Once Upon an Accident 01 - The Accidental Countess by Melissa Schroeder Page B

while she lay on the bed. She had not kept a bite of food down for three days running, which had drained her energy. She was pale, almost too pale, making the freckles on her nose even more prominent.
    He caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. With everything that had happened, he’d insisted they leave York immediately. He’d had no choice. It had been several weeks since his cousin’s death, and he needed to be in London to take up the reigns. But, he regretted having to make the hasty trip. This had not been easy for her. She wrinkled her nose as he continued to touch her cheek. He chuckled at her expression.
    She stirred and opened her eyes slowly. As always, the impact of those clear grey eyes staring straight at him left him slightly uncomfortable. It was as if she could see straight into his soul. Then she squinted.
    “Where are my spectacles?” she asked. No “thank you” for dragging her up the stairs and taking care of her.
    He reached into his breast pocket to retrieve them.
    “Here.” He handed them to her. She donned them but kept silent, blinking owlishly as her gaze focused. “You are welcome.”
    She struggled to sit up, and he grabbed a pillow and slid it behind her back. “There’s no reason to get testy with me, my lord. I’m tired and actually hungry and not at all happy about my situation.”
    Irritation crawled down his spine. Would the woman never let go of it?
    “Listen, I’ve had enough to handle the past few days without having to listen to you complaining about your situation.”
    “And I’m supposed to be happy with being uprooted from everything I know, everything I love, to live in a house of strangers?”
    Her bottom lip quivered and he softened. With the pressures of his new title, he had forgotten everything she’d been through. “Colleen, we need to come to some kind of understanding.”
    She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “The only thing I understand is that you lied. And if you think I am ever going to have any kind of marital relations with you…well, think again.”
    All those warm, soft feelings evaporated. He would never force a woman, but the fact that his wife acted as if she would rather die than consummate their union angered him. He’d survived one marriage like that. He would not endure another. He stepped closer and leaned over her, placing a fisted hand on each side of her on the bed. It was best that she faced facts. “Let us get one thing straight, my lady . You have exactly a week, one week, to prepare yourself for those so-called marital relations.”
    With that, he straightened and strode out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Chapter Eight
    Colleen raised a shaky hand and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She glanced around, studying her surroundings. The bed was the biggest she’d ever seen, complete with a canopy and frilly bedclothes. The rest of the room was almost as big as her cottage. A warm fire crackled in the fireplace, and the furniture situated throughout the room was of a quality much better than she had ever seen, with various rugs covering the floor.
    Instantly, she was ashamed for snapping at Sebastian. She’d never seen him in a temper before. She’d seen him irritated, drunk, childish and kind. Oh so very kind. His gentle ministrations during her illness had been a surprise. It had left her agitated and confused.
    People were supposed to stay the way they were. Their personalities didn’t change. Sebastian, her husband, was a rake of the worst kind. Women every night of the week, a flirt and a drunk and most assuredly a gambler. She sighed. She was blowing things out of proportion. Sebastian may be a rake, but he said he wasn’t a drunk, and she noted he hadn’t had a sip of liquor on their trip. And the gambling, well, if he did, he knew when to stop. But the flirting…
    She was now married to a man who could have any woman in London, and he was not particularly attracted to her. But there