Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore so I looked back to him and saw his profile had set back to broody.
He was thinking of his dear, departed, pined for, beloved, fabulous, benevolent Ilsa.
Shit, maybe I should have sucked it up and gone to spend time with his kids.
Pulling it together, I decided a change of subject was in order.
To do that, I asked, “What are your enterprises?”
“Oil,” he answered his boots immediately, then turned his head and looked at me. “The House of Ulfr owns vast tracks of land. Under some of it, oil was found. The oil used in lamps.”
“Oh,” I mumbled, thinking that if this was the case, although it might not be as highly sought after in his world as in mine, it still was probably still highly sought after.
No wonder he seemed loaded.
“And other land has gas,” he carried on.
Yes, loaded.
He continued. “We’re behind Fleuridia in equipping buildings and homes with gas lights and heat, but we’re quickly catching up. The House of Ulfr also owns controlling interest in the largest firm that’s doing that work.”
Totally loaded.
“We have electricity in my world,” I offered.
He nodded and looked away, saying, “Yes. Finnie explained this to me. It’s an intriguing concept and after we fought to unite Lunwyn with Middleland, I set researchers on harnessing it.”
“That was smart,” I muttered lamely.
I’d already learned from the guys of the recent war in which Apollo and all his men fought to reunite the countries of Lunwyn and Middleland that had been split by a now-deceased king in order to give his twin sons land to rule.
Luckily, their side won.
“I also own a mine here that produces Sjofn ice diamonds as well as import jewels from Korwahk, have them cut and sell them to jewelers throughout the Northlands,” Apollo informed me. “Further, the House of Ulfr owns a variety of farms that raise mink, ermine, sable, rabbit, cattle, and the like. They sell the meat and tan the hides to provide fur and leather to clothiers.”
He stopped talking, so I observed, “With all that going on, you must be very busy.”
“I am,” he agreed.
“So, I guess me and malevolent witches are really kind of a pain in your ass,” I noted, trying to inject a badly needed dose of humor into the conversation.
I swiftly got his eyes and they weren’t flashing with amusement.
“Malevolent witches, yes. You, no. Not when you’re being as you are now. When you’re being churlish, yes.”
Suddenly, I felt like a bitch and it didn’t feel good.
“Apollo—”
Before I could say more (not that I had any clue what to say), he straightened in his chair, turned to me but tipped his head to the table.
“You’re finished?”
“Yes,” I said softly.
“Then we’re away to bed.”
Away to bed.
Crap.
He stood and reached toward the chair that held our capes.
I stood as well, starting, “Maybe we should—”
His eyes came to mine as he moved around the table holding my cape. “I’ll escort you to the hotel and give you time to prepare for bed. I’ll join you after you’ve had time to settle.”
All right then.
That sounded like a plan.
“Okeydokey,” I whispered and again watched his eyes flash, this one I’d not seen before.
I didn’t get a chance to get a lock on it before he was behind me and settling my cape on my shoulders.
I pushed my hands through the slits as he buckled on his cloak and I waited as he threw some coins on the table.
He then offered his arm and I took it. Like Derrik, he didn’t hesitate to pull me closer, tucking his arm with my hand to his side. Unlike Derrik, he did this in a perfunctory way, even if he did curl his warm fingers over mine.
Then we were “away” into the night on the swept-of-snow wooden walkways that served as sidewalks in this village.
That would be, away to bed.
Again.
Crap.
Chapter Eight
No Recriminations
“I’ll…uh, see you in a bit,” I said at the door to Apollo, who had unlocked it and threw it open, sticking his head in to take a cursory look around, but he did this and was now standing at its side.
“You will,” he replied, pocketing the key. “Lock up behind you.”
I nodded then watched as he turned and strode away.
He was out of sight down the stairs before I went into the room, closed the door and locked it behind me.
“Okay, what the f**k is the matter with me?” I asked the empty room.
Of course, I received no answer.
What I did was notice that the fire was dancing merrily in its grate, a large iron grid sitting in front of it with lips that curled into the stone so no sparks would fly out. There were big stacks of split logs, plenty of fuel for his lordship to keep the fire burning all night and not bother calling a servant to do it for him.
I also noticed that our trunks had been hauled up which meant I had my nightgown.
I didn’t go to the nightgown.
I went to the nightstand closest to me, opened the drawer and found what I always found when at an inn in Lunwyn or Hawkvale. A supply of rudimentary matches.
I lit the lamp by the bed then moved to the opposite side and lit that one as well.
I moved to the fire, carefully removed the grid, tossed the used matchsticks in, fed it more logs and returned the grid.
I stood back and stared at it.
I had no idea how long Apollo would give me to get changed so I knew I should get a move on.
But as I stared into the flames, I didn’t get a move on.
Instead, my mind was filled with other things and one of those other things was the fact that I kind of forgot why I was so pissed at him.
He’d saved me from Pol.
His reasons for doing this were because the wife he obviously adored had died and he wanted her back. Clearly being a man of action, when he found the impossible—that there was something he could do about that—he’d done something about it. This was slightly unbalanced, but I could get that.
But then he made the heartbreaking realization in having me, he couldn’t get her back.
Sure, he was a jerk about informing me of that but I could kind of get that too.
Then he’d understandably taken off to get his children to safety, and get away from me, the woman it hurt to even look at. But he’d left me in a beautiful house in a beautiful country with kind people. He’d given me gorgeous clothes. He’d provided me with a guard of great guys who saw me here, and in doing so gave me the best time of my life.