Abigail sat before the mirror brushing her already untangled hair for the third time. She didn’t know what else to do. Was her new husband going to come to her room? Did she even want him to do so?
Her lady’s maid had insisted she wears the new nightgown that her mother had requested to be made for her. It was made of the lightest sheen material she had ever seen in her life. Though she had accepted the garment from her mother, she had never actually thought she would be wearing it.
A soft knock on her door distracted her from the thought that plagued her mind. She did her best to smooth out the fabric out of habit then decided to add a silken cover over her shoulders to at least downplay the nightgown.
“Come in,” she said, standing.
She was not a shy type, but at that moment she was feeling very demure. Gilchrist entered the room and closed the door softly behind him. He was still fully dressed in his exquisite black jacket and matching pantaloons from earlier at the church.
Neither had spoken much to the other since that moment next to each other in the chapel. Abigail had barely been able to meet his gaze though she was sure that his eyes had never left hers.
He came to sit on the bed without speaking a word as Abigail stood and waited. She supposed at that moment he intended in making this marriage as valid as any other. He took one long boot off and then the other. She could hear the strain as he worked the boot on his left side.
Though Gilchrist hadn’t used his cane for some time, the pressure of a whole day on his weaken limb came with a toll. Though he had tried to gauge his new wife’s feelings on the entire situation, she seemed to avoid even the meeting of his eyes at every turn.
“I thought we might talk a little,” Gilchrist said patting the spot on the bed next to him.
“Talk?” Lady Abigail’s eyebrows rose in question.
“Yes,” he said with a soft laugh. “I already promised I wouldn’t ask more of you than you are willing to give. I’m afraid that to ensure the validity of the union we must spend this night together."
"I assure you, I will be a gentleman about it, however, and take my place by the hearth,” he added motioning to the small fire already crackling away.
Lady Abigail hesitated a moment longer before taking the few steps across the room and taking a place next to her husband.
“You know,” he said with a playful tone. “I think this is the quietest I have ever seen you. You scarcely spoke more than five words at dinner.”
“It was only that I couldn’t seem to get a word in with the twins there,” she retorted.
Usually, the twins took their meals with the governess and nanny then joined the family in the evening when guests weren’t present. As a special treat, however, they were welcome to join the family that evening for the wedding dinner.
“Yes, they did have quite a lot to say,” he responded a bit absentmindedly.
Lady Abigail didn’t have to ask to know that he was not fond of the attention they gave to him. She feared he saw it as a gross mortification, but it was only innocent interest on their part.
“They were just excited that they could now call you uncle,” she tried to explain.
She was at least satisfied in knowing that her choice of a husband had been heartily accepted by every single member of her family. She was sure that would have never been the case if Heshing's plans had come to fruition. She shuttered involuntarily at the thought that she could have been spending her wedding night in his company instead of Gilchrist.
She looked over at him with new eyes at that moment. Of course, there had been reasons on his part for agreeing to the union, but she found a whole new reason to be happy about it.
“Do you think you will mind coming to Cumberton Park? I didn’t think about it till Louisa said as much. Perhaps you would rather return to London with them?”
For some reason, Abigail didn’t like the thought of her husband staying in his country estate all alone. She felt it was a duty of hers to at least accompany him for the first portion of his time there.
“I don’t mind it at all, in fact, I am curious to see the place.”
“I must confess I am a little curious myself. Hopefully, it will be to your liking. Of course, as lady of the house, you are free to change things as you see fit,” Gilchrist seemed to ramble off.
She smiled at her husband; perhaps he was just as uncomfortable with this nightly situation as she was.
“Lady of the house,” she said out loud. “It seems a little strange to think of myself as such.”
“Well, you are,” he responded without hesitation. “The Countess of Gilchrist and with that title comes my protection and home. It is yours now as it is mine.”
“But you always knew such a thing would be yours,” Lady Gilchrist said finding comfort in their conversation.
“Yes,” he responded leaning back on his arms. “I suppose so. Didn’t you also always assume you would be the lady of some house?”
“No,” Lady Gilchrist said in honesty. “I enjoyed the season and what came with it as a young lady. But that being said, I never made a marriage, or even marriage to a peer, a priority for myself.”
“Then what was your priority?” he asked stretching his long legs out in front of him.
“I suppose, just to have happiness in life. If that meant a husband, then all the better. If not, I was content with being a sister and aunt.”
He seemed to think this over for a few minutes.
“And now?” Gilchrist said softly looking her over, and he absentmindedly fiddled with the bed cover.
“Now,” Lady Gilchrist seemed to think it over as if it was the first time the thought had come to her thought she had contemplated it plenty in the last few weeks. “Now, I just want to take things one day at a time, I guess.”
He seemed satisfied with her answer. Lady Gilchrist was sure it was not the one he probably wanted to hear but it was honest, and she supposes that was enough for him.
“Well, I had best make my way to bed. It’s getting late, and we will have an early start.”
Gilchrist stood and moved to the head of the bed to remove a pillow. She watched him work still unsure of what to say. As he made his way back across her and towards the hearth, she stopped him.
“Lord Gilchrist, it seems a silly thing for you to sleep on the hard floor. The bed is certainly big enough for the two of us. I would not be offended at all if you laid next to me in it.”
She blushed furiously as she spoke the words. Though she hoped that her message was clear that she wanted nothing more than sleep, Lady Gilchrist still couldn’t believe she was inviting a man to her bed. It mattered little that the man was now her husband.
“If you're sure,” Gilchrist said with a slight hesitation.
He certainly wasn’t looking forward to a night on the floor. He had slept on much harsher and colder ground in his time in the service, but that still didn’t make the prospect of a makeshift bed on the hard wooden planks any more appetizing.
“Yes, of course,” Lady Gilchrist encouraged.
She stood and made her way to the opposite side of the bed. She slipped out of her shawl and into the sheets as fast as she could manage. Gilchrist made his way back over to his side of the bed and gently set the pillow back in place.
“Perhaps, then, if you didn’t mind terribly since we will be sharing sleeping arrangements, you would call me Colton and allow me to call you Abigail,” he asked as he slipped out of his coat and threw it across a chair next to the bed.
“Alright,” Abigail said softly.
She hesitated for a moment in watching him as his hands went to the knot at his neck. The light was dim with darkness outside, the fire burning, and a simple candle on either side of the bed.
Abigail's eyes lingered on the long fingers as they worked out the knot before they raised to meet his. Seeing Colton’s eyes watching her with an inquisitive expression made her blush all over again.
She turned away and blew out the candle on her side. Snuggling down into the plush mattress, Abigail turned away from her husband to give him privacy in his undressing.
She felt the movement of the bed as he slipped into the covers next to her. He lay there for just a moment before rising and blowing out his own candle. In silence, they kept to their own side of the bed as the sound of the fire helped them find sleep.
The following morning they were up early. In fact, it was before either the sun or the rest of the house arose. Of course, the staff was awake and already milling about their duties. Abigail was grateful for this fact so that her lady’s maid could help her dress and get ready for the long trip. She was satisfied in knowing at least for this long carriage ride she could prepare for it.
It wasn’t as extended a trip as to London, only lasting the one day, but she still had a sour taste in her mouth from her last long trip. Today she was in a comfortable brown traveling dress and had her hair set in a relaxed braid at her side.
They climbed into the cabin of the vehicle, and Abigail prepared for the long journey with her husband at her side. Every moment now seemed so much more awkward between the two of them since their union, and Abigail was struggling to find once again that comfort they once had with the other.
For the majority of their journey, they studied the countryside in silence. As they grew closer to Colton’s estates, he began to point out various things he remembered from his time spent here in his youth.
“Are we very near the coast then?” Abigail asked as she found their carriage ridding along a road mirrored by water.
"Yes, we have been traveling southwest I suppose,” Colton told her for baring purposes. “We are just below the Lake districts. This is Morecambe Bay here. We are going go along it for the remainder of the trip. Cumberton Park is just south of it. Liverpool is only about a day’s ride south of us,” he added as an afterthought.
“Liverpool?” Abigail questioned.
“Yes, it is a rather large port city,” he retorted.
"I am familiar with it. I just wasn’t sure why you used it in your mapping of the area.”
“Well," he responded awkwardly rubbing his chin. “I hoped you would know it and have an idea of the place for one. Also, I suppose because it is where I plan to procure a passage to America.”
Abigail said no more on the matter, but couldn’t help the abstruse knot that sunk into the pit of her stomach. So it was true then. Colton was still determined to make the journey and quite possibly very soon if he planned to go before summers end.
She looked out her window seeing nothing but the strange land that she would now have to call home, and likely do so all alone.