wasn't very flowery. 'What the hell took you so long?'
She couldn't answer him. Harrison didn't even give her time to frown. He leaned down and captured her mouth in a ravenous kiss.
She didn't resist him. She put her arms around his neck, lifted up on her tiptoes, and kissed him back just as passionately.
'For heaven's sake, Mary Rose. People are gawking at us. Do stop that. You're attracting a crowd.'
Eleanor whispered her protest from behind Mary Rose. She poked her friend and then took a step away. If the two of them didn't stop mauling each other, she would simply pretend she wasn't with them. Honestly, what had happened to her friend's sense of propriety?
Harrison, she decided, was a lost cause. It wouldn't do her any good to try to reason with him. She'd seen the look of blatant love and hunger in his eyes when he reached for Mary Rose. No, there wouldn't be any reasoning with him.
Eleanor suddenly smiled. Harrison had certainly missed his wife. One day, Eleanor was determined to find a man who felt just as much love for her.
Harrison finally ended the kiss. He was pleased to see Mary Rose appeared to be as shaken by the kiss as he was.
'I missed you, sweetheart,' he whispered.
'I missed you too,' she whispered back. 'You and I are going to have to have a long talk though, as soon as possible. Things are going to be different between us. We're going to have to start over. I'm going to try to get past this, but it's difficult.'
He didn't want to talk just yet. 'We'll discuss your worries later,' he promised a scant second before his mouth covered hers again.
'Oh, for heaven's sake.'
Eleanor's muttering finally caught Harrison 's attention. He couldn't make himself let go of his wife after he ended the kiss, however, and so he hugged her tight against him while he greeted her disgruntled-looking friend.
'How was your voyage, Eleanor?'
'Just fine, thank you. Mary Rose can't possibly breathe, Harrison, because of the way you've got her face pressed into your jacket. Do let go of her so we can get on our way. It's about to rain, for heaven's sake. We're both quite weary from our trip, and we want to get settled in before night falls. Are we going directly to her father's house?'
Mary Rose pushed away from Harrison. 'I would rather wait until tomorrow to meet him. Does he expect to see me tonight? It's almost dark now, and I would like to have a little more time to prepare myself.'
'You've had two long months to prepare, Mary Rose,' Harrison said.
'I need one more night,' she insisted.
'Your father doesn't expect to see you until tomorrow, so you can calm down. He knew you'd be tired from your trip. Both you and Eleanor will stay with me tonight.'
'I'm quite calm. Why would you think I wasn't?'
'You were shouting,' Eleanor told her.
'I was simply trying to make my opinion heard.'
'I hope you have spacious quarters, Harrison,' Eleanor said. 'Mary Rose told me she's going to insist on a room of her own. I believe she's still upset with you.'
'Honestly, Eleanor, I can speak for myself,' Mary Rose said. She turned to Harrison again. 'I am upset with you, and as I said before, things are going to be different now. We're going to have to start over.'
Harrison gave his wife a hard look, then took hold of her arm and started walking toward the main thoroughfare where the carriages were lined up.
'You're sleeping with me, in my bed,' he told her in a rough whisper. 'I've waited two long months, damn it. I'm not waiting any longer.'
'What about our luggage?' Eleanor pestered.
'It's being taken care of,' Harrison answered. 'Quit shaking your head at me, Mary Rose. I meant what I said.'
She wasn't going to argue with him in public. She would wait until they were alone to tell him about the decisions she'd made. Harrison was an intelligent man. He would understand how she felt.
'It hasn't been two months,' Eleanor announced. She was determined to set Harrison straight. 'You two have only been apart five short weeks. Mary Rose wanted to wait until the end of September to make the trip, but Adam wouldn't let her procrastinate that long.'
Harrison came to an abrupt stop. 'You wanted to wait until the end of September?'
'Now look what you've done, Eleanor. You've gotten him upset. Honestly, Harrison, we'll all get soaked if we don't hurry. We'll talk about this when we reach your home.'
Neither Mary Rose nor Harrison said another word for a long, long while. The rain caught them at the corner, and by the time they were settled inside the carriage, they were all drenched.
They reached Harrison 's town house thirty minutes later. It was an impressive two-story home with red brick facade.
The door was opened by a young man dressed in a black coat and trousers. His name was Edward, and he was currently on loan from Lord Elliott to act as Harrison 's butler.
Eleanor was thrilled to have a servant attending her. She hurried inside the foyer first. Edward smiled in greeting, but when he turned around to say his hello to Mary Rose, his expression turned to a look of startled surprise.
'She looks like her mother's painting,' he whispered to Harrison. 'Mi'lord Elliott will have to believe as soon as he sees her. She's the image of Lady Agatha.'
Mary Rose overheard Edward's comment. 'Lord Elliott doesn't believe I'm his daughter?'
Edward looked embarrassed. 'He wants to believe, mi'lady, but there have been so many disappointments in his life, he's afraid to have hope you are truly his Victoria.'
Harrison took off his wet jacket and handed it to the young man. He didn't have anything to add to Edward's remarks.
'I simply must have a hot bath,' Eleanor insisted. 'Edward, be a dear and show me to my bedroom. I'm going to catch a chill if I don't get out of my wet dress.'
'You can't catch a cold in July,' Mary Rose told her friend. 'It's too hot.'
'Haven't you ever heard of a summer cold?' Eleanor argued. She then began to list her other aches and pains on her way up the stairs. Mary Rose was happy for the diversion. Each time she looked at Harrison, her heart felt like it was fluttering inside her chest. She wanted to shout at him because he'd hurt her so and kiss him because she'd missed him so much.
Edward hurried on up the stairs to see to Eleanor's comfort. Harrison took hold of Mary Rose's hand and led her down the opposite hallway to his bedroom.
It was gigantic in proportion. The colors were warm, earthy tones of brown and gold and rust. They were the hues of Montana in the autumn months, she thought to herself.
It was impossible for her not to notice the bed. It was quite regal-looking, with four posts, and it was big enough to sleep four people comfortably. She didn't believe she'd ever seen anything so grand.
Her stomach did a flip-flop. She couldn't block the thoughts of Harrison sleeping in the bed, and since he never wore anything when he slept, the images were very provocative.
She could feel herself blushing. She knew she was going to have to talk to Harrison now, before she lost her nerve. Looking at the bed was already making her weak-kneed and weak-willed.
' Harrison, we must have a talk. Now, please.'
'He's left the chamber, mi'lady. Shall I have Caroline draw your bath for you?'
She whirled around and found Edward standing in the doorway.
'Where did Harrison go?'
'Back downstairs. Did you wish me to go and get him for you?' She shook her head. 'I would like a bath, thank you. Why do you keep calling me mi'lady?'
