Chapter Twelve
Edward halted outside Mattie’s bedchamber, clad only in his dressing gown. Faint candlelight leaked beneath her door.
He tapped lightly.
“Come in.”
The smell of Mattie’s bedroom was familiar: stale mutton fat. But instead of turning his stomach, the smell made his pulse quicken in anticipation.
Mattie stood beside the fireplace in her nightgown. Her hair hung in long, loose curls down her back. She watched him close the door, her eyes huge and dark in the shadowy bedchamber.
Edward walked across to her. “Are you certain about this?”
She nodded.
He stepped closer, tilted Mattie’s chin with one fingertip, and bent his head to kiss her.
The softness of her lips, the taste of her mouth, the eagerness with which she returned the kiss, ignited a fire inside him. He pulled
