Water thundered into the tub, steaming hot, when Bliss turned a spigot, and she leaped back, startled. Then, realizing that she must put the plug in place before starting the water running, she crept back, turned off the spigot, and located the plug.

Minutes later, she was soaking happily in hot water, thinking that it would almost be worth being a bird in a gilded cage if she could have a bath every day. Almost, but not quite.

She bolted upright when she heard the door open in the distance. Somehow, Bliss had gotten the impression that Jamie meant to be gone all or most of the night, and she wasn’t prepared for his return.

“Jamie?” she called, at the same time reaching out for a towel.

He came around the screen. “Aye, love, it’s me,” he said, and he looked as tired as Bliss felt. “Let’s go to bed, shall we? I ’aven’t slept since that last night we spent together.”

Bliss was so glad that he wasn’t spending the night with his mistress that she made no protest about sharing a bed. She rose from the tub once Jamie had rounded the screen again and modestly wrapped herself in the towel she’d been grasping in her hands.

Jamie had already stripped off his clothes and climbed into bed, and he watched Bliss with no expression at all in his eyes as she joined him, the towel around her like a sarong. She had no more than settled down when Jamie tossed the covers back and briskly divested her of the towel.

Bliss trembled, because the night was cold and Jamie’s eyes were hot, and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to refuse him if he wanted her.

He seemed captivated by the freckles that had always been Bliss’s secret shame, and he bent his head to kiss her between her breasts and then on her belly. Despite her bone-deep weariness, Bliss was aroused, but Jamie only gave her a light kiss on the mouth, extinguished the elegant lamp that burned on the bedside table, and with an expansive yawn, stretched out to sleep.

Bliss was too worn out to fret and fume. She closed her eyes, and the moment she did so, sleep overtook her and carried her off to a safe, warm place where there were no thoughts and no images.

Feeling a warm brightness on her face, Bliss opened her eyes. Sunlight was pouring in through a huge window, and she sat bolt upright.

There was no sign of Jamie, and when she called his name, she got no answer. A horrible thought possessed her, and using the chenille bedspread as a cover, she dashed out of the bedroom and across the sitting room to grasp the doorknob.

After muttering a prayer, she flicked her wrist and the knob turned. She sagged against the door, smiling with relief; Jamie hadn’t locked her in.

A note had been propped against the ugly mantel clock, and Bliss unfolded it with more eagerness than she would ever have allowed Jamie to see. Duchess, he’d written, I was afraid you’d climb out a window, so I took a chance and left the door unlocked. Mind you don’t do anything stupid. I’ll be back in a few hours. Love, Jamie.