Evander had made it halfway to the window before he changed his mind about opening it; now he paced back into the centre of the room, still determinedly avoiding her gaze. The damned carriage ride had seemed a dream – why was it that it had taken until this moment for everything to sink in and seem real?
She wasn’t hungry. So, no supper to delay it. And no chance for Evander to pour himself another drink – he could hardly do that right in front of her, parched as his throat suddenly felt. And it was not like he hadn’t had enough today – any more and he would feel ill from it, probably, so perhaps it was for the best that he was only feeling slightly light-headed.
He finally glanced at Caroline and her still-flushed cheeks and at that precise moment had a sudden, intense fear that he was going to faint. Faint, on his own wedding night. The fear itself was almost enough to see him faint: his own face heated up at the threat of it, and the lifetime of lingering mortification that would inevitably haunt him, and –
Evander tore off his formal necktie and loosened the top of his collar to have enough air to breathe, and in the same heartbeat pulled off his travelling coat, jacket, and started, slightly manically, on the buttons of his waistcoat; until he remembered Caroline was standing there, and that he probably looked out of his mind – so he lurched forwards and grasped her around the waist again instead, kissing her breathlessly as if they could pick up from where they had left off.
She wasn’t hungry. So, no supper to delay it. And no chance for Evander to pour himself another drink – he could hardly do that right in front of her, parched as his throat suddenly felt. And it was not like he hadn’t had enough today – any more and he would feel ill from it, probably, so perhaps it was for the best that he was only feeling slightly light-headed.
He finally glanced at Caroline and her still-flushed cheeks and at that precise moment had a sudden, intense fear that he was going to faint. Faint, on his own wedding night. The fear itself was almost enough to see him faint: his own face heated up at the threat of it, and the lifetime of lingering mortification that would inevitably haunt him, and –
Evander tore off his formal necktie and loosened the top of his collar to have enough air to breathe, and in the same heartbeat pulled off his travelling coat, jacket, and started, slightly manically, on the buttons of his waistcoat; until he remembered Caroline was standing there, and that he probably looked out of his mind – so he lurched forwards and grasped her around the waist again instead, kissing her breathlessly as if they could pick up from where they had left off.
