by Fiona Miers
“I can be very persuasive, ma’am.” Rupert said quietly, lacing his voice with honey and giving her a grin which, she was sure, had won many a woman before her.
Lizzie snorted, glaring up at the man she had previously considered as a prospective husband and now viewed as a big oaf.
“You can be as persuasive as you like, sir, but I am not in the least interested in a dalliance.”
“I can assure you, I will make it a pleasurable interlude.” Rupert drawled, drawing Lizzie away from the main body of dancers and pitching his voice low.
Again, he flashed that dazzling smile and Lizzie frowned. Rupert Willoughby hadn’t been denied before, that was plain to see. She felt his thumb gently stroking her hand and that strange flutter, moving low in her belly, again. It was time to nip this in the bud.
“I want a husband, sir and children, not an interlude, however pleasurable. Can you give me what I want?” Lizzie asked him, batting her eyelashes and injecting honey into her tone. She knew the last thing this charming rakehell of a gentleman would want was to be shackled forever to one woman. The best way of making him stay away from her was to be honest about what she wanted from this year’s London season.
Rupert’s eyes grew wide and as they continued their dance, he tripped and stumbled a little. Lizzie gripped his hand and waited for him to regain his composure.
“Uh, no.” Rupert answered, his calm facade wavering completely now.
Lizzie watched the play of strange emotions run across Rupert’s face and wanted to smooth his furrowed brow with her fingers. This thought was shocking enough to pull her out of her daze and she snapped off the first thing that came into her mind.
“Then, you will never get me into your bed. I suggest that you take home the woman in green who has been eyeing you for the past hour and leave me alone.”
Damn! She hadn’t meant to be so obvious in her jealousy. She dropped her hands from Rupert’s and stormed away.
****
Rupert watched her go, feeling something akin to complete shock. He had never been denied before and had never had to fight for something he wanted, as friends of his had had to do. He had ladies (widows and married women only of course, he would never corrupt a virgin), clamouring for his company in bed. He had never even had to try too hard before. Rupert wanted them and they gave him everything they had. It had always very simple.
Rupert discreetly looked in the direction Lizzie had indicated. There was indeed a beautiful woman in a green gown giving him looks that could only be described as desirous. That was the norm.
He would get an introduction to her, take her for a walk or a dance and within a few moments she would be in a carriage on her way home to meet him. If, of course, she hadn’t decided that the study would be easier.
He took another look.
The woman in green definitely seemed like a “can’t wait until we get home, let’s go to the study” type lady. Yet, Rupert felt no urge to go up and speak to her, no urge to tup her, nothing. It was like his libido had left when the woman with whom he had been dancing did. Most unusual.
He turned around and noticed Mrs Elizabeth Symmons chatting again with Charlotte. Rupert saw Charlotte throw back her head and even heard her laugh from where he was standing. He couldn’t stop the flush that spread across his cheeks. Turning on his heel, he headed straight to the card room to drown his disappointment in a nice brandy.
Chapter 2.
Lizzie watched Rupert walk towards the card room and couldn’t suppress her triumphant grin. Charlotte, Countess of Tother, had laughed loud enough to be heard clear across the ballroom. That would teach him not to be such a cad. Despicable!
“I still can’t believe he had the gall to proposition me so.” Lizzie exclaimed to her friend, huffing in exasperation. Why would he have propositioned her? Did she appear to be a lady who would be easily enticed by a handsome face?
Charlotte giggled again, a milder version of her previous laughter, but still, an obvious show of her amusement.
“What I can’t believe is that someone has turned him down. That would have to be a first for Rupert.” Charlotte chuckled again, loudly, fluttering her fan to try and cover some of the noise.
“What do you mean? Why would a woman indulge in that sort of activity outside of marriage? It’s not as though it’s even pleasant.” Lizzie shook her head.
She looked up and noticed Charlotte blushing crimson. The unshakeable Countess never blushed, so Lizzie was quite certain she must have said something terribly wrong and obviously inappropriate. Oh, she could be so common sometimes!
“Oh, dearest Lady Charlotte, please forgive me for saying such a thing in your company. You are obviously not accustomed to such common expression.” Lizzie apologized profusely. Having spent a year as an army wife, such speech was now commonplace to her. How could she have forgotten where and with whom she was?
The Countess burst out laughing afresh, even louder than she had when Lizzie had told her what Rupert had wanted from her. Now it was Lizzie’s turn to blush in embarrassment and confusion. Charlotte suddenly seemed to notice the interested looks they were receiving, thanks to her rather unladylike outbursts.
“Shall we stroll along the patio?” Charlotte said invitingly, linking her arm with the other woman’s and turning them both towards the doors before Lizzie could even reply.
“Of course,” Lizzie murmured, happy to be getting an opportunity to go out into the fresh air. She had forgotten just how stuffy London ballrooms could be. She missed the countryside a lot.
As they stepped onto the balcony, Charlotte led Lizzie to an unoccupied corner and turned her around so they were face to face.
“I’m sorry Lizzie, I shouldn’t have laughed. You didn’t shock me at all with your words,” Charlotte explained, whispering in a conspiratorial sort of way.
“Really? Then why did you blush so brightly?” Lizzie asked, confused now.
Charlotte flushed rather prettily again and Lizzie wanted to bite her tongue. Why was she saying everything that came into her head? When would she learn to control her words?
“Because you said that there was no pleasure in the bedchamber.” Charlotte explained, with a rather guilty smile.
Lizzie eyed her friend critically. Surely Charlotte wasn’t suggesting what Lizzie thought she was? Surely not!
“Well, there wasn’t for me… Not that it was unpleasant all of the time,” she hastened to go on, feeling that she was being disrespectful towards her late husband with her words. He had tried to be gentle with her and had never deliberately hurt her, unlike some of the husbands in the stories she had heard. The marriage bed had never been something to which she’d looked forward, but, in fairness, she’d never dreaded it either.
Charlotte seemed to be battling with what to say next. She wasn’t speaking and yet her eyes were telling Lizzie just how much she disagreed with Lizzie’s opinion on matters of the bedchamber.
“You enjoy it?” Lizzie squeaked, not sure if she could believe what she was reading in Charlotte’s face. How was it possible?
“Yes, I do.” Charlotte admitted, obviously battling another urge to laugh. The corners of her mouth kept lifting up, as though they had a mind of their own.
“Oh,” Lizzie sighed. She had heard that some women did. Thinking back, there had been moments with her husband that had been pleasant. He had kissed her occasionally or touched her in ways that had given her pleasure. It was just the bedding that had been uncomfortable. Perhaps there were men who could make that part pleasurable too? It seemed unlikely, but she supposed it was possible.
“Really?” Lizzie asked again, her eyes opening wide. She searched Charlotte’s face for any sign that she wasn’t being serious.
This time Charlotte lost the control over her laughter and giggled openly.
“Archie is a little different from most men and my marriage is a love match. I think that helps.” Charlotte explained, with a smile that showed how much she was hiding
in that statement.
Lizzie pondered this. Her marriage had been a love match too. Well, perhaps not exactly, but it hadn’t been about dowries and connections. Perhaps if there was more affection in her next marriage, there would be more pleasure?
Either way, she wasn’t risking becoming pregnant or ruining her reputation for the sake of finding out from the Honourable Rupert Willoughby.
“Well, perhaps my next husband will make it more pleasurable. But all I really want is a home and children,” Lizzie announced, unfazed by this turn of events.
In her past experience, her husband would come to her bed three or four times a month, and leave after about ten minutes. It would be a small price to pay for a child if she managed to conceive in her next marriage.
Charlotte simply nodded, but Lizzie could tell she wanted to say more.
“Well, if you ever find that you need to talk to someone about it, let me know,” she offered, with a kind smile.
Lizzie thought that very unlikely, but thanked her all the same.
She was twenty-five years old and had been born late in life to her parents, who had loved each other very much. Both parents were both born of good families. Her father was the son of an earl and her mother was the daughter of the younger brother of a duke. Her father had been an academic and her mother, after marriage, had discovered that she had a talent for languages.
Lizzie had never wanted for anything. She had made a good match at twenty-three with the second son of a Viscount who had a commission in the army. He had been a kind husband, but he drank a little too often and had sometimes gambled too much. Lizzie had some income from her parents and she had often had to resort to using her own money to pay for essentials when her husband had been too frivolous. Lizzie didn’t mind too much about that. She didn’t need fancy gowns and trips away. But after less than twelve months of marriage, her husband had died from a fever. Lizzie had been left a childless widow at the age of twenty-four.
Now, she was back in London. She had been given a small townhouse by her mother, who believed that a lady should always be independent, if possible. Lizzie also had a small income from both her husband’s family as well as her own. She had no need to marry a man with money, yet she didn’t want a fortune hunter who would marry her for her money either. Lizzie hadn’t told anyone of her situation and she hoped it wouldn’t become necessary to do so. She wanted a good husband who wanted to look after her, not one who she would have to look after instead.
Lizzie knew exactly what she wanted in a husband. She wanted a man who preferred the country to town and didn’t gamble or drink to excess. A man who wanted children and didn’t wish to have them banished to the nursery the moment they were born. She wanted a large family after growing up as an only child and she wanted a father for her children such as she had once had. A man who was interested in her and in their children the way her father had been interested in her and in her mother.
Thanks to her loving and attentive parents, Lizzie had been brought up in good society and had never been submitted to the neglect and abuse that many other children had been. She also wanted a man who would be faithful, however unusual that seemed to be in a ton marriage. She was sure she would manage to find such a marriage if she tried.
Being a widow meant that she had less rules to contend with than the virgins flitting around the ballrooms did. That didn’t mean in any way that she wanted to sample the men before choosing one, but it just meant that she could go for walks and have private talks without being forced to marry, as she would have been had she been an unmarried lady.
And it had been true what she had told Charlotte. Lizzie didn’t enjoy the bedding part of marriage, but she understood that it was necessary for procreation. And it wasn’t horrible, just a little uncomfortable. Part of her had enjoyed the comfort and pleasure her husband had taken in her body. Regardless, no matter how she felt about it, she would marry again. Lizzie wanted nothing except to have a comfortable life with a husband and children by her side. No rake, no matter how handsome, was going to tempt her to change her mind.
Chapter 3
Rupert visited Archie and Charlotte, the Earl and Countess of Tother, the next day. As Archie was with his solicitor, so the butler informed, Rupert was shown into the sitting room where Charlotte sat embroidering as he entered. She placed her needlework aside as soon as she saw him and smiled in welcome from her comfortable place on the chaise.
Rupert had often found it amusing to tease Charlotte, once she was married to his friend. She knew him well enough to know that he mostly bedded bored, married ladies. So he played on that with her, touching her arm or shoulder, just to see what she would do. He would never betray Archie in such a way of course, but Rupert still liked to tease. Charlotte always blushed furiously and swatted him away. She never looked scared or he wouldn’t have continued, she just looked uninterested in what he was suggesting.
He admired her loyalty.
However, Charlotte was pregnant again and that meant no teasing. Rupert had never have bedded a woman who was enceinte and never intended to do so. Once his future wife had conceived, he could see himself staying out of her chamber for the foreseeable future. There were always plenty of available women for him. He needn’t bother his wife.
Looking at the healthy glow of Charlotte’s cheeks, though, Rupert knew that Archie didn’t feel the same way.
“How does it feel to find a woman who doesn’t want you?” Charlotte asked with a cheeky grin and a hand straying to her softly rounded belly.
Rupert’s eyes locked onto her hand. He couldn’t drag his gaze away from the picture of Charlotte gently caressing herself. The thought made him blush, despite his conscious effort not to respond in any obvious way. Rupert knew he should be listening to the words Charlotte was saying, but he couldn’t ignore what she was doing.
Archie was so lucky to have such a sensual wife and yet there was a small part of Rupert that believed women in her state should be locked away until they looked normal again.
Charlotte stood up with a smug grin plastered on her face and advanced on Rupert.
“Would you like to feel the baby, Rupert?” Charlotte asked, moving closer to where he was sitting and reaching out to grab hold of one of his hands.
“No, thank you,” Rupert almost shouted in panic. He jumped up and out of his chair and moved away from her as fast as he could. He was shocked and terrified that she would suggest such a thing. A lady was meant to disguise herself when she was with child, not call attention to it. How dare she ask him to touch it?
“The baby has just started to move, it is really quite amazing,” she smiled as she backed him into a corner of the sitting room. Charlotte’s dress swished softly as she moved and Rupert realised he had never heard such a scary noise before - his heart was pounding behind his black vest. She was getting closer and he was trapped.
“No, Charlotte, please,” Rupert was all but yelling now, panic setting in as his shoulders hit a wall. How had he had backed himself into a corner?
Charlotte reached out to him and grabbed both of his hands. Her hands were soft and warm to the touch and Rupert instinctively relaxed. Her touch was oddly reassuring and Rupert forgot to fight her.
Charlotte brought Rupert’s resisting hands up and because he wouldn’t allow her to bring them closer to her belly, she brought her belly to him. It was shocking to Rupert that he almost had her belly and breasts touching his jacket, because she was only scant inches from that feat. He had never been so close to a woman he wasn’t in the act of seducing.
Rupert was trapped, by both his curiosity and by this woman whom he had known for fifteen years. It wasn’t proper, she was married to one of his friends and yet there was some sort of perverse desire to know what it felt like to hold a child still growing in its mother’s womb.
Without any further preparation his hands were on either side of her round, hard belly. Rupert sucked in a lung full of air and tried to drag his eyes away from the
incredible image of his hands cupping Charlotte’s growing babe. His hands instinctively moulded to the shape and he felt the warmth of her through her dress. There was a small flutter of movement and then a strong push against Rupert’s right hand. At that exact moment, something inside Rupert shifted irrevocably and his heart melted a little.
That strange pull that he had been feeling ever since his friends had married women they loved seemed to increase in strength. Fear made Rupert’s breath whistle through his throat. How was he going to survive such a situation?
“I see you finally got your hands on my wife,” Archie’s drawl came from the direction of the door.
Rupert pulled his hands away so quickly, he couldn’t have looked guiltier of wrong doing. He tried to take a step back and away from the beautiful woman who he had been touching and realized he was already pressed up against the wall.
“I’m sorry Archie, I didn’t mean to…” Rupert hurried to apologise, his cheeks flushing with an intense heat.
Archie put out his hand and beckoned his cheeky wife, who promptly returned to his side with a satisfied smile on her face.
“Have you been harassing my friend, Charlotte?” Archie asked his wife with a teasing grin as he wrapped an arm around her swollen waistline.
Charlotte rubbed her belly again as she leaned into his embrace.
“Not at all, my lord. I thought I would introduce Rupert to the next member of our family. After all, he would make an excellent godparent.”
Rupert exhaled sharply. Had he been kicked in the chest?
He had never been asked to be a godparent to any of his sister’s children, nor even one of his brother’s five daughters. They had always expressed their belief that he was too irresponsible. It had hurt every time they had chosen others, although he never said so.
Rupert swallowed against the rather embarrassing urge to shed tears of emotion and noticed Archie watching him with those keen hawk eyes. which never missed anything.
“You’re supposed to ask Rupert if he would like to be our next child’s godfather, not just announce your intent Charlotte.” Archie chided good naturedly, directing his wife back to a chair.
