*Everly*

I am in my nightdress by the time I hear him leave his bedchamber. I expect him to come to me, but instead his footsteps echo in the hallway, growing fainter as he retreats down the stairs. I consider crawling into bed, but I have decided this mistress business involves more than what happened between the sheets. He might not want it to be so, but it does. For whatever reason, he is estranged from his brothers, and while he might not admit it, it causes him considerable pain.

Grabbing my wrap, I slip into it and belt it firmly at my waist before heading out of my room...