Taming The Viscountess

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “This afternoon.”

  “That soon?”

  “My mother doesn’t want the house to stink.”

  Celia supposed there was that. When her grandparents died, her brother had the servants bring in a lot of flowers to the drawing room. She had thought he’d done it because they were pretty, but he had said it was to mask the odor. He said it gave them and their family and friends time to pay their respects.

  “Well, you’ll be going to his funeral today then,” Celia said.

  “I don’t know if I should,” her lady’s maid replied.

  “Why not?”

  “Because you might want me to help you change clothes or style your hair this afternoon.”

  “Whether or not I want to change clothes or my hairstyle shouldn’t impact whether or not you go to your father’s funeral.”

  “I’ve only been under your employment for a couple of months, and I heard you insist the servants be…” She paused as if searching for a nice way to add what she had to say next. Finally, she said, “We are to be diligent in our duties.”

  “Of course, diligence is a good trait, but this is something important. You only get one father and one mother. You should be there for his funeral. If nothing else, you should spend time with your mother.” When Kay didn’t reply, she pressed, “I can take care of my own hair, and I can dress myself. Go on and be with your mother. Take the next week or two off.”

  After a long moment, Kay’s shoulders relaxed as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “Thank you, Lady Erandon. You’re not the demanding shrew the others said you were.” Then she hugged Celia and ran out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

  Celia stared at the door. A demanding shrew? That’s what the servants were saying about her? Sure, the gentlemen at White’s had said she was difficult. That was why she didn’t mind helping Sebastian win the stupid wager they had made. It would serve them right to lose money after saying such things about her. But the servants thought she was horrible, too?

  There was a knock connecting her bedchamber with Sebastian’s. Pushing aside the shock of learning what the servants thought of her, she called out for Sebastian to enter.

  Sebastian came into the room and looked at her in surprise. “I thought you’d be done getting ready for the day by now, but you haven’t even started.”

  “Oh, yes, well, my lady’s maid was upset because her father’s funeral is today, and it took me some time to talk her into taking a week or two off. I’ll do my own hair and dress myself for a change.” She went to her vanity and set out the items she would need to style her hair. “Would you mind putting some pins in for me? I can get most of them, but it’s hard for me to slip in a couple at the back of my head so they’ll look good.”

  With an amused smile, he hobbled into the room. “I didn’t think it mattered how the pins are put in a lady’s hair. As long as your hair is up, who cares?”

  She shook her head and chuckled. “It matters a lot. The pins must be positioned in a way that flatters the back of her head.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Heads are shaped differently. So are necks and,” she turned her back to him, “bodies. If you angle pins a certain way, they can add to a lady’s natural beauty. Every lady has beauty, but it takes the right clothing and accessories to bring it out so gentlemen will notice it.”

  “From the moment we met, I was very much attracted to you, so your theory works.”

  She turned back to him. “I wasn’t trying to look attractive on our wedding day. I was too upset with my brother to care how I looked.”

  “Hmm… Then I suppose you’re beautiful no matter what you wear or how you style your hair.”

  Her face flushed with pleasure at his compliment. Not all husbands would say such a lovely thing to their wives. She’d heard horror stories where gentlemen actually picked out things that were unattractive about their wives. It was nice to know Sebastian wasn’t like that.

  “All right, I’ll put some pins in your hair, but you have to tell me how you want me to angle the pins,” he said. “I don’t have any idea how to decorate a lady’s hair so the back of her head looks pretty.”

  She giggled. “It’s not really the back of the head I’m going for. I want to look good all over. The back of the head is just one part of the whole body. It’s the overall look I’m going for.” She grabbed a chair from the small room off to the side of her bedchamber and put it by the vanity. “You might as well be comfortable while you’re putting pins in my hair.”

  He hobbled over to the chair and sat in it while she slipped on the gown she had picked out for the day. “I enjoy watching you undress more than watching you dress.”

  Not surprised, she smirked at him. “I’m sure you do.”

  “I’m just saying that if you were ever inclined to take your gown off, I certainly wouldn’t mind being in the room when you do.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. “I wouldn’t mind helping you get ready for bed if you needed it.”

  “I’m glad you said that because it would be nice to have some assistance getting all the pins out of my hair.”

  He set his crutch by the vanity then settled into the chair. “It’s not your pins I’m interested in removing.”

  “If all of the pins aren’t removed, they can slip out of my hair and end up in the bed. Have you ever had a pin poke you while you’re trying to sleep?”

  “No, I can’t say I have.”

  She sat next to him and started brushing her hair. “Well, it’s something you don’t want to experience.”

  He chuckled. “I’m sure I don’t. The only thing I want poking me is you.” He leaned toward her and kissed her cheek.

  A pleasant sensation crept over her, and she couldn’t help but giggle. She wasn’t sure what this strange sensation meant, except that she was enjoying being with Sebastian more than she’d ever enjoyed being with Corin.

  Besides Loretta, he was the easiest person she’d ever talked to. She never ran out of things to discuss with him. She could tell him things she would never have told Corin. Looking back on it, perhaps marriage wouldn’t have worked well with him. When they had spoken, she’d done most of the talking, and she had to ask him questions in order to get him to respond. She used to stay up at night planning out things to discuss with him the next time they would see each other.

  With Sebastian, however, she didn’t have that problem. Everything came so easy. They didn’t only make love during the night. They also talked. Sure, it meant she didn’t wake up as early as she used to, but she didn’t mind. She was having fun. She’d even found it interesting to listen to him as he lectured her on the budget.

  Well, maybe it wasn’t exactly a lecture. She knew he’d come to her room with the intent of teaching her about the proper use of money. But he had a way of explaining the budget that actually made it interesting. And that was how all of their conversations were. It didn’t matter what the topic was. She enjoyed all of them.

  Really, when she thought about it, she realized Sebastian wasn’t just her husband. He was also her friend. She had no idea that a husband could also be a friend. She was never friends with Corin. Not that she’d expected to be. But now that she knew a husband could be a friend, she couldn’t think of a better husband to have than Sebastian. Of all the gentlemen in London, he was the only one she could talk to like she could talk to Loretta. It was nice.

  And taking all of that into consideration, she was glad things had worked out the way they had. She couldn’t imagine being this happy with Corin. What she felt for Sebastian was much better. She wouldn’t have found completion with Corin. But with Sebastian, she was complete. She realized now that all she’d felt for Corin was a girlish infatuation.

  With Sebastian, however, she had the love a lady experienced for a gentleman. This feeling was the kind of thing Damara felt for Anthony. She’d watched her sister-in-law enough to know that the love Damara had for Anthony was the rea
l thing. And now she had it for Sebastian.

  She thought about telling Sebastian this, but for some reason, the words failed her. She’d never been shy about admitting her feelings to anyone before, but she couldn’t do that now. Not with Sebastian. For one, she wasn’t sure he returned her feelings. And two, it would be especially awkward and embarrassing if he didn’t.

  It was better to keep things as they were right now. They had an easygoing companionship. She would much rather keep things the way they were than risk losing it.

  “Is everything all right?” Sebastian asked.

  Not realizing she’d stopped brushing her hair, she quickly hurried to work out the tangles. “I’m fine. I was just thinking of what I want to do today.”

  “And what is that?”

  “Miss Wilmington agreed to let me pay her a visit this afternoon. I’m hoping she will answer some questions I have about Lady Eloise and Loretta. There are some things I can’t figure out, and it’d be nice if I could. Lady Eloise did a couple of unpleasant things to my friend. Loretta’s too nice to go and find out why, but I’m not.”

  He rubbed her shoulder. “I think you’re nice.”

  “Which is why you’re betting that you won’t send me to live with my brother while all the other gentlemen at White’s are.”

  “What can you expect from those gentlemen? They’re used to being pampered. They need someone to help them dress and shave.”

  Catching the way he rolled his eyes, she laughed. “You really like doing everything yourself, don’t you?”

  “I do. Of course, I don’t mind it when you help me get dressed. You intentionally brush parts of me that I like.”

  So he had figured out she hadn’t done that by accident? She’d thought she had done a better job of pretending to be innocent than that. She set the brush down on the vanity then pulled her hair up into the style she wanted. “It’s scary how well you know me.”

  “You’re not hard to figure out. You just need someone who isn’t afraid to be your equal.”

  “Does that mean you consider me to be a friend?”

  “Yes, I’d say you’re a friend. The best kind, actually. I get to share a bed with you.”

  Her lips curled up as he got ready to slip the first pin into her hair. “Make sure the pin slopes down this way.” She used her hand to demonstrate how she wanted him to slip the pin in.

  “I’ll do as you say.”

  As he put the first pin in, she asked, “What will you be doing today?”

  “Today I’m getting the peg leg.”

  Excited, she almost turned to face him, but she stopped herself because he was still putting the pins in her hair. “You’re getting it today?”

  “The doctor told me it’d be ready today.”

  “What time will he be here?”

  “I’ll be going to his townhouse, and I’m supposed to be there at two.”

  “What a shame. I have to see Miss Wilmington at that time. I was hoping to be with you when you put it on.”

  “I don’t think it’ll be all that interesting.”

  “Of course, it will. I’m very interested in what you do.”

  “Are you?”

  What a silly question. How could she not be when he was her husband…and, as he’d just pointed out, her friend? She waited for him to finish putting the pins into her hair and then turned in her chair so she could face him. “I like knowing what’s happening to you. I think getting a peg leg will be good for you. I think it’ll give you more freedom to move around than the crutch does. And think of how much fun we’ll have when we go out to sea for a couple of months!”

  “Are you sure you really want to be stuck on a ship for all that time?”

  “I do. It’ll be an adventure. I’ve never been on the sea before. I want to see the things you described, like the way the moonlight glistens off the water so it resembles silver or the way the sunset colors the sky. Whether you want to hunt fish or whales while we’re at sea doesn’t matter to me. I’m sure with the money you’ll get from that wager at White’s, you can afford to sail for pleasure for the rest of your life if you wish. Especially since I’ll be good and stick to my allowance.” Then as an afterthought, she teased, “Unless you leave me in London while you’re at sea. I can’t be responsible for what happens with my spending if you don’t let me take part in your adventures.”

  He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. “Since you put it that way, I will take you along. I need to protect what little money I have.”

  “There you have it. You’d be wise to let me join you.” Grinning, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “You seem like a wise gentleman.”

  “I am. I married you, didn’t I?”

  Without waiting for her to respond, he lowered his head and kissed her. In contentment, she returned his kiss. She didn’t know how he did it, but he had a way of making her feel very wonderful.

  When their kiss ended, she asked, “Sebastian, is it true that I was the first lady you’d ever been with?”

  “I believe I made that clear not too long ago,” he replied with a chuckle.

  “I know that’s what you said, but I thought you were teasing me.”

  “No. I wasn’t teasing you. I spoke the truth.” Giving her waist a playful squeeze, he asked, “Why do you find it so hard to believe that you’re the first lady I’ve ever been with?”

  “Because you’re a captain of a ship. Everyone knows gentlemen at sea are knowledgeable when it comes to the ways of the world.”

  “Just because I was a captain, it didn’t mean I did everything people expected me to do. Contrary to what you’ve been led to believe, some gentlemen wait to get married before they get into a bed with a lady.”

  “You’re right. I know my brother waited.” After a moment, she added, “I wish I had waited for you. I know I didn’t do everything with my brother’s friend, but it would have been nice if I’d waited for you to do anything at all.”

  “The thing that matters is that I’m the last gentleman you’ll ever be intimate with.”

  “You are. There will never be anyone else.”

  He smiled before he brought his mouth back to hers and gave her the kind of kiss that prompted her to take him to her bed. Too late did she remember the pins in her hair, but by the time she thought of them, she was so caught up in their lovemaking that she didn’t care. Which turned out all right since none of them poked either one of them.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Later that day, Celia sat in Miss Wilmington’s drawing room. Celia had never spoken more than a few words to the lady at any one time. Indeed, being stuck alone with her in the drawing room with the doors closed was uncomfortable, but she was determined to get to the matter she had come here about. She was doing this for Loretta’s sake. She was going to have to push through her discomfort and figure out what was really going on in the group.

  Miss Wilmington was the closest lady to Lady Eloise. She was even closer to her than Miss Webb was. So it made sense that Miss Wilmington would have the most information to offer her.

  After she took a sip of the tea, she gave Miss Wilmington a smile. “Thank you for allowing me to visit you. I’m having trouble picking out a gown for Lady Eloise’s next social engagement, and I was wondering what you plan to buy.”

  “Why? So you can get it first?” Miss Wilmington asked.

  Surprised Miss Wilmington would deduce that, Celia said, “No. I have no desire to wear the same gown as you.” And that was the truth. Miss Wilmington had horrible taste in gowns. Everything she wore made her look like a frumpy old hag. But Celia would never tell her that. “It’s just that you’re closer to Lady Eloise than I am.” Which was true. “And I thought perhaps Lady Eloise had mentioned what the latest fashion is. I wouldn’t want to show up to her social engagement in something outdated.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “It’s strange that you should come to see me right after the Duchess of Lambeth left the group.”<
br />
  Celia fought the urge not to squirm under the lady’s intense stare. “That’s exactly why I’m here. I used to discuss these things with Loretta, but since she left the group, I have no one to talk about this with.”

  “What makes you think I wish to talk to you?”

  “Well, you did agree to see me today.”

  “Only because I wished to know why your friend would leave the group.” Miss Wilmington put her cup on the tray, clasped her hands in her lap, and turned toward her in interest. “I’ve been going over it in my mind, and I can’t imagine why she would give up everything Lady Eloise was offering her. Loretta could have had anything she wanted. She had become Lady Eloise’s favorite. She could have been the second most highly esteemed lady in London. We all know Lady Cadwalader and her friends are quickly losing the respect of the Ton, and Lady Eloise is gaining their approval more and more every day.”

  Celia tapped the edge of her cup. It wasn’t the time to mention Lady Eloise’s move to get Loretta’s husband into her bed. Celia had plans to do that later. Timing was everything. If she did it now, it would lose its effectiveness. But she couldn’t completely dodge the inquiry, either. She had to come up with something. After a moment, the right excuse came to her.

  “Loretta thought it was in poor taste for Lady Eloise to give her the wrong time to arrive at her dinner party,” Celia said. “She doesn’t know whether Lady Eloise made a mistake or did it on purpose.”

  Miss Wilmington snorted. “Lady Eloise never makes a mistake. She does everything for a purpose.”

  Celia hadn’t expected this. She had expected Miss Wilmington to say Lady Eloise had made a mistake. She put her own cup on the tray and turned her focus to Miss Wilmington. “Why would she do that? It’s in very poor taste.”

  “I told you Loretta was Lady Eloise’s favorite in the group. I didn’t say Lady Eloise liked her. We all know why Loretta became her favorite. It was because Loretta married the Duke of Lambeth. The right kind of marriage avails a lady much in London.”