Chapter 28
“Good morning! What time does my lord usually have breakfast?”
“Good heavens! Ah... forgive me, Milady, you scared me... I didn't expect to see you here..” The chef put down the basket of eggs in her hand.
“Usually, at 8 o'clock, when he comes back…”
Eden, who was standing on the threshold of the kitchen, entered the room quickly.
“Comes back? Comes back from where? Excuse me, can you tell me your name again?”
“Mrs. Cole, Milady, and this is Betham, with the coffee grinder, and Annie, by the pantry.
"Milady... my goodness, there goes my title now."
“Good morning to all.”
There were a few clumsy curtseys and tilts of the chest in response…
“-Milord Boyle goes to inspect the estate every day at six o'clock, Ma’am. Before leaving, he only has a cup of coffee. He usually returns at 8 o'clock and sits down to breakfast. This is very different from the late lord, who had his in bed, and never before ten o'clock…”
The cook pursed her lips a little, as if to indicate that she did not approve of this softness.
“And when does milord have breakfast?”
Eden was determined to be a good wife, in every detail of her new life. She would not disappoint Ian in bed, of course, but that would be her only fault.
Everything else had to be perfect. That night she had fallen asleep exhausted with emotion, and had dreamed of Ivan again.
At least, he thought he was dreaming about Ivan, because in her nightmare Eden wanted to run away, but the man in her dream prevented her from doing so, with gestures of lightning speed, which had none of the languid grace of her seducer.
But Eden distinguished badly his face, which was cloudy, as if her unconscious wanted to prevent her from differentiating between the two brothers.
Even more astonishing: her body was calling to the man's. In this dream, Eden wanted him and was burning to be taken, despite the fear.
However, Ivan was right: Eden was very foolish in bed. Ian had not told her, but it was obvious that he was disappointed.
He must have found her whatever, and soon she would be fat, with a thickened waist, without having been able to learn how to give him pleasure.
How to satisfy him. The poor man. He had done nothing to deserve such a pitiful omega.
Ian was long gone by the time she woke up,his place in the bed was cold. No morning kiss, no attempt to make love to her again.
Would he lose his patience, and Eden would have to face the same scathing reproaches, the same insults that Ivan had hurled in her face?
"What a jerk, ugly, useless, frigid, slut..." It was unbearable to imagine that she could hear those words again. Words that told her she wasn't really an omega.
As she dressed and tried to get used to the unobtrusive care of Gwen, her new maid, who had been sent from the omega lodge compliments of Lady Carter, Eden decided that at least she would be a perfect householder.
She tried to focus on the tasks at hand in the kitchen. The preparations seemed a little thin for a gentleman's breakfast.
“Coffee and toast is all he takes, my Lady. It surprised me too, when he came to live here. But he confirmed it to me in person.”
The chef wiped her red hands on her apron.
“I can't say I wasn't disappointed, Milady. I like to cook good food, and if there's one thing you can say about the late lord, it's that he knew how to entertain.”
Another twitch of the lips. Eden had no desire to hear about Ivan. Her husband was more important and his desires, no matter how modest, more important.
“And where does he eat his toast?”
If Ian locked himself in his office, it would not be easy.
“In the breakfast room, my Lady, the one overlooking the rose garden.”
The chef did not seem at all surprised that her new Mistress did not know about her husband's habits, nor that she had left her room so early, the day after her wedding night.
“Very well, you will serve coffee and toast, as usual. I'll have tea. But maybe we could add a little something to it, in case my husband is a little hungry... Let's see what you have in the pantry…”