CHAPTER 10
K aterina was enjoying a simple but tasty breakfast of hot buttered
toast and tea, accompanied by the unrivaled pleasure of looking
at her husband as he sat beside her. Dark stubble covered his cheeks, making him
look rakish. Bed-messy hair added to the illusion. He pored over a newspaper in
search of rental advertisements. They'd had a breakfast tray sent, wanting to linger a while in the apartment and savor their closeness rather than joining the
throng in the dining room.
She took a sip of the dark unsweetened brew and sighed.
The sound brought his head up. “Are you well, love?”
She gifted him with a shy smile. “Yes. I feel wonderful. I don't know that I've
ever slept so peacefully.”
He grinned, and there a hint of masculine possessiveness slipped into it, though his words, when he spoke, sounded ordinary. “That's good to hear. So, are you up for seeing a few properties today? This setup was cramped when it was just me.”
Katerina rolled her shoulders experimentally. “I think so.”
“You seem to be moving more freely today,” he commented.
“Yes. The bath helped immeasurably, and you also… relaxed me.” Her
cheeks burned, but not as much as she had expected. Hussy, she chided herself, but even in her own mind, it was a jest. She felt amazing.
He smirked and winked at her. “Any time, love.”
She colored prettily.
And then, breakfast finished, she dressed while he shaved. Soon the
newlyweds were ready to search out a place to make their home together.
“Well, love, what do you think so far?” Christopher asked from his seat beside
Katerina in the hansom.
She shrugged. “Um, I suppose the small one was best so far, though I don't
fancy the thought of all those stairs. Walking directly into the kitchen isn't my favorite either. It isn't good for entertaining. I wonder who designed such a structure.”
“I agree. It wouldn't be much of an improvement over my rooms. Each floor
is about the same size, only there are more of them, but at least it's furnished.
What about the larger place?”
“It needs too much work,” she pointed out. “Those holes in the walls and floors will leave us either marooned in the hotel for weeks or living in the middle of the renovation. And then we'd still have to furnish the whole thing, and it's huge. ”
“Astute observations, love.”
“And the rooms in the other hotel?” she suggested. “The size is right, and it's
quite luxurious.”
“Too expensive,” he replied. “I don't want to spend so much of our monthly
income on housing alone, even if it is furnished. I hope this last place is better.”
“Well, the location is convenient,” Katerina commented. “In the last minute,
we've passed a greengrocer, a butcher and a bakery.”
The hansom rolled to a stop with a jingle and clatter, and the couple stepped
down.
“Wait again, sir?” the driver asked, grinning at what a profitable morning he
had spent with the Bennetts.
