Dealing With Discipline (2 page)

The only place she was
consistently pleasantly hot was in his bed.  

No complaints about
that. 

But she was running him ragged outside of the
bedroom.  He had the most uncomfortable feeling that his every
word, his every action, was being observed and judged by his wife,
and mostly found wanting.  At first he'd thought that perhaps
she was still overwhelmed from her new position within the
household, especially as she had finally taken up the reigns of
responsibility that she had originally neglected before their
honeymoon.  Then he thought that perhaps the grandiosity and
pomp of her brother's wedding was stirring her envy and possibly
her resentment towards Edwin, as he knew that she had not been
entirely happy with the simple, private ceremony in which they'd
been married. 

He'd tried to be patient, although
he'd taken her over his knee when she'd outright ignored his
conversation.  While he hadn't wanted to stir her resentment,
if that was what she was feeling, that didn't mean that he would
tolerate disrespect.  Still, she hadn't seemed resentful at
all afterwards, he thought smugly.  In fact she hadn't even
tried to protest when he'd stripped the rest of her clothes off and
taken her right there, immediately afterwards.  It was amazing
the effect she had on him, whether her skin was creamy or a bright,
hot red…

"Stop that," Hugh whispered,
nudging him in the side with his elbow.

"Stop what?"

"You’re looking at my sister like
you’re about to devour her. Everyone can see you."

Edwin realized that Eleanor was staring back
at him, her eyes wide as if she was able to see exactly what he was
thinking about.  Other guests in the crowd were eyeing him as
well and he realized that his thoughts must have been practically
painted on his face.  Most of the men looked amused, most of
the women disapproving, and more than one rather
envious.

"You don't have to stay for the reception if
you'd like to take your wife home afterwards," Wesley whispered,
nudging Edwin from the other side.

"Shh," said Edwin, turning his
head to look back up to the end of the aisle after catching Lord
Harrington's eye.  Hugh and Eleanor's father managed to look
both amused and disapproving at the same time. 

A rustle went through the crowd as the doors
at the back of the sanctuary began to open, the stir of excitement
as they all turned to see the bride.

******

She was smiling so hard that her face
felt broken.  Just like her heart. 

Wife. She was a
wife.  And not to the man she loved.  Hungrily she stared
across the room at him, only to feel a stab of guilt like
lightening through her chest.  Quickly she turned back to look
at her husband, catching her mother’s eye on the way.  She was
Viscountess Petersham and she had to remember that. The hard look
that her mother gave her only heightened the anxious butterflies in
her stomach.

Not butterflies. Pigeons.
Nasty dirty pigeons pecking and scratching and clawing at the
inside of her belly.

She deserved to be pecked
from the inside out.  Looking up at her husband she was
consumed with guilt.  Hugh was a perfectly wonderful man;
incredibly handsome, unfailingly kind, generous, and with a sunny
disposition (her mother would have added titled and wealthy to the
list of desirable traits).   He had a bit of a rakish
reputation, but he also had a reputation for being discreet and
there had been no rumor of any woman within the past year.
 Certainly not since he'd begun courting her. London gossip
was a nasty business and she knew that someone would have told her
if there had been the slightest hint of impropriety on her groom’s
part. Despite the fact that everyone knew this was an arranged
match. 

Any other woman would have
thought herself to be marvelously lucky in Irene's position.
 Not only had she found a man to marry her, despite her
family's financial situation and her measly dowry of land (although
the location of that land was exactly why Hugh was marrying her),
but he was young and handsome. Extremely handsome.  In fact,
going by the gossip, he was one of the most desirable of the
unmarried men available.

But she hadn't grown up with him, he
hadn't kissed her skinned knee or taught her to dance or ride.
 He hadn't brought her violets on her sixteenth birthday.
 He hadn't been her first kiss.  

Unfortunately she'd given her heart
away long before she'd ever met him. 

Perhaps her guilt was
misplaced.  Her mother had reassured her over and over again
that among the
ton
 it was understood that husbands and wives had
certain... arrangements.  Certainly she'd seen the evidence of
that since she'd come to London.  There were a few love
matches however; in fact she was fairly certain that Hugh's sister
had one.  

How she envied Eleanor
that.  There was no mistaking the affection in Lord Hyde's
eyes when he looked at his wife, or the way Eleanor practically
glowed when in his presence.  Irene didn't feel glow-y at all.
She felt rather wilt-y.  And like a big fat liar.
 Because hadn't she just pledged to love, honor and obey? Yet
she did not love her husband.  She had gone into the marriage
already planning to be unfaithful as soon as she had provided him
with his heir... but theirs was an arranged marriage and that was
how such things were done, were they not? She’s seen so many other
marriages like that since arriving in London and her mother
certainly espoused the notion, although Irene didn’t like to think
about what that might mean about her parents’ marriage.

She did not expect
fidelity from him, had not even before her mother had convinced her
that she should acquiesce to the arrangement, and so he should not
expect it from her.  At least, according to her mother’s
explanations. Yet it didn’t sit right with her at all. Shouldn’t
she be expected to cleave to her vows?

"Are you alright
sweetheart?" Hugh's voice skated across her nerves, his warm breath
tingling against her ear. His breath smelled of mint and Irene
found herself instinctively turning towards him, feeling a strange
urge to be closer.  There was no denying that Hugh was a very
attractive man, even to her. "You look pale."

"I'm fine," she said,
giving him her best social smile.  The concern in his bright
blue eyes only made her feel even worse.  Sometimes she
wondered if he had feelings for her beyond affection, although her
mother had shaken her head over and over during the courtship and
said Irene was reading far too much into Hugh's solicitousness and
gifts.  "Just tired."

Something foreign and
hungry looking glittered in Hugh's eyes for a moment, freezing her
breathless to be on the end of such a look. She’d never had a man
look at her quite like that, but it was becoming a regular
occurrence with him.  What did it mean?

"We'll be on our way soon
enough," he said, taking her hand in his and giving it a kiss.
 The expression on his face made her think of a child being
presented with a plate of sweets... and she was the plate. There
seemed to be something more beneath his words than just a
reassurance that soon they would be done doing the pretty, but she
didn't understand what.

The warmth of his hand
wrapped around her much smaller one seemed to sear her through the
thin fabric of her kid gloves, the press of his lips hotter than
ever and she felt a strange tingle sweep through her body as his
eyes drifted down to the small amount of bosom that was exposed by
her wedding gown.  Edged with lace and gold threads, the
bodice of her white gown hugged her body tightly, much more tightly
than she'd realized before this moment when she felt like she might
suddenly run out of breath.

"Now, now, time enough for
that after your guests have left," Hugh's mother said chidingly as
she stepped to Irene's side, beaming at her new daughter-in-law.
 Irene had never been more grateful for an interruption; she
didn't understand what had just happened between her and her new
husband but she had found it incredibly unnerving. Air suddenly
filled her lungs again as the intense expression on Hugh’s face
slipped behind his usual social mask of complacency. "Come Irene, I
want to introduce you to my cousin."

Obediently Irene allowed
Hugh's mother to lead her away, sparing him a small glance over her
shoulder, looking both intrigued and hesitant. He grinned at her
before turning and striding to the nearest group of well-wishers,
immersing himself back into his social duties.

******

"Nice wedding brunch," said
Wesley.  He and Hugh had scouted out an alcove from which they
could watch the activities without having to engage in them.
 
Hugh hated doing the pretty and
currently his mother was involved in showing off her new
daughter-in-law so she wasn’t there to badger him into it. 
"Very entertaining."  

They were watching Eleanor lead Edwin
on a merry chase around the room.  For whatever reason she
seemed quite determined not to spend very much time by his side,
and he was just as determined to have her there.
 Unfortunately for him she was quite adept at starting just
the right conversation that would mean the person she was talking
to would want to engage Edwin in it, allowing her to slip away and
join another group of guests.  It would take him several
minutes to untangle himself without giving offense, and then he'd
be off after her again, his face becoming grimmer and harder with
every stride he took.

Hugh and Wesley found it
hilarious. 

"Son!" 

They turned to see Baron
Standish approaching, a wide-grin on his face.  Hugh rather
liked the Baron; he was a family man, a good country man, who'd
done the best he could for his family and Hugh respected that.
Unfortunately the Baron's father had not been so responsible and by
the time the title and lands had come to Irene's father they'd also
come riddled with debt and neglect.  The man had recouped such
losses as well as he could, but a year of flooding followed by a
disease running rampant through his sheep flock had set him back
grossly.  Hugh's desire to marry Irene had come at a crucial
moment for the family and they all knew it.  Although the
Baroness seemed to resent the gratitude she had to feel towards
Hugh, the Baron treated him as another son. Both being country men
at heart they'd found they had quite a bit in common and had
already talked about cross-breeding some of their dogs.

Standish was not a very tall man,
almost an entire head shorter than Wesley and Hugh - who were
admittedly blessed with long, lean bodies - but he was in very good
shape since he spent most of his time outdoors, often on horseback.
 He was still a fine figure of a man, other than the loss of
most of his hair.  What was left ringed the crown of his head;
despite the hints of gold and red it was obvious that Irene's
coloring came from her mother.  Fortunately, in Hugh's
opinion, her personality had much more of her father in
it.

"I hope you don't mind me
calling you that," the older man chuckled. "I can't tell you what a
relief, and a pleasure, it is to welcome you to the family." That
honest forthrightness was one of the things that Hugh liked best
about the man; many amongst the
ton
would never had admitted to their financial
straits, much less expressed gratitude in public for it. Wesley
knew all the particulars anyway, being such a close friend of
Hugh’s, but many men would have too much pride to say such a thing
at all.

"A pleasure for myself as
well," said Hugh, grinning back at him. "And I don't mind at all.
Have you met the Earl of Spencer here?" He gestured at
Wesley.

"No, I hadn't," said the
Baron, giving Wesley a little bow. "Spencer, my condolences on your
father, I was sorry to read of his passing."

"Thank you," said Wesley,
bowing back.  "It was a hard time for my family." He didn’t
mention that he and his father had been estranged at the time or
that the hardship, in Wesley’s opinion, was not over the loss but
over the responsibilities that came with assuming the
title.

"You were in India, at the time, were
you not?"

"I was," said Wesley,
seeming surprised that the Baron knew, considering that the
families were not previously acquainted. 

Standish smiled
disarmingly. "You came up fairly often in conversation with Hugh
here," he said, by way of explanation.  "Did you enjoy your
travels? I always wanted to see more of the world, but with one
thing and another... not that Caroline was ever interested in going
farther than London."  He chuckled indulgently.

Personally Hugh didn't see how the
amiable and personable Standish could bear to spend any time with
his social climbing, judgmental and icy wife, but to each his own.
 On the outside Irene might seem all closed up like her
mother, especially when she was first introduced to someone, but
she warmed up quite quickly and he was more than a little aware of
the hot passion that was buried just beneath the surface.
 Just a touch was enough to set her simmering, although he was
quite sure that she didn't entirely understand her responses.
 He hoped that with a little coaxing her passion would flare
as brightly as her vibrant hair.