He touched the bandage gingerly, and a smear of blood came away on his fingers. "So I am. The gash must have opened when I washed earlier."
"May I look?"
He raised an eyebrow but made no objection when she reached up to probe beneath the dressing. "Please, will you move over to the light so I can see?"
When he complied, Aurora se
t both their wine glasses on the bedside table and turned up the lamp. Nicholas sat on the edge of the bed, watching her as she carefully unwound the strip of muslin from around his brow. She could feel his intent gaze on her as she inspected the wound beneath the pad.
"I doubt this is what you planned for your wedding night," he said in a low voice. "I'm sorry."
No, this was not what she had planned. Had Geoffrey survived, this night would have been far different for her.
She would not be preparing to give herself to a stranger, nor would she have been so unnerved by her husband's nearness the way she was with Nicholas Sabine. Or so strangely excited.
Aurora mentally chastised herself. She should not be thinking of Geoffrey or comparing the two men. Geoffrey was gone, and soon so would this man be.
Her sadness must have shown on her face, for he asked quietly, "Your betrothed… did you love him a great deal?"
She flushed, realizing he had mistaken the cause of her sorrow. "Yes."
Making an effort to shrug off her melancholy, she went to the washstand and wet the corner of a towel before returning to her new husband. "Your wound bled a little. The blood should be wiped away so it won't mat your hair."
"Please do."
"Forgive me if I hurt you."
"You won't." He didn't seem inclined to change the subject, however, as she gently cleaned his scalp. "You said I bore a resemblance to your betrothed."
"I thought so at first because of your fair hair. But I was mistaken about any real resemblance. You really are nothing alike."
"How so?"
"Geoffrey was a…"
"A proper gentleman?"
"A proper, gentle man."
"Do you not think I can be gentle?" Nicholas queried solemnly.
Her heart gave a fluttering leap. "This is not what you expected either, was it?" she asked, trying to ignore the sensations he aroused in her.
"To be truthful, I never gave matrimony much thought…"
"You never wanted to marry at all?"
His brows drew together thoughtfully. "I suppose I had a vague notion that someday I would marry and sire an heir. But I was too busy sowing my wild oats to entertain any serious thought of settling down." The half smile that flashed across his mouth was fleeting, before he gave a graceful shrug of his shoulders. "It's too late now for recriminations or deliberations on what might have been."
"I regret you were trapped into an unwanted marriage," Aurora replied, her voice rough with emotion.
Nicholas reached up to close his strong hand around hers, commanding her attention. "I don't mean to spend my last night dwelling on regrets." His dark eyes held her spellbound. "Do you think we could make a pact, sweetheart? For tonight we forget everything else that has happened?"
"I would like that."
"So would I." His voice was hushed. "Very well, this is our night. Nothing exists, before or after this moment. Tonight we live only for the present."
"Yes," she whispered.