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“I thought that…” She bit her lip. For the first time, she really and truly wished that her wedding night with George had gone the way it was meant to. At least then she would be better prepared for whatever was happening now. She would know what she was supposed to expect in a situation like this one. She would know what to say.

Her cheeks were hot when she spoke. “It’s our wedding night,” she said stiffly. “I thought you were supposed to come and find me.”

He stared at her for a long moment, during which Amanda wanted nothing more than to turn and run back to her bedroom.

“Oh,” he said at last.

Oh? That’s all he’s going to say? She found herself talking, desperate to fill the silence. “I didn’t know how long I would have to wait for you,” she said. “I didn’t know if I was supposed to be doing something in the meantime. I asked Nancy, but she didn’t know either. And I thought that I might fall asleep if I didn’t know what to expect, so I figured I ought to come and talk to you directly, to see what…what you wanted the evening to look like.”

“Because it’s our wedding night,” he repeated.

“Well, I thought…you would want an heir, of course.” If the ground had opened up and swallowed her whole right then, she would have been grateful for it. “I thought you would want us to start a family together. And that’s what the wedding night is about, isn’t it?” After all, that was why she had lost her place in George’s household. There had been no wedding night, and therefore no heir…and therefore, she’d had no claim, and had been required to leave when the notice of his death had arrived.

Sampson’s eyes had gone wide, as though there was something deeply shocking about her words. His jaw dropped slightly. And suddenly, like a wash of cool water, the humor of the situation struck her. She let out a giggle.

It was such a relief to laugh, not to stand there feeling as if she was the biggest fool in the world.

He smiled too—only slightly, barely perceptibly, but it was so much better than the way he had sat there staring at her as if she was mad that it felt as if air had been suddenly let into the room. She could breathe again. She allowed herself to fall into the seat opposite him.

“I haven’t been very open with you,” he said. “About much of anything, really.”

“All you told me was that you wanted to marry me!”

“And now we’ve done that. I suppose I owe you a bit more in terms of explanation.”

“I’d be grateful, if it’s on offer,” she agreed.

Sampson nodded. “Very well,” he said. “Are you awake enough to sit and talk for a while? You had mentioned wanting to sleep.”

“I’m awake,” she assured him. Back in her room, she’d felt a bit tired, but everything was different now. She was being offered the privilege of an open conversation with the man she had married. For that, she was willing to stay awake all night if she had to.

CHAPTER 9

“My vow to George was very simple,” Sampson said. “In truth, it wasn’t even about marriage. At least, not directly.”

Amanda’s lovely features creased in a frown. “You didn’t tell him that you would marry me?”

“Not exactly.” Sampson sat back in his chair, wondering if this confession would upset or anger her. “I married you because I knew that a marriage to Lord Oakwell would be a terrible thing. Do you disagree?”

“No,” she said fervently. “I’m very grateful not to be married to that man. That was the last thing I wanted. It was an arrangement my father made. But…you certainly did make it sound as though you had promised to marry me!”

“I promised that I would provide for you,” Sampson said. “I promised that I would take care of you. And marriage does seem the simplest way to do that. But the truth is, Amanda, if you hadn’t shown interest in getting married, I would have held my distance.”

“I wasn’t interested in marriage,” she said. “It was my father who wanted that. Not me.”

“I see.” He frowned. “Do you regret it? I suppose it isn’t too late to seek annulment, though perhaps it isn’t a good idea. I wouldn’t want to cause scandal.”

“I don’t regret it,” she admitted. “I did need to get out of my father’s house. If you hadn’t married me, he would have found someone else to do it. And it seems clear enough to me that you want to permit me my freedom and happiness.”

“I do want that,” he said. “I want to encourage those things, because I know that’s what George would have wished. That’s the promise I need to keep to him.”

“And that’s why you were so willing to take Rose in,” she realized. “Because you knew it was what I wanted, and this is really about giving me…whatever I want?”

He smiled. “Within reason, of course. But yes. George wanted you to have a happy life. I want to help provide that, since he’s not able to do it. That’s as simple as it can be.”

“I see,” Amanda said. “But…what does that mean in terms of our wedding night?”

“Well, it means I have no expectation that you should provide me an heir,” he said. “That was never what this was about for me. I didn’t marry you because I especially wanted a wife or a child. You owe me nothing but to try to live as happily as you can.”