Under A Duke's Hand

by Annabel Joseph

  “An insect?” Warren snorted. “You’ve always been a hopeless romantic.”

  “I’ve never been a romantic.” Townsend glared at them. “Must I go on?”

  “I wish you would,” said Aidan. “I’m actually starting to feel better.”

  “Let’s see... I took her to an orgy at Wroxham’s country estate to cure her of a tendre for a certain gentleman who shall remain unnamed, who happened to be embroiled in a scandalous assignation.”

  They all looked at Warren as a blush spread about his ears.

  “I had my cock out and everything,” said Warren. “It was not well done of you, Towns. Our friendship barely survived.”

  “My marriage barely survived. Aurelia and I had a screaming fight in the carriage on the way home, and...” He fell silent. “Well, I had a lot of apologizing to do afterward, to you and everyone. Love makes people do stupid things.”

  Aidan gave a mirthless laugh. “I wouldn’t know about that. There’s no love between us.”

  “That doesn’t mean you aren’t being stupid,” said Barrymore in his typically forthright way.

  Aidan leveled his friend with a glare. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that when I was hurting Minette, I didn’t even know I was doing it. I thought I was being a caring, honorable chap. I was incredibly stupid. Maybe you’re being stupid too.”

  “In what way?”

  Warren jumped in to smooth rising tempers. “We don’t know in what way, Arlington, or what’s going on between the two of you, but maybe we can offer advice after we’ve watched you muck about for a while.”

  “So you’re going to make a study of my marriage?” Aidan leaned back in his chair. “Is this absolutely necessary?”

  “Yes,” they all said in unison.

  He let out a sigh. “I’m only warning you, our problems run deep. We’re not at all similar. Unlike your wives, Guinevere is hardly part of our class.”

  “Our class?” Barrymore tilted his head.

  “Well, there’s your problem,” said Townsend. “If you’re lording it over her with your riches and title—”

  “It’s not that,” Aidan interrupted. “She scorns my riches and title. We don’t have the same world view. We are not the same.”

  “And yet she’s your wife,” said Warren. “You must find some way to connect with her. You must have something in common.”

  Aidan pursed his lips. After I fucked her in the temple, I molested her all through the night, kissing her and stroking her and hurting her. Oh, did I mention she likes erotic pain? “We have things in common,” he bit out. “Just...not enough. Not enough to build a workable marriage.”

  “Not yet,” said Townsend. “But we’ll help you figure things out. The ladies will help too. You know how the three of them get when they put their heads together toward a common goal.”

  The other gentlemen groaned. “Yes, we know,” said Warren. “All too well.”

  “In this case, their scheming can be put to good use,” insisted Townsend. “This is important. Our friend’s happiness is at stake.”

  The other men nodded and agreed that the women could be capital schemers when the situation called for it.

  Good Christ. Aidan needed another drink.

  * * * * *

  “Dearest Gwen,” said Minette, crossing the sitting room to put an arm about her shoulders. “We have all become the most smashing of friends over the past week. Don’t you think?”

  Gwen regarded Barrymore’s wife warily. What now? she thought.

  It was true they’d become closer friends. She called all of them by their first names, and knew a great deal more about their marriages than she had ever really thought to. She had learned that Minette was the chatterbox of the group, while Aurelia put great stock in propriety and manners. She’d learned that Josephine grew up in India and even communed with tigers. Her friends were interesting and kind, and well-loved by their husbands.

  “I’m so grateful for your friendship,” said Gwen politely. “Shall I call for more cakes?”

  “Forget the cakes,” said Josephine, who tended to abruptness. “The time has come for a frank talk. A talk about you and Arlington.”

  Gwen took another sip of tea. Bless them, they were so interested in her marriage, even though Gwen resisted talking about it. The three of them were in such affectionate accord with their husbands, it made Gwen feel hopeless. Even if Arlington could find something to love in her, he would never love her that much.

  “A frank talk?” she echoed, forcing a smile. “That sounds serious.”

  “You and Arlington have been married for what, six weeks now?” said Minette. “And, well, to be perfectly honest, people are still gossiping that the two of you don’t get along very splendidly. Which seems a shame, for you are both friendly and wonderful.”

  “Oh,” said Gwen. “Well, ours was an arranged marriage.”

  “So was ours.” Aurelia regarded her with sympathy. “And it is so awkward at first.”

  “Yes, it is,” said Gwen, pouncing on this truth. “It was especially awkward for us, because he didn’t want to marry me. And honestly, I didn’t want to marry him either.”

  “But you’re married now,” said Josephine. “Don’t you think he’s a fine fellow? He seems a caring enough husband.”

  Gwen couldn’t say anything to disparage him when they all admired him so much. She couldn’t explain how he made her feel common and ugly in manners. She couldn’t explain how he brought out her wanton side, then pointed to it as evidence of her Welsh “wildness.” She couldn’t explain how she both adored and hated him.

  “He is very admirable,” admitted Gwen. “I guess that’s part of why it’s...difficult.”

  The ladies all watched her, waiting for her to elaborate.

  “Why would it be difficult, if you find him admirable?” prompted Minette.

  Gwen took a deep breath. “I suppose it’s because he’s so much finer than me. So much more confident and polished. I think he finds me wanting. No. I know he does.”

  This confession brought tears to her eyes. She’d thought it to herself a thousand times, but to confess it out loud was embarrassing. It made it feel so awfully real.

  “I’m afraid he’s not content in me. That I am not good enough. We cannot seem to...connect.”

  Josephine, Minette, and Aurelia exchanged more glances. Aurelia rose from her chair. “I’ll be right back.”

  After she left, Minette took her hand. “You are certainly not the only woman in history who’s had difficulty connecting to her husband. We all struggle with it, especially when you are wed to a particular sort of man, who is very strong in temperament, and titled and rich, and used to having his way. And when it comes to our husbands, well, you know, the lot of them had a rather infamous past.”

  “A ‘rather infamous past’?” Josephine laughed. “You might as well say it plainly. They were rogues through and through.”

  Gwen looked at them in surprise. “Your husbands? Rogues?”

  “Yours too,” said Josephine. “They were known for it, I’m afraid.”

  “But they are such family men now.”

  “So is Arlington,” said Minette. “He’s different now that he’s married. He’s never been one to dote on women, so it’s novel and charming, the way he looks at you in that longing way.”

  Gwen stared at her friend. If Arlington looked at her with longing, it was for carnal reasons only. “I think he mainly married me to have children,” she said. “And to have a portrait to hang over the fireplace. He sent for an artist right away.”

  “Oh, how fun,” said Josephine. “I hope it turns out beautifully. Arlington looks so smart when he’s done up in his cape and sword and medallions. He wore them for the painting, didn’t he?”

  “Yes,” said Gwen. “And I wore a lot of jewels. If nothing else, he’ll have something impressive to hang on the wall.”

  “I’m sure you mean more to him than a painting,�
�� said Minette.

  Aurelia returned with a pile of books and papers clutched to her chest, and carried them to the table where they were taking tea. “I’ve brought some things to show you, Gwen,” she said. “Books that have to do with...marital connection. In a sense.”

  Josephine gave the other two ladies an exasperated look. “Are we really going to do this again?”

  “Why wouldn’t we?” said Minette. “She deserves to be educated, considering whom she married. We all had to be educated too.”

  “Yes, but I seem to remember all of us getting spanked last time we ‘educated’ ourselves with these materials,” Josephine pointed out.

  Gwen gawked at them. “Your husbands spank you?”

  The three of them stared back at her.

  “Your husband hasn’t spanked you yet?” asked Aurelia. “I mean, that’s wonderful.” She looked at her friends. “Only a bit difficult to believe.”

  “He has,” said Gwen, a blush rising in her cheeks. “I didn’t realize it happened to other women. Your marriages seem so happy.”

  Minette laughed. “Oh, that has nothing to do with it. In fact, our marriages are probably happier because our husbands turn us over their knees once in a while. It dissipates emotional tension.”

  Josephine giggled along with her. “Along with other kinds of tension.”

  “There will be no spankings this time around,” said Aurelia. “Hunter encouraged me to bring these along, since...” She gave Gwen another apologetic look. “Well, you see, we came to Arlington House to try to help your marriage. And a great part of being married... Well, our husbands in particular have a fondness and reputation for...”

  “Just say it,” said Josephine. “All of them are perverts of the highest degree.”

  “They are all perverts,” agreed Aurelia with a sigh. “Josie has the right of it.”

  “But perverts in the nicest way,” said Minette. “And once you learn about the sorts of things that arouse gentlemen, it becomes easier to maintain marital harmony. Because men can be very harmonious when they are having a good time in bed.”

  “Prettily put, Minette,” said Josephine. “Aurelia, let’s dive into the naughty books.”

  Gwen blinked as the ladies spread the books and drawings out on the tabletop. They were of fine paper and craftsmanship, at odds with the lurid subject matter. Naked, cavorting ladies and gentlemen engaged in all manner of shocking pursuits, and each drawing was accompanied by an equally sordid description. The Milk Maid shows her Master an extra “Measure” of Service. The Horned Gentleman makes Merrie with Lady Diddle’s Quim.

  Aside from the sexual drawings, there were a great many drawings depicting corporal punishment: maids getting spanked, housekeepers getting spanked, wives getting spanked, even gentlemen getting caned like schoolboys. There were drawings of Far Eastern harems and parlor-room orgies, and abandoned masquerade balls. Gwen had never seen such materials in her life, never even imagined they existed. If she had, she might have been more prepared for the things Arlington did to her.

  “Oh, this one is my favorite,” said Josephine, pointing to a pair of lords standing over a wide-eyed servant girl, brandishing birch rods and outrageous erections.

  Aurelia smothered a giggle. “Josie, you trollop.”

  “There is something about the look in that one’s eyes,” said Minette with a theatrical shiver. “When Barrymore looks at me like that, I run away.”

  “But not fast enough to avoid being caught,” said Josephine. “I know how that running-away thing works.”

  “Nothing like a chase to get the blood flowing,” agreed Aurelia. “It’s another form of teasing. Like this.” She slid a page across the table to Gwen.

  Gwen flushed as she regarded it. The woman in the drawing was tied to a bed while her partner caressed her curves with a garishly colored rose.

  “How…interesting,” she offered, too ashamed to admit that she’d been tied to a bed in that same way. She turned it over, only to be confronted with another drawing that reminded her of Arlington. It was the expression, the intent authority on the man’s face as he fondled his lover’s nipples. She realized, on further inspection, that the woman had whip marks on her breasts.

  “Oh, my,” Minette said, studying another drawing. “Does Townsend do such things to you, Aurelia?” She turned it sideways with a goggle-eyed expression. The pictured couple did have a lot going on, with bondage, avid sex, and a line of waiting footmen with cocks jutting from their breeches.

  Aurelia took it from her and nodded. “Of course. We do this every week.”

  All of them erupted in laughter. Even Gwen couldn’t help but smile. For sex to be funny… But in a way it was funny. It was funny and confusing, and enjoyable, and terrifying. Gwen’s gaze fell on a drawing of a naked woman tied to a pole, being whipped by her stern-faced captor. She sucked in a breath.

  “These materials are quite explicit, aren’t they?” she said, to cover her distress.

  Aurelia gave her an apologetic look. “My husband amassed this collection in his younger days. It is a bit shocking, isn’t it? But you needn’t do the things in these pictures. You need only browse over them to feel inspired, and gain new ideas. One of the most lovely things about marriage is the pleasure you can give one another in private moments. Perhaps you’d like us to help you think of things to do with Arlington to increase your marital happiness. Improve your ‘connection,’ as you say. If you have any questions, the lot of us have been married awhile.”

  “Yes, to utter perverts,” said Josephine.

  “And we would be happy to be very open about anything to do with marital intimacy,” Minette assured her. “You needn’t be embarrassed at all.”

  “Goodness,” said Gwen. “How very kind of you. But...” She leafed through a few more of the pages, only to be polite. “But this is not our problem. Our intimate life is...in good order.”

  Josephine looked at the other two and shrugged. “Well, it is Arlington. One imagines he would ask for what he wanted.” She turned to Gwen with an expression of concern. “Does he ask you for all sorts of troubling things?”

  “Josie,” Aurelia chided. “That’s private.”

  “Don’t pretend you’re not curious,” Josephine said back to her. “Tell the truth, Gwen, he’s awfully commanding, isn’t he? I always imagined he’d be a very demon in bed.”

  Minette giggled behind her hand. Aurelia tried to look outraged, but ended up looking curious too. “Is that the problem, Gwen?” she asked. “Is Arlington...too much?”

  Gwen rubbed her temple and took another sip of tea. “Sometimes he seems too much,” she admitted. “But I...”

  She looked at the three of them. They had been so forthcoming, even bringing Lord Townsend’s naughty books for her to look over. She decided to be forthcoming also. “He can be a demon, yes,” she said, using Josephine’s word. “But I like it. I enjoy it. That part of our marriage is all right. Maybe too good.”

  “How can it be too good?” asked Minette. “If you enjoy one another, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Goodness, when Barrymore gets going sometimes, he rather shocks me, but I’m the first to admit I enjoy it all the same.”

  The other ladies nodded in unison. “If you and Arlington are well matched in that way,” said Josephine, “it bodes well for your marriage all around.”

  “I don’t know,” said Gwen. “I’m afraid it just reinforces his feelings that I am not a proper lady. That I’m not some duke or earl’s daughter, with courtly manners and an impressive pedigree. I came to him a plain miss, reared in the country. My father isn’t a wealthy man. He only earned his barony from being in the war. I’m afraid that—” Tears welled in her eyes again. “Oh, the duke disdains me so. I’m not even sure he means to do it, but he does. I’m tired of feeling that I don’t make him a worthy partner.”

  Aurelia reached to squeeze her hand. “Oh, Gwen, you mustn’t think that.”

  “Everyone thinks it. Not just him. There h
as been much gossip about our uneven match.”

  “This for gossip,” said Josephine, snapping her fingers. “And Arlington has never seemed a man to stand on circumstance and titles. I’m a baron’s daughter too, you know, and he’s never thought the lesser of me.”

  Because you are not married to him, Gwen thought. Nor are you Welsh, or common-born. “It’s not even a matter of social inequality, or gossip,” she said aloud. “It’s that I always dreamed of marrying a man who loved me. I know that sounds silly.”

  “It doesn’t sound silly,” said Minette. “We all dream of a loving marriage. I don’t know a woman in the world who doesn’t. But it doesn’t always happen right away, especially when it comes to arranged marriages. Sometimes love takes time. Please, Gwen, don’t give up on Arlington yet. He’s a wonderful, caring person. I pray for your happiness every day. We all do. We’ve all become something like family, and families help one another.”

  “Yes,” said Aurelia. “You must give your marriage more time, and as for the gossip, our holiday gathering will put those wagging tongues to rest. You and Arlington can welcome everyone to your home, and they’ll see how perfect you are together.”

  “I don’t know about having a big party,” said Gwen. “If I cock it up, like I did the royal audience—”

  “You won’t cock anything up, not with us to help you,” said Josephine. “Minette can do the guest list and Aurelia will do the planning, and I’ll handle the music and decorations. All you have to do is spend time with Arlington, and let love develop. He cares for you, Gwen. Minette was right when she said he’s changed. I think marriage shall suit him nicely, once the two of you have got things in hand.”

  “And then there shall be babies,” said Aurelia, “and laughter and love, and all the things you’ve always wished for.”