Free The Earl's Design of Love: The Stenwick Siblings by Kirsten Osbourne, Morganna Mayfair

back there today and never get lost.  The church we married in was the one I attended as a child.”  She took a sip of the wine in front of her.  “What about you?”
    He shrugged.  “Well, I grew up between here and our London townhouse.  We came here in the summers, but stayed there for the Season.  I loved it here.  I played outside as soon as the governess finished with my lessons every day.  No one really paid attention to me back then.  The girls weren’t born yet, and I got to just run free.   I hated being in London for the Season.  There was so little I was allowed to do in the city, but Mother loved being there, so we always went.”
    “Tell me what a normal day is like for you now,” she insisted.   How would she fit into his life?
    He pondered that for a moment.  “I get up early.  I keep country hours here.”
    She nodded.  “Of course.”
    “After I’ve eaten breakfast, I usually go outside and begin work immediately.  Usually there’s some commissioned job for me to work on, but if not then I do what I want.  I have two commissioned jobs waiting for me, but I have to finish the fountain first.”  He shook his head.  “I don’t know what it is about that thing, but I feel compelled to finish it as soon as I can.”  He took her hand in his.  “I know we’re newlyweds, but I need to work on it for at least a few hours every day.”
    Diana smiled.  “Of course.  The design was very intriguing.  I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with.”  Just thinking about the fountain he was making filled her with happiness.  She knew it was going to be something truly special.
    “Thank you.”  He knew any other young lady in London would be furious with him for working during his honeymoon, but Diana seemed to understand what he needed.
    “I knew you were a working man when I married you.  I’m proud that you work.” 
    He closed his eyes for a moment, having a hard time with the emotions that washed over him.  If he had created a woman who would believe the way he did, and be perfectly compatible with him, he couldn’t have done a better job.  He looked at her for a moment, taking in her beautiful face that he just couldn’t get enough of.  “Do you have any idea how perfect you seem to me at just this moment?”
    She smiled ruefully.  “I promise you, you’re the only one who sees me that way.”  She took a bite of her potato before asking, “Do you go to London when parliament is in?”
    He shook his head.  “I’m not there all the time.  Anthony sends me a message when he thinks I’ll be interested in something that’s taking place, but for the most part, I stay here and work.  I don’t have a lot of time to sit and listen to random squabbles in parliament.”
    When they were finished with their meal, he took her to his library.  “I know you mentioned that you enjoy reading.  My sisters often leave books here when they visit, and there many of the classics.”
    “I can read whatever I want?” she asked in surprise.  Her mother had always looked over her books before she was allowed to read them.  She had gotten to the point she would send Anna out to find her a book , and she would hide it in the pages of one of the books her mother approved, so she could read.  She liked a good classic as much as anyone else, but when she read she wanted a total escape from the world, and to her mind, a novel was the best way to do that.
    “Of course.  I’m not going to try to control your mind.”
    “What if I want to read something scandalous?  Lord Byron’s poetry or the latest novel?”  She would read them.  There was no doubt about that.  What she wanted to know was whether or not she could read them openly.
    He smiled.  “Well, we can’t be running off to London to buy books every week, but if you stock up while we’re there, I don’t see that it would be a problem.  Well, as long as you’re not talking about spending too much on