His Remarkable Bride by Merry Farmer

nightclothes. In the back of Elspeth’s mind, she wondered if now was the right time to suggest they consummate their marriage. After the wretched day they’d just had, it might bring them both a measure of comfort.
    “Sleep well tonight, Mrs. Strong,” Athos said without a hint of flirtation as he climbed into bed. “We’re going to need all of our energy tomorrow so we can get those kids back.”
    The growing tension inside of Elspeth floated away with a fond smile. “You’re right.” She climbed into bed beside him and blew out the lantern on her side of the bed.
    Darkness and quiet enveloped them. It was like the calm before the storm, the eye of the hurricane. It was sad and gloomy without bumps and whispers and shuffling from children in the house. The noises outside seemed too close and her thoughts were too loud. All Elspeth had to anchor herself to was Athos’s breathing.
    Athos. Kind, powerful, tragic Athos.
    She rolled over, facing him as he lay on his back, eyes closed, breathing steady. A tremor passed through her heart as she scooted closer to him and rested an arm over his chest. He sucked in a breath, then let it out on a tranquil hum, then hugged her close. Elspeth closed her eyes and willed herself to fall asleep. She would need all the rest she could get now. Tomorrow the battle would begin.
     
    Athos was certain he wouldn’t sleep a wink that night, not when the house was so quiet, not when his heart was at the hotel. But a strange thing happened when Elspeth inched closer and tucked her arm around him. His muscles loosened, his worries lightened, and sleep overtook him. The last, fleeting thought that passed through his mind was that it was nice to have a pretty woman who believed in him cuddled in his arms.
    The next morning, he awoke with a smile on his face, almost convinced that everything was all right. Elspeth still slumbered against his side. He shifted to slid an arm around her, wondering if he might be able to get away with greeting the morning by doing what married people usually did in bed. If he was quiet, the kids wouldn’t even—
    The reality that he found himself in swung back on him with a thump. The children. They’d been taken. They were at the hotel. He had to get them back.
    He sat up with a start, waking Elspeth in the process.
    “What? What is it?” she asked, bleary with sleep, pushing herself to sit up by his side. The neck of her nightgown sagged delicately, giving him the briefest glimpse of her breasts, but even that wasn’t enough to calm the surge of panic that launched him out of bed.
    “We have to go back to the hotel to see the children,” he said, racing for the washstand.
    “Of course.” Elspeth rushed to get out of bed as well, then turned to carefully make it.
    Any other day, Athos would have said something about how tidy she was and how kind to make the bed first thing, but all he could focus on right then was getting dressed. He didn’t even bother shaving.
    “We need to speak to Solomon, like Gunn suggested,” he spoke half to himself as he pulled on the first clean trousers he put his hands on.
    “Solomon Templesmith.” Elspeth repeated the name as if quizzing herself on all the new people she’d met. Her clothes were still folded in her traveling trunk against the wall. She pulled out a dress and shook it, then sighed as the wrinkles didn’t come out. “It’ll just have to do,” she murmured to herself.
    A grin quirked at the corner of Athos’s mouth. “I bet a real lady like you had an army of servants to take care of things like your clothes when you were growing up.”
    Elspeth sent him one wary look and said, “We did.”
    Athos’s brow flew up, and he turned his back to give Elspeth a shred of privacy. “Servants! Imagine that.”
    He couldn’t think of anything else to say as he searched for a clean shirt and put it on. What did you say to a real lady anyhow? What did you say to a wife, for that matter? He never really had