by Robyn Carr
They made her ready for her husband, pulling off the elaborate gown and dressing her in a sheer and seductive cover of light pastels. Her hair was brushed, and when they came at her again with fragrances she shooed them away emphatically. She couldn’t be sure if it was the consumption of too much wine or nervous anticipation of the event soon to come, but she was nauseated and the perfumes were an unearthly thought just then.
She had a brief look at herself in the mirror and was shocked to see that she was, for all practical purposes, naked. She had never been so naked. The women didn’t leave her until her husband arrived, and then there was a great deal of snickering and giggling. Chelynne was mortified. She could be grateful for one thing. Chad had defied custom to the extent of demanding they not be publicly bedded. He came to her alone.
She was sitting in the bed, the covers drawn to her lap and her hair spread across the pillow. He recoiled slightly at the pomp involved in even going to bed. He approached the bed and she flushed so red he was concerned for a moment she might faint.
“Are you afraid?”
“No, my lord,” she replied, but her voice was just a quivering spasm.
“Take heart, Chelynne. I’m not going to ravish you. Would you like some wine?” She blanched at the thought. Her stomach was churning now. She shook her head vigorously and pursed her lips. He chuckled a little. “Well, do you mind if I have a brandy?” Again she shook her head, unable to speak to him.
He took off his coat and threw it across a chair. After pouring a drink he looked at her again. “Relax,” he ordered impatiently. Unable to bear the sight of her sitting there stiff as stone as if waiting for her death, he went to sit before the hearth and enjoy his drink.
The thought sat ill with him, that she would be prepared like this. He pitied her circumstance. Better he should woo her in a country field than that there should be this much anxiety all around her. He damned the old crones who had prepared her; no doubt they emphasized the pain and humiliation of the consummation. He looked over his shoulder in her direction. The curtains were drawn around the bed but for the side he would enter. He could only see her form, devoid of detail, sitting still as stone just as he had left her. She must be terrified.
Then the thought of her alluring little body came to mind and he hoped he would not do her too much injury in his haste. He had been a long time without a woman and his need was growing strong within him. He forced himself to wait and then finally, sensing that enough time had passed to give her some ease, he began to undress.
He cast furtive glances in her direction and still she sat, just as before, awaiting her fate. With a sigh of exasperation he pulled off his breeches and blew out all but one candle. He climbed into the bed beside her and moved near. He slid one arm under her and she gave a sleepy sigh and moved a little closer. His face came up over hers to look into her eyes and he almost laughed out loud. She was sound asleep. Too much wine for his little bride.
FIVE
There was a soft light aglow in the large bedchamber when Chad first came awake. The day was already warm and he noticed that he and his young bride had recklessly thrown off their covers in their sleep to keep cool. Chelynne’s lovely young body lay bare to his gaze now, covered only with the thin wisp of her nightdress. He studied her now with naked adoration.
She was a woman barely blooming. Her skin was soft and pale, the pink of her nipples faint and blushing. Her hair wove a seductive web over the satin pillow on which her head lay. There was a pure and simple beauty about a virgin lass that brought him closer to worship than lust.
He remembered when his wife was like this, so chaste and untouched. He had had less patience then and at her merest sigh that she would yield, he had forged ahead and robbed her of her maidenhood, putting his mark on her. It was the sweetest moment, yet once it passed he watched her bloom ever the more as she came alive with his love.
He recognized the emotion with such an impact it nearly shook him. The strange feeling he had now was much like what he had had for Anne. In his callow youth he had thought it to be simple desire, but in the years since, he had tasted much desire and fulfillment there, in that simple and uncomplicated joining of two bodies. Once desire was sated, the feeling passed, but with love there was everlasting thirst. One taste of physical possession would not quiet the wanting but tempt him to more.
That is a man’s curse, he told himself sharply. To find that special thing, live for it, love it, have it change the course of your whole life, and then lose it. It was worse than a curse, it was a living hell. Once gone, it could never be replaced. If a man could not be stronger than the emotional desires that moved him, he would never survive his life with his sanity. Chad was determined. He would never depend on anyone again, especially not a woman.
But his hand moved over her with a will of its own. He touched the young breasts and her eyes lazily opened. She blinked away the sleep and smiled at him. There was no look of question in her eyes, no dismay at the way he fondled her. She seemed secure and at ease.
He smiled. “You’ve slept away the wedding night, my love,” he whispered.
She stretched lazily, but with feline grace. The sight was much appreciated. She was rubbing her eyes when suddenly they flew open and she looked at him in awe. “Have I...was I...goodness! Did I miss it entirely?”
He laughed heartily, drawing her near. “Would I have taken you in your slumber and never even stirred you into wakefulness? It’s not so dull as that! Nay, love, you’ve missed nothing. I’m not so inadequate that you could sleep through my lovemaking!”
She flushed scarlet and closed her eyes. “You must be entirely disappointed in me.”
“There’s time enough, Chelynne. Sometimes, I’ve heard, it’s a hateful thing for a woman. Especially one so young.”
“It wouldn’t be a hateful thing, my lord. I’m not afraid.”
“My lord...my lord, Chelynne! We’re in bed, naked! I have a name!”
She stared directly into his eyes, her cheeks growing pink, pinker, and deepening into a flush that was so incredibly red that she burned with it. She blinked her eyes closed hard. “Chelynne,” he urged. “What is it?”
She covered her burning face with her hands, shaking her head, unable to speak. He pulled her hands away but she wouldn’t open her eyes. “Come, sweet,” he said gently. “Tell me what’s wrong.” Still she could neither speak nor look at him. Her face flamed. “Are you embarrassed? Do you want me to fetch your gown?”
She shook her head negatively; that was the least of her worries now. She was so afraid she would faint or be sick and there was no graceful way out of this now. “Please,” she murmured. “It’s yourself.”
“Well, you’re going to have to get used to the sight of me,” he chuckled.
“Oh, I can’t,” she wailed miserably. “Not in the light!”
Chad laughed and pulled her near again. She could feel the strong-muscled legs against hers but thankfully she was so close she didn’t have to look down at him. She opened her eyes and looked into his. One long arm reached down and pulled the coverlet over them both. “Is that better?” he asked, the chuckle in his voice.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“I can hardly believe you’re real, love.”
“It’s just that...well, I hardly know you at all and here we are...so close...” Her voice was nervous, some of the pink returning to her cheeks.
“It’s not as if there isn’t time to get to know one another, Chelynne. But I think perhaps we should start with breakfast. I don’t think you’re ready for anything more intimate than that.”
“You might be right, my...er, Chad.”
He laughed with amusement and rolled over to fling his long legs over the bed. He threw a look over his shoulder and saw that her eyelids were clamped tightly shut. He dressed swiftly and when his breeches were donned he turned to her. “You can open your eyes now.”
She saw him then partially clothed and the relief was obvious
on her features. Chad had a very difficult time not melting into laughter at her predicament. It was unreal. He brought her wrapper to the bed and gave it to her.
“I suppose I should be dressed,” she muttered, starting to rise. “There are so many guests...”
“No, love. Much would be thought amiss if we were seen among our guests today. You will have to be content with this garment if only for the sake of appearance. They won’t force our company.”
“I suppose you’re right,” she agreed.
“Do this,” he explained. “Call your women to help you freshen yourself and the room and have our breakfast brought. I will see my father about some business and join you shortly.”
“Very well,” she consented. He held her wrapper for her so she could slip into it. When she was pulling the ties she turned her fresh little face to his with deep earnest showing in her eyes. “I am most grateful that you know how to go about getting married,” she sighed.
Chad laughed again, gaining more entertainment from this little sprite than he had ever hoped to. Even though he felt more like a nurse than a groom, the change was delightful. “You’ll soon learn, Chelynne. Never fear.”
He placed a light kiss on her brow and left her to seek out his father’s rooms. It was a fair distance to the earl, but he did not notice it this morn. He was most anxious to have everything settled and over, anxious to give a little time to a young bride since the thought of marriage was no longer so appalling.
All the bedchambers he passed on his way had the doors tightly closed. The celebrating had gone far into the night and all guests would be taking advantage of their beds for many hours to come. His father, however, had seldom enjoyed a night’s sleep since his days of ill health, and Chad had no fear of disturbing him.
He knocked and was admitted by his father’s manservant, Sebastian, to find the earl up and dressed and seated before his own breakfast. “About so early,” the earl scoffed. “What of your wife? Is she still abed?”
“No, Father. She calls for our breakfast while I’ve come to speak to you.” Chad smiled, allowing his father that amount of comfort, and accepted the offered dish of tea.
“I think you know why I’ve come. It’s about the paper you hold, and now the bargain’s met, I would see no more delay to this matter. I would gladly count it done.”
“The paper,” he sighed. “Even now it is so important to you? You couldn’t even relax the morning without it?”
“Never question the importance to me, my lord,” Chad advised, adding some sternness to his voice. “It has been and always will be my first concern to see to the welfare of my son. I’ll not loll abed and play the lusty groom while his future is in jeopardy.”
“But tell me true, son. Are you totally displeased with the bargain? Can you not see a good side to it?”
“I yield you that, Father. The lady Chelynne seems to be as kind as she is fair, yet I don’t love her well. That takes time.”
“Ah, but time is what you have so much of! So much time! How I envy you your youth, your young wife! A trip, perhaps. An opportunity to have some enjoyable seclusion with Chelynne...”
“My lord, as you say there is much time ahead, but no longer do I coddle your whim without the paper you hold from me.” Chad’s voice had risen slightly and the earl felt his impatience.
“I do not have it, nor have I ever. I located it and that is all. It is still in the rectory of the small church in Browne where you and Anne were wed.”
“Then it was all a lie?” Chad scowled.
“I did breach the truth to see you home and wed, but never did I touch and thus defile church records. I only asked for confirmation from the priest. Had you gone and investigated one year ago you would have found there was no threat to your son. Mayhaps you would have refused to placate me. I took that chance, but I would sink no further, certainly not to stealing from a lowly parish to see my own ends met.”
“And how do I know you tell the truth now?”
“I expect you’ll go at once and see. There’s hunting near there, a fine inn and horseracing. Why not take the lady Chelynne and rest for a time? You could use the trip as an excuse to relax and enjoy your wife...”
Chad’s face darkened, anger glowering in those gray eyes that bespoke fury so intense the earl’s speech dwindled off. “You have used me badly, my lord. I wonder what I have done in my lifetime to warrant such deceit from my own father.”
“Our friendship has weathered many a storm, son. I know the ground on which I tread is thin and worn. I did this because I believed my meager apology would gain me nothing. I thought of your future, your happiness with a fine woman like Chelynne, and our family reunited.”
“You have so little faith in my charity that you thought to lie would be better? To lie and hold my son’s future around my neck like a noose? Do you find me totally incapable of seeing to my own future and selecting my own wife? My God, Father, why?”
“Chadwick! I thought not to anger you with this confession, but relieve you! Go, see the record is intact, and bring your son home. Enjoy your life again. I thought you might understand. I am a father, too. A father seeing to his son’s best interests. It was only good intentions that urged me on. No other fault was mine!”
Chad was silent. When he spoke it was slowly, carefully. “No, my lord. This all is for your faults, your greed. You would take possession of my very soul, living your entire life through me. You would select the bride, breed us like common stock, and hold our very life’s breath from us when we would balk from your desires. I am disgusted.”
“Son, I swear, I used my knowledge as a tool to initiate a truce between us, that is all. I sought out Chelynne with only one thought, to see you settled and happy with a woman who would do you honor.”
“A truce would have been a simple matter. It would have been afforded at your meagerest request. This time you have gone too far.”
Chad rose to leave and turned when he reached the door. “I go to Browne, but I go alone. The record will be moved, so you need search for it no more. I bid you see to the maiden you’ve brought to this house. The rest of your eager ambitions for truces and happinesses will be discussed at another time.”
“Chad,” the earl pleaded. “Chelynne is innocent of this. Do not hurt her, I beg you.”
“Innocent? It seems so, but I have been much fooled in my life by appearances, my lord. There was a time I thought you to be my father, wise and true. I was wrong, many times over.” He opened the door and turned once more to the old man. “I wonder...do you remember youth? Do you remember love? Do you remember being your own man, possessing your own will, or was your life planned by your elder?”
“You know I was left with this estate at a very early age. I much grieved that I was without the advice of an elder!”
“And I am much grieved that my elder never sees fit to leave me alone!”
Chad’s pace to his chamber was fast and hard, his heels hitting the floors with anger and rage. He was so intent on his wrath that he never noticed the figure quietly concealed behind the curtain in the gallery as he fled his father’s room. An eavesdropper, still completely undetected, trailed along behind Chad as he made his way to Chelynne.
Chelynne was seated at the breakfast table, her expression bright and happy, awaiting his presence before starting the meal. Stella worked at a furious pace putting Chelynne’s things in order so she could leave the room.
Chad’s anger increased as he looked on this scene. His father had trapped him. He was married now and had even come to like the situation, just as the earl would have it. With Kevin’s birthright as the pawn Chad had yielded first with his acquiescence, then with his free will and finally with open desire for his bride. He would be damned if he’d play the game any longer.
He was unsure of his plan until he noticed the two maids busily pulling the covers over the bed and fluffing the pillows with a great deal of whispering and murmuring. Chelynne seemed oblivious to their business
but Chad knew what they were about. They sensed there had been no consummation, for it was well known his wife was a virgin. He smiled to himself as he saw his way clear. No longer would he play into their hands. His father and his “innocent” bride would learn that Chad still held the highest card. He sent all the servants from the room impatiently.
Chelynne was far from sensing his mood so it was not necessary for Chad to work at concealing his feelings. She looked at him across that short distance with simple adoration, not seeking to see beneath the surface. He took up his knife and casually addressed his plate, not speaking until he had washed down the first mouthful with coffee, hot and black.
“Tell me, when your uncle broached the subject of marriage, were you pleased?”
“I was surprised,” she replied.
“You were anxious to be wed?”
“I knew that it would happen someday. I thought it a bit soon, but no matter. He felt it was time.”
“Then you were ready?”
“I thought not. I was frightened,” she said with a light laugh. “I was much afraid you would be ugly and mean.”
Chad chewed his food thoughtfully, watching her out of the corner of his eye. “But you accepted the proposition.”
“‘Twas Lord Mondeloy’s choice for me and out of my hands.” She shrugged. “I am not displeased.”
Her conversation came so easily, her mood so compliant and trusting that it softened him somewhat. Not for an instant did it change his mind, but nonetheless, the rest came a little more gently. “Shall you like being a countess?”
“I think I shall,” she returned, not greatly upset with the question.
