Dealing With Discipline (28 page)

Would he notice? Would he
care?

“My lady?” Mrs. Hester asked
hesitantly and Eleanor shook herself.

“Yes, Mrs. Hester, I’m
sorry, my mind wandered. Let’s start with the linens. What other
options do we have here in the house?” Forcing herself to
concentrate, Eleanor turned her attention back to making her dinner
a success rather than thinking about the possible reward if she
actually managed it.

The two of them walked down as they
discussed their options.

******

To Irene’s dismay, like the manors
they’d stayed in on their honeymoon, the house in Mayfair had also
been prepared with only one bedroom.  She had been utterly
humiliated the last night of their honeymoon when she’d discovered
that, while she might want to shut Hugh out emotionally, she had
been all too easily swept away physically.  Considering the
layout of the townhouse, it would have been no trouble to prepare
the mistress’ bedroom, but the room was cold and there were no
linens on the bed; whereas Hugh’s room had obviously been made up
to be comfortable for both of them. Some of her furniture from her
parent’s house had even been moved in, and the room was more than
spacious enough to accommodate all of it.

In some ways it warmed her heart to
see how he had moved aside his own things to make way for hers, but
she hardened herself against that softening of emotion. Now that
she knew his gentle kindness was just a foil for another side to
him! She was still amazed that there was no mark or even lingering
soreness in her backside, which made her wonder if perhaps she had
overdrawn the situation… after all, it’s not like he had marked her
the way she’d seen Malvin caning that poor maid…

But then she reminded
herself that the spanking wasn’t the point anyway. The point was
that she loved Alex and Hugh had almost made her forget that, or at
least question it. Alex, who was the perfect gentleman. A true
white knight who would never treat a lady so. Just look at how he
tolerated his shrewish wife’s transgressions! Irene was sure that
if Lady Grace wasn’t such a harpy then Alex would never have the
need for mistresses – although she reminded herself that she was
glad of such a need. Otherwise there would be no hope for
her.

She wasn’t even sure if
she cared about ensuring Hugh’s line of descent anymore either.
After all, Lady Brooke hadn’t born Alex any heirs and she moved
about easily enough in Society. Only the highest-steppers declined
to invite her company. If Irene had Alex’s company then what did
she care for others?

Chewing on her lower lip, she peeked
out the window into the streets of London. They didn’t hold half
the beauty of the countryside, but it was where she had to be to
see Alex and that made it worth the sacrifice. Out in the country
there was nothing but Hugh and his dismissal of her chilly
demeanor, his demanding lips, his practiced caresses... she had
succumbed to his passion, telling herself that a good wife would
submit to her husband’s desires, but the truth was that she’d
enjoyed herself as much as she ever had. It didn’t seem to matter
that her mind didn’t want to be engaged, at some point her passion
and her primed senses had overcome her mind and left her aching and
gasping in Hugh’s arms.

He’d seemed almost amused by her
coldness after that.

With a sigh, Irene quit the bedroom
and went downstairs to check their correspondence. She was sorting
through invitations by level of importance, desperately trying to
remember all of the instruction her mother had given her, when Hugh
appeared in the drawing room. He was quiet enough that Irene didn’t
hear him approach at first and he was able to admire how the beauty
of the room framed the glorious appearance of his wife. The deep
evergreen of the trim and the velvet drapes with their golden cord
and the gold, cream and deep mint of the walls suited her
admirably. She was like a flame in a forest, the sunlight coming in
through the windows sinking into her hair and turning it into a
fiery mass of copper and light.

When he actually entered the room she
caught a glimpse of him from the corner of her eye and immediately
sat up straight. Considering how tall he was, it didn’t matter how
straight she sat on the elegant couch, it was never going to be
enough to make her feel anything other than vulnerable.

“Good afternoon, darling,” he said
amiably as he strode forward, settling himself on the couch next to
her with an air of lazy self-assurance.

Irene eyed him warily. There was
something different about him. Ever since he’d spanked her he’d
been rather solicitous of her, he’d watched her as if expecting
that she might spark up and flare at him all over again. Now he
seemed relaxed again. Supremely confident in that way that made her
insides tingle. As if it didn’t matter that he’d put her over a hay
bale and beaten her!

Although that sparked her temper,
Irene was a past master at reigning herself in. Especially when she
had no idea of the consequences.

“Good afternoon,” she said coolly,
although it was hard to keep her voice even when he was sitting so
close to her. She couldn’t move to the side either, not without it
seeming like a retreat and she already knew how much Hugh enjoyed
the chase. Heat flamed in her cheeks as she determinedly pretended
to ignore his nearness, affecting that she didn’t remember his
fondness for passion in the middle of the day on inappropriate
pieces of furniture. Like the spindly couch they were currently
seated upon.

Fingers stroked her
shoulder and her breath caught. Deciding that the best defense was
a good offense, she shoved two elegantly scripted invitations at
him. “Next Wednesday we’ve been invited to two major balls, Lady
Felsingham’s and Lady Durgess’. Which do you think we should
attend?”

Inwardly Hugh sighed, social niceties
were not what he wished to discuss with his wife, but he also
realized that such events were important and their presence at one
or the other would make a statement. Especially as they were newly
arrived back to the Season. Irene was not experienced at the social
whirl, before he’d begun his courtship of her she hadn’t received
many coveted invitations, and without her mother or his to guide
her, it was his responsibility to help.

Hm. He made a mental note to ask
Eleanor to go over these things with her as soon as possible. Much
better his sister than forcing Irene to go to her mother for help,
especially as the Baroness’ social agenda might not be the same as
his family’s.

Studying the two
invitations he smiled. At least he knew what to do with this one.
“Lord Felsingham is a particular intimate of my father’s. We’ll
start the evening at Lady Durgess’, stay long enough to pay our
respects and show you off before finishing the evening at the
Felsinghams.”

“We can do both?” Irene asked, a
little startled. Her family had never had to deal with the issue of
deciding between two important events.

“Most of the
ton
will,” said Hugh,
tossing the invitations back onto the table as he leaned back
against the sofa, spreading his arms out and stretching his legs
forward. He took up so much space that it was impossible to ignore
him physically, although Irene was still doing her best to. “The
only thing that will differ will be where they start and where they
end.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll see if my sister is
up for a visit from you tomorrow, if you like,” Hugh said casually.
“If we could attend as many events with her and Edwin as possible
I’d enjoy that.”

As much as she wanted to
show that she was capable, Irene could recognize when she was being
tossed a much-needed favor. Hugh was allowing her to maintain her
pride by making the request to spend time with his friend, rather
than outright saying his sister would have a better idea of how to
maneuver the social whirl and could advise Irene on how to handle
it. She felt a rather grudging gratitude towards him for both his
tact and the offer.

“That sounds lovely,” she said,
setting the invitations down. She couldn’t quite hide her relief.
“I’ve already responded to Eleanor for the dinner she’s having
tomorrow night and we have Lady Cowper’s ball on Saturday. There
isn’t anything else being held that evening.”

“There wouldn’t be,” Hugh
murmured. Lady Cowper was one of the grande dames of the
ton
. If anyone else had
dared to plan an event at the same time as one of her ladyship’s
balls they would have already changed the date once her invitations
went out. Even the men most assiduously avoiding the marriage mart
would make an appearance at Lady Cowper’s before retreating to
their more usual haunts later in the evening. He coughed and then
raised his voice again. “I’ll send a note to Eleanor tomorrow
morning.”

“Thank you,” Irene murmured. Her voice
had gone cool again, as if she’d remembered that she was angry at
him.

Deciding to follow Edwin’s advice,
Hugh ignored it. While his instinct was to stay and try and placate
her, instead he stood and looked down into her startled eyes.
Obviously she’d expected him to continue his attempts to return to
her good graces. Cupping her chin with one hand he swiftly stole a
kiss before she could react.

“I’ll be in my study,” he said,
ignoring the confusion and hint of outrage in her eyes over the
stolen kiss which she hadn’t even had the chance to thwart. “Dinner
is at seven?”

“Yes,” she said, her tone
rather clipped, but confusion swam in her eyes. Before she could
jerk her head away he dropped his hand, gave her a slight bow and
quit the room, feeling – for the first time in the past few days –
as if he’d scored a victory.

Chapter 13

Striding through the house
in search of his wife, Edwin couldn’t wipe the frown from his face.
Wesley had pulled him aside before leaving for a quick word in
private, intimating that he’d had a conversation with Eleanor where
she’d indicated that there was a real possibility he might have a
mistress. The very idea had shocked him. How on earth could she
think that? Even if hadn’t cared what Hugh’s reaction might be upon
hearing such a thing, he was in her bed every night, most mornings,
and often hunting her down at other odd times during the day! While
he might have been considered one of the wolves of the ton before
his marriage, even he didn’t have the stamina to be at her night
and day as well as indulging with another woman! Then again
considering how often he did avail himself of her, and her level of
inexperience, perhaps she didn’t realize that men weren’t readily
recharged for such activities.

Around her it didn’t seem to be much
of a problem, but she might not realize that she was a unique case
for him.

Well he’d be more than happy to show
her. His hand slid into his pocket, fingering the little trinkets
that he’d taken with him from his study. Another part of his
wedding gift from Wesley, one which he was eager to share with
Eleanor. While he hadn’t fantasized about such things before, he’d
found that his fantasies had become increasingly dark and decadent
now that he had Eleanor in his bed every night and occasionally
across his lap. The urge to imprint himself on her body, until she
was assured of his passionate desire for her and only her, was
almost overwhelming.

He didn’t at all like the idea of his
beautiful, rebellious Eleanor thinking that he had a piece on the
side, especially not when she already had such bad influences in
her life as Lady Grace. The last thing he needed was Nell deciding
to take a page out of her friend’s book. Not something he’d worried
about before now, considering how passionate their marriage was,
but if she was worrying over his constancy…

Edwin was more than happy to reassure
her.

“There you are,” he exclaimed when he
finally came upon her and Mrs. Hester in one of the back
storerooms. It was certainly not one of the first places he’d
looked and it had taken questioning one of the undermaids to
finally discover her direction.

She looked up at him, a touch of dust
on her cheek, marring the cream of her skin and making the rest of
her beauty stand out in contrast.

“Should I not be here?” she asked, a
little tartly, taken aback by his slightly exasperated
tones.

It wasn’t that unusual for Edwin to
search her out during the day, but if he couldn’t find her right
away then he usually waited until he happened upon her later. This
was certainly the first time he’d searched her out while she was
obviously busy with household matters.

“I have something I’d like
to discuss with you,” he said, which wasn’t really an answer. The
truth was that realizing Eleanor didn’t trust him, realizing that
she thought he had betrayed his marriage vows when the truth was no
other woman stirred him anymore, had rattled him. He was an active
kind of man and he wanted to set matters to right and he wanted to
do so
right now.

A little crease appeared on her
forehead but she nodded. Glancing around at the linens in front of
her and Mrs. Hester, Eleanor tapped the pile they’d been
considering. “Have a footman take these down to the dining room
please, Mrs. Hester. I’ll come and look at the colors in the
candlelight later this evening.”