Tainted Bride

by A. S. Fenichel

She mumbled something and wiggled her bottom.

  “Do you know what you are doing, my love?”

  She giggled. “I think so. Am I doing it right?”

  Taking her hips, he pulled her even harder to him. “You are doing it exactly right.”

  He reached around and covered her breast with his hand. Her nipple beaded against his palm and his shaft jerked with anticipation.

  Her back arched and a soft sigh escaped her lips. She rolled around to face him. She bit her bottom lip and frowned. “You should tell me if I’m not. I know I wasn’t…I’m not…”

  He ran his knuckles from her cheek just under her right eye to the tip of her chin. Leaning up, he kissed her little nose as he’d wanted to the night before. His thumb swept across her lips and continued to follow her cheekbone until he buried his fingers in her mass of hair. He cupped the back of her head and brought her lips down to his. He kissed her deeply and then more tenderly. “You are exactly as you should be, Sophie.”

  She smiled shyly, but the tigress shone in her eyes just before she wrapped her arms around him.

  Suddenly, she pulled away with wide eyes staring at his nakedness. Tentatively, she touched him, then more boldly. The palm of her hand skimmed his skin slowly over his nipple and then down his stomach where she stopped.

  He covered her hand with his own and helped her until she held him in her hand.

  She gasped.

  He gasped for entirely different reasons.

  She hesitated and faltered, only grazing him with the tips of her fingers.

  He hadn’t known how erotic it would be to have her investigate his erection with such innocence. He held as still as possible, not easy while his body strained for more of her touch.

  Her fingers continued to drive him mad. Her eyes widened as his skin stretched taut and her strokes became more ardent.

  His hips automatically moved counter point. Clasping her hand, he pulled it away from his rod and rolled on top of her. “I can take little more of that.”

  “You didn’t like it?” Even though she asked it in her most innocent voice, the mischief in her eyes told him she knew the effect she was having on him.

  He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Her mouth opened on a gasp and he slipped his tongue inside. His moan mingled with hers. Her body was warm and pliant beneath him. “I think you saw that I liked it very much, but much more would end this far too quickly. I want to enjoy you a while longer.”

  He rubbed against the juncture of her thighs. Then he moved aside and slid his hand down between them. What he found excited him as much as his first encounter. Her folds were soft and wet.

  She arched and bucked against his fingers while he worried her bud. Sophia’s breath came in gasps and she tightened under his touch.

  Holding his weight above her, he poised his shaft at her core and slid forward slowly.

  Their cries mingled in the air. He tried to hold still while she adjusted to him, but the sensation was so overwhelming.

  She moved, and he lost control. He pulled back and thrust forward with more force than he wanted to use.

  The way she snugged around him was heaven.

  He reached between their bodies and rubbed her sensitive bud.

  She rose up to meet every thrust and called out his name. She screamed and her body pulsed around him. Her contraction took him over the edge as well.

  He arched into her and shuddered before collapsing on top of her. Far too heavy for her, he scooped her up and rolled over so she lay on top of him.

  She rested her cheek to his chest and sighed.

  * * * *

  She didn’t know how long she’d slept that way, but she woke to his maleness hardening, as he slipped back inside her. Why did women not speak of how wonderful this was? If not for Emma’s honesty, she might have died without ever knowing.

  Hours later, tucked together as if they were born to fit perfectly, she lulled to his even breathing. “I’m starving.”

  He shook with laughter.

  She rolled around to face him. “Are you planning to starve me to death?”

  He laughed harder. It was rich, warm and filled the room and her heart. “No, you will need your strength.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Why is that, my lord?”

  Grabbing her waist, he pulled her against him. “Because I’m planning on us spending a lot of time in this bed over the next few weeks and I do not want you to wither away.”

  She slapped him playfully. “We cannot just stay in this room. What will the servants think?”

  His smile was mischievous. “You want to make love in other rooms? Hmm, the library has a lovely rug. We could certainly try that.”

  There was a new space in her heart and it filled with Daniel. She pushed away from him, but not with any real urgency.

  He tightened his embrace keeping her close.

  “You are incorrigible, even for an Englishman.”

  He tickled her ribs sending her into fits of giggles. “Let’s get dressed and see if there is any food to be had, wife. Shall we?”

  Her cheeks ached from smiling. Wife sounded so lovely coming from his lips. Joy bubbled in her stomach and spread outward, filling her. For three years, she’d convinced herself she would never be called such a thing. Now, she was most definitely the wife of Daniel Fallon. Her heart beat with excitement.

  Sophia ate ravenously. A short time later, she leaned back in her chair and placed her hands on her stomach. “I cannot eat another thing.”

  “I’m not sure that, as The Countess of Marlton, you should sit in such an unladylike position,” he teased.

  She sat up straight and her heart pounded. Dear God, she’d forgotten. “Countess.”

  “Yes, indeed. You are the sixth countess to date and by far the loveliest.”

  “Don’t say that in front of your stepmother.”

  “In mother’s presence, she is, of course the loveliest of all Ladies Marlton.”

  “My, but you are a fickle friend.”

  “Not at all. You shall always know to me, you are the most beautiful and my stepmother can remain happy that her son adores her. What can possibly be wrong with that?”

  “Nothing. You are the perfect son and the perfect husband.”

  “You had better wait to make that judgment, love. You have only been married to me for twenty-four hours. I’m sure to disappoint you at any moment.”

  “Never.” She crossed her arms.

  “Shall we walk some of this food off in the garden, or return to our bed?” He raised his eyebrows dramatically.

  She giggled. “Can’t we walk in the garden tomorrow?”

  With no further prompting, he grabbed her hand and they rushed up the steps to the bedroom.

  * * * *

  Three days later, the butler, interrupted their dinner. Dorn looked as old as the Marlton country estate. He was vertical but only barely as he handed over a note on a small silver platter. “There is a message, my lord.”

  “Thank you, Dorn.”

  Dorn waited by the side of Daniel’s chair.

  Daniel looked up.

  “The messenger awaits your reply, my lord.”

  Daniel read the note and frowned. “I’m sorry, my dear. I must answer this immediately.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Nothing to concern you. I’ll be back directly.” He strode from the room clutching the note.

  Something was amiss. She finished her quail and poked at the remains. The staff stood around waiting to serve the next course. Sophia tugged on her napkin and smoothed it back in her lap.

  Daniel returned, sat and picked up his fork and knife.

  “What was in the message?”

  Posture stiff, he did not look her in the eye. “It was a note from Thomas about some business we are working on together. I have to meet him the day after tomorrow to talk some things over.”

  “You�
�re leaving?”

  “Only for one evening.”

  “This is our honeymoon, Daniel.” She failed to keep her tone even.

  Daniel nodded at the two footmen standing near the large oak doors, dismissing them. “I’m sorry, Sophie. I know it is terribly rude of me to leave you even for just a few hours, but this is urgent and cannot wait. Please understand if it were not critical, I should never remove myself from your side.”

  “I understand.” She said it on a sigh.

  “Thank you for that.”

  Biting her tongue against the lashing she wanted to give him wasn’t easy. It wouldn’t do to become one of those wives who screamed and complained. She didn’t want to turn out like Dory’s mother.

  * * * *

  Daniel left after luncheon on the day of his meeting with Thomas.

  Sophia had been so caught up with Daniel, she hadn’t met the other people in the house. She trudged down to the kitchen. A shining black kettle bubbled on the fire and filled the lower level with warm spice and rich meat aromas.

  Mrs. Grover, the cook, turned from stirring the pot. “Hello, milady.”

  Sophia stepped closer and breathed in comfort just as she often had in her family’s kitchens in Philadelphia. “I thought you and I could discuss menus and what his lordship likes to eat.”

  Twice as wide as the pot she covered, Mrs. Grover popped the cover on, pushed it from the main flame and offered Sophia a seat at the gleaming wood table. “I’m sorry to say, his lordship is not a hearty eater. He does like lamb stew, but only eats when called to the table. Though, perhaps that will change now. He was the same as a boy after her ladyship passed and then his appetite improved when the earl remarried.”

  “Oh? I hadn’t realized you were here when his mother died.”

  Mrs. Grover stood up with a heavy sigh and pulled two loaves of bread from the oven. “I’ll never forget that night.”

  The yeasty aroma filled Sophia with a dozen happy memories and made her stomach rumble in spite of a hearty breakfast. “It was the night his lordship was born?”

  Mrs. Grover shook her head and cut a two-inch slice out of one loaf. She slathered it with butter, put it on a plate and passed the sumptuous bite to Sophia. “No, the poor lamb suffered for three days with a fever before the good lord finally took her. The earl was beside himself, he was.”

  “Terrible.” Sophia put the bread down and gulped back a tear.

  “He never recovered. Oh, it was better once he remarried, but the light was gone from his eyes. He did adore the little miss though.”

  “What about the current earl? Did his father adore him as well?”

  “Ahhhch.” Mrs. Grover shook her head. “That, he never did. He was brokenhearted over his first wife and he never really got over blaming the boy for her death.”

  “But, that’s ridiculous.”

  “People do some strange things when they grieve, milady.”

  “I suppose that must be true.”

  “Ay, it is.” She looked away, lost in thought then smiled. “It was a good day when the old earl married again. We were all so pleased when Lady Marlton fell instantly in love with our boy. She raised him as her own and she was little more than a child herself. We was all so relieved the poor little boy had a mum to look after him.”

  Sophia thanked Mrs. Grover and they arranged to meet each morning after the meal to discuss the day’s menu.

  Wondering what Daniel remembered of the time before Janette had come to Marlton occupied much of her thoughts. He’d been a baby. Did he even want children? After all, they had never spoken of it. Panic roiled in her belly, but she forced herself to stay calm. He had to have an heir and most English gentry liked to have a spare as well. If she were fortunate, perhaps she would have a girl first and then she might have three children. Three is a good number, she told herself. Now that she was married and not afraid of what happens between a man and a woman, she longed to have a large family.

  Living in America away from all of her father’s and mother’s families, she had felt sad during the holidays when their friends would have large family gatherings and they would only have the four of them for company. She would just ask him.

  * * * *

  “So, what is it you think he’s doing?” Daniel sat in a wooden chair. Markus’s study had few soft surfaces.

  Thomas leaned against the large desk, which occupied most of the room. “The thing is, I’m not entirely sure yet.”

  Renewed aggravation gnawed at his gut. “How hard can it be to find out what a shipping magnate is shipping?”

  Markus, having always been the most reserved of the four, reported the facts with little emotion. “It stands to reason that whatever he is doing is illegal, or it would be quite easy to find out.”

  Daniel nodded. “Braighton told me before they ended their association they were having a difference of opinion as to what type of business they were running. My father-in-law was perfectly happy, and very rich, shipping spices and grains from the east and America.”

  “This was not satisfying for Pundington? Was he not getting as rich?” Thomas asked.

  “He was quite rich, all right, but he’d squandered some money and he owed someone a favor. Mr. Braighton wouldn’t go into detail about to whom the favor was owed. Pundington had to move goods from the East Indies to England, but he declined to divulge to his partner what the shipment was. Under the circumstances, Braighton refused. Shortly after that, they ended their partnership.”

  “Sugar?” Markus said.

  “I cannot imagine Charles Braighton would be offended by the shipping of sugar to his homeland,” Thomas said.

  “It must be something illegal.”

  “Absinthe?” Markus suggested.

  “Perhaps, but slaves are more likely.” Thomas ran his fingers through his hair.

  “Slaves, negro slaves, here in England. Who would he sell to?” Markus stood from behind his enormous desk. The out of character outburst turned all their heads toward their host.

  Thomas rolled his eyes. “Don’t be naïve, Markus. There are people who will buy, even here, on the king’s soil. However, if all of this speculation is correct, I have been looking for information in the wrong place. Michael may be having more luck.”

  Markus said, “Michael is rather bogged down in his own troubles at the moment. His father has left him in a pickle.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. I have some old contacts from the Army who may be of help.” Thomas sat in the other chair.

  “I would appreciate anything that would make it possible for me to crush Pundington financially. And, if I can get him tossed from England permanently, that would be a great benefit.” For the first time in his life, Daniel wished murder were legal. He would thoroughly enjoy killing Alistair Pundington slowly and painfully.

  “If he is trafficking in human flesh, I shall be happy to use all of my influence to stop him, Dan.”

  “I know, Markus and I’ll be happy to take you up on that offer as soon as we know for certain what he’s up to.”

  “How is your honeymoon going?” Thomas asked.

  “My wife was most displeased when I left today.”

  “So, it’s going well then.” Markus grinned stupidly.

  Daniel ignored the innuendo. “How about some of that fine brandy you keep in that massive desk of yours, Markus?”

  Markus pulled a bottle out of a desk drawer. “What is wrong with my desk?”

  Thomas and Daniel exchanged a look.

  “Nothing,” Daniel said.

  “Nothing at all,” Thomas agreed.

  Markus looked at them both and then smiled. “I know it’s a bit large, but Emma purchased it as a gift to me and what was I to do? I couldn’t tell her it is far too large for the room. She would have been heartbroken.”

  “You might consider removing all the other furniture. And we could all sit on the desk.” Thomas rapped his knuckles on t
he desk.

  They drank and joked until dusk when Daniel left them to go home to his bride.

  * * * *

  It was late when he arrived home, but he found his wife waiting for him in his study.

  She wore a blue dress, which was fetching and low cut in the front.

  If he took a guess, he would also say his sweet, innocent wife had dampened her undergarment in order to make her gown show every curve to her advantage. He found himself both intrigued and cautious as to why she felt the need to seduce him.

  “You are looking lovely tonight, Sophie.” He walked in, leaned down and kissed her cheek.

  “Thank you. Do you like the dress? Aunt Daphne said it was obscene, but she purchased it for me anyway.” She rose and gave a spin so he saw the entire frock.

  “Very becoming and perhaps only a bit obscene.” He grinned, knowing he must have looked like a smitten idiot. Perhaps there was truth in that.

  She looked down at the dress and mumbled something to herself.

  “Is something on your mind, my dear?”

  In spite of the alluring dress and the coy look she’d given him when he arrived, she frowned and plopped down in the large chair opposite his desk. She looked dejected.

  He leaned against the desk in front of her. “Something is on your mind.”

  The door opened and a maid carried in a tray with two glasses and a bottle of wine. She looked at the coffee table near the couch and then at the two of them by the desk.

  “It’s all right, Molly, you may leave it here on the desk.”

  Molly looked at the earl and then at Sophia’s frown. She rushed over, placed the tray on the desk, curtsied and ran from the room.

  Daniel poured the wine. “You have laid an elaborate trap to catch me, Sophie, and you already have me. What happened in the last few hours to make you think you needed to go to such lengths to attract me and why have you given up? I can assure you, your trap would have worked.”

  She looked up and he saw the tigress. Then she was gone. “I thought to woo you and then ask you something. But now I’m not sure about the wooing or the question.”

  He handed her a glass of wine and crouched in front of her. “Ask me.”

  “I should not.”

  “Sophia, have I ever been harsh with you? Have I led you to believe you cannot talk to me? You may ask me anything.” His heart beat faster. What had changed in so short a time?