After spending a delightful afternoon with Katherine in the garden, the last thing Ravenwood wanted to do was set off for Parliament and spend the next eight hours shuttered inside the Palace of Westminster with the House of Lords.

But he was a duke who knew his duty, so as much as he might have preferred to stay home and see what the evening might bring, his country needed him. The ridiculous Coinage Committee needed him.

As much as he hated being cooped up with so many people, so many voices, he often feared the whole system would fall apart if he were not present to herd the lordlings back into line every time they strayed off course and out of hand.

Tonight, however, instead of suffering through the usual anxiety of what to say and how to say it, his mind kept slipping back to his garden. The fear of rejection, the relief of acceptance, the joy that had filled them both so vividly that she’d thrown herself into his arms and—

“Wouldn’t you say, Ravenwood?”

“Er…” Ravenwood blinked at dozens of curious faces. Heat climbed up his neck at the unexpected attention. “I would need to…consult some figures.”

“You and your figures, Ravenwood!”

The men turned from him to begin arguing amongst themselves again.

He rubbed his face and forced himself to pay attention. Just a little while longer. These meetings rarely went later than one or two in the morning. Katherine was infamous for going out every evening. She would still be awake when he got home.

Except she wasn’t.

No light shone beneath the crack of their adjoining door. She was in bed, asleep.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t gone out a single time since becoming his wife. No theatres, no dinner parties, not even a stroll in St. James Square. He frowned.

Was she unhappy? Was it his fault?

Pensive, he maintained his habitual silence as his valet removed his boots and dress clothes and prepared his bed.

Until that afternoon, he had never explicitly given Katherine permission to do as she pleased, in or out of Ravenwood House. In all honesty, it had never occurred to him that explicit permission would be necessary. She was his duchess. A duchess could do as she liked.

More to the point: she was Katherine. Katherine always did as she pleased.

Or did she?

He sat on the edge of his bed and cast a long, speculative gaze at the closed door standing between them.

This union had not been in either of their plans. However, in Ravenwood’s case, he had always wanted to get married. To have a wife, children, a family. To find love.

On their wedding night, Katherine had made it perfectly clear that she did not share those sentiments. She had not longed for a husband, least of all Ravenwood. And she certainly wasn’t delighted to bear his children. She wasn’t willing to entertain the idea at all.

Which left them with what? He leaned back onto his bed and stared up at the tester.

The one thing he wasn’t willing to risk was a chance at love. Their wedding night had proven that she felt physical desire for him. This afternoon in the garden had proven that they could connect at a deeper level.

She might not have chosen him at first—but if he gave her time and space, there was still a chance that she might.

He didn’t want her to simply accept his presence in her bedchamber. He wanted her to want him. All of him. His mind, his body, his heart. He wanted her to want to create a family together just as badly as he did. He wanted them to be a family. Partners in life and love.

He also wasn’t a saint…or a fool. It was possible that their marriage might become the sort of union he’d always yearned for—and it was just as possible that it would not.

He rolled on his side to face away from the adjoining door.

For the next several weeks, he would be too busy with the House of Lords to do much courting, even in his own home. He could afford to give Katherine a month to adjust to her new role, but he would not pine for his wife from no more than a few feet away. The dukedom required an heir.

If she was not ready to come to him by the time the Season ended, he would go to her.

They would either become a family…or end their marriage for good.