But no, he could not think of her in that way. He could not remember how she had straddled him by the Elven Pools, how her sweet face had been flushed with passion and her beautiful turquoise eyes had become heavy-lidded as she’d gazed down at him.
And he certainly would not remember how deeply she’d touched his heart when she’d talked of caring for the girls as if they were her own sisters…
He flung open his bedchamber door with more force than necessary, slamming it behind him as he tried to eradicate the sudden heavy ache in his chest, so much more potent than the desire that coursed through him. And so he did not immediately see the slender figure perched on his bed.
Bronwyn. He stumbled to a halt, though he wanted nothing more than to lay her back on that bed and sink into her, forgetting for a time the troubles he carried.
“Bronwyn, what are you doing here?”
Her face was impassive. “Waiting for my husband so we may discuss our situation.”
Ah God. His heart raced so fast he feared it would burst out of his chest. She wanted to dissolve the marriage already, did she?
Ready as he was for her to put an end to things, he was wholly stunned when she finally spoke again.
“The girls, as you know, have run wild for some time now,” she began, standing and beginning to pace like a disapproving governess. “And while I am more than willing to watch over them and prepare them for adulthood as you wish me to, I feel I cannot begin this particular journey alone. Especially,” she continued, her lips twisting in a kind of pain, “as I cannot seem to even entice Regina to leave her rooms.”
She turned to face him fully, spearing him with a stern look. “This, of course, is where you come in.”
He blinked. “Me?”
She nodded. “You are their guardian. Right now you are the authority figure in their life; I am merely a friend they made by chance who somehow married their guardian. And to Regina, I am nothing more than a nuisance. So I shall need a kind of passing of the torch, if you will.”
He set his jaw, nodding. “Of course. I shall speak to them immediately.”
As he turned away to do just that—best to get it over with—she stopped him.
“It will take more than a quick talking-to, I’m afraid,” she said. “What I need from you requires a bit more involvement on your part.”
He cautiously turned back to her. Why did that sound so horribly ominous? “I don’t understand,” he managed through numb lips.
“I will need to get them on a schedule of some kind, with expectations set in stone. Especially for Regina. She, of course, may have the privacy she requires; being so much older than her sisters she will not want to learn lessons and go on hikes and such.” Suddenly she stilled, her brows drawing together. “Or perhaps she would. I’m not certain what her interests are at all.” She chewed on her lip for a moment before shrugging. “Regardless, I would have her know that she may pursue her interests but shall be required to join the family at specific times, such as luncheon and dinner and after in the drawing room. And, on occasion, on family outings about the Isle. To give that schedule the gravitas it needs to get through to her, and indeed Eliza and Nelly as well, I will need you to join us at those times as well for the remainder of your stay on the Isle.”
Why did he feel both anticipation and a dread so potent it made him nauseated?
When he did not reply, she came closer to him, taking his hand in hers. Her voice, gentle now, washed over him. “Please say you’ll help me, Ash.”
Ah, God, how could he refuse that? He gazed down into her eyes, feeling as if he were drowning in them. “Very well,” he managed. “I agree. I’ll help you.”
The smile she gave him made her face glow with happiness. And as she gave his lips a lingering kiss and slipped through the adjoining door between their rooms, he thought he would do anything to see that expression on her face again.
***
While Bronwyn felt a sense of accomplishment—and rightly so—in persuading Ash to agree to her terms, and she could pat herself on the back for getting him and the girls, even Regina, in the same room together for more than a few moments at a time, there was no denying that it would be an uphill battle to see the quartet find any kind of reconciliation.
Though it really wasn’t a reconciliation, was it? That implied they’d had a relationship of sorts before now. And it had quickly become obvious, even to someone as socially inept as Bronwyn, that Ash had never had a relationship at all with the girls. For the remainder of the evening, first at dinner and then in the drawing room after, they had not seemed to know what to do around each other. Between their stilted conversations—when they attempted to converse at all—the great quantity of eye rolls from the older girls, and Ash’s harumphing and throat clearing, Bronwyn realized she had never seen them truly interact. Good God, and she thoughtshewas awkward.
The evening had been got through by some miracle. And the night. Her cheeks flushed hot as she recalled how Ash had come to her long after she thought he would, when she had just about given up hope and was drifting off into a fitful sleep. He had climbed beneath the sheets, taking her in his arms, and kissed and caressed her until she was writhing with unimaginable need. And not a word had passed between them the whole while.
Bronwyn might have thought it a dream if she hadn’t woken naked, just as she had the past several mornings. But today was a new day, and she would not lose momentum on this plan she had created for Ash and his wards. And so here they were, on their first family outing, a trip to Admiralty Row to window-shop and breathe in the fresh sea air. The girls had not truly seen the town center. And maybe, just maybe, she might gain an inkling about where Regina’s interests lay.
But no matter the myriad shops they passed, the girl did nothing more than sniff and turn away, to glare out over the busy street. Such as now, as they stood before the bakery.
“Oh, please, Ash, may we buy something?” Nelly wheedled, jumping from foot to foot on the pavement even as she eyed the abundance of baked goods within. “I’m ever so hungry.”
“You ate just before we left Caulnedy,” Regina snapped.
“And I am hungry again,” her youngest sister said, her small face scrunching with anger.