When Rowan woke up, his lashes fluttering open, he instinctively reached for Rosalind, expecting to find her beside him on the bed, but the space was empty, and for a brief moment his brows drew together as he realized she must have already been up for a while.
He slowly pushed himself upright, exhaling softly, and his hand reached for his trousers on the floor before he slipped them on, still half-awake as he called out, "Rosalind?"
He looked around the chamber for her, moving past the bed and toward the balcony, where the curtains swayed gently with the morning wind, and as he parted them aside, he finally saw her standing there in nothing but his shirt, her figure softened by the early sunlight while she calmly petted the bird that had landed nearby.
"Good morning, husband," Rosalind said, turning toward him with a gentle smile on her lips.
