Libertine's Wife (15 page)

He told himself they must get to know
each other, establish some common ground, before they leapt into
bed. The former beast within him argued what a better way to break
the ice between them? Still, they had much between them that was
unsaid.

Her confidence appeared shaky the
closer they got to London. He could see the trepidation in her
eyes, reminded of all that transpired before he sent her away. She
needed time to get to know him. She needed to gain confidence in
her new position as well. Her limited background was hardly
encouraging, but he saw no glaring obstacles to his wife making a
good impression throughout society. She was beautiful and poised,
enough to fool anyone she lacked training. What she needed now was
faith in him.

Passion aside, he needed to connect
with her on a level higher than his base urges if this was to work.
He’d never lived with a woman, keeping all his mistresses in their
own houses. It was practical to allow for a period of
adjustment.

And an adjustment is what it would be.
All his life he’d bemoaned the thought of being with just one
woman. Now it was only one woman who filled his thoughts, to his
disgust.

His cock tightened, as if to point out
the very obvious. He wanted her, desperately, never recalling
feeling this way for any woman before. It shocked him into acting
very unlike himself. Instead of seducing her, he reasoned he gave
her time to get used to the idea of living with him.

A smile touched his lips, recalling the
way she looked at him in the dining room. One thing was sure, his
wife was just as aware of him as he was of her. He told himself the
delay would be worth the end result.

The door creaked open suddenly. He sat
up in bed, hoping it was her. Three giggling upstairs maids
arrived, wearing saucy grins and very little else. In the past, he
might have looked forward to a rousing orgy with his chambermaids.
As Nan, Mary, and Nell stripped off their nightclothes and got into
bed with him, he couldn’t summon even the slightest bit of
anticipation.

Old habits did die hard, however. With
his face pressed into Nan’s ample bosoms, his hand working Nell
into rousing gasps, and Mary suckling him urgently with her eager
mouth, he gave himself up to their lustful
ministrations.

Garret bent over Mary from behind while
he watched the other two begin to pleasure one another and—
nothing—he cursed to realize his cock went soft on him. Mary tried
with all her might to arouse him while Nan helped. It was no use.
His all maids sighed with disappointment.

“
Milord, ye had a long
trip,” Mary commiserated, stroking his hard chest with obvious
regret as she slipped from his side.

“
Ye be tired, is all,” Nan
said and licked her lips with disappointment. “When ye rest, ye’ll
be more yourself, Milord.”

Nell said nothing, already getting out
of his bed to don her nightgown. The three of them left him then,
leaving him feeling disgusted at how the tryst ended.

Sleep was slow to come. He tossed and
turned, visions of his wife holding court in his most erotic
fantasies. All it gave him was a raging erection the maids would
have welcomed. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

His hand eased his torment
finally, to a certain degree. His imagination did the rest.
Thinking of all the sensual pleasures he wished to engage with his
wife made him find release quickly. Only then was he able to
rest.
Soon,
he
thought, eyes fluttering closed at last.

Arianne heard something that woke her.
She got up and tiptoed to the door. She opened it a crack and slid
outside into the hall. She was coming around the dark hallway when
she spied the three giggling maids leaving her husband’s
room.

She covered her mouth in shock as she
pressed against the wall, mortified to know what they’d been doing
in his room. Her eyes filled with disgust to hear them all sighing
and whispering. She felt anger course through her to think her
husband behaved so reprehensibly with her just down the hall. It
was obvious he hadn’t changed at all.

Arianne returned to her
room, disgusted to feel tears forming. She went back to her bed,
feeling burning jealousy within her. She knew these feelings were
unreasonable. Just because Garret brought her here didn’t mean
anything
.

A real marriage! Hah!
Thinking of his words at dinner, made her resolve
to think of him no more. It was obvious her husband was still the
lecherous profligate she’d always thought him. Sleep was
inevitable, but dreamless that night.

She was assisted by her new maid Ginny
the next morning. She dressed in a simple gown to go down to
breakfast. Ginny tied her hair in a loose ribbon after she
complained of a headache. Her lack of sleep the night before was
the cause. Thinking of her husband’s scandalous antics with the
maids kept her up until the wee hours.

She went to the nursery and saw that
Jaime still slept. The nurse sat with him and assured her she would
see to his breakfast when he woke. She felt a vague sense of loss
as she left his room, knowing taking care of her child’s needs
would be designated to a servant.

She took much for granted at Ravensford
Hall. None of the usual courtesies and proprieties ever needed to
be observed there. Out of her loneliness and the fact she had
nothing better to do with her time, she took care of such matters
herself.

Garret spoke of her duties commanding
her attention now. She could only imagine what they
were.

Her lips tightened again to think of
his evening the night before again, bristling to know he sought out
others. She was seething in outrage to think of how she lay in
anticipation for him to come to her while he frolicked with his
servants. She was disgusted to feel the burn of insistent
jealousy.

Arianne arrived to the dining room find
her husband eating his breakfast, dressed casually, his hair
slightly damp at his nape. He looked up and smiled, rising to seat
her. “Did you sleep well?”

No
,
she wanted to scream, and throw his revolting activities back in
his face. She smiled instead, lying through her teeth. “Yes, I
don’t think I’ve slept quite so well in some time.”

“
I trust our son is still
abed?”

“
He sleeps through
anything,” she confided with a fond smile. “When he sleeps, that
is. I’m surprised to have found him still abed this late. He
usually wakes earlier than this wreaking havoc.”

Garret grinned between bites. “I take
it once awake, he never ceases to move again the rest of the
day?”

“
Yes, our son is full of
energy and on the move. Too much I think.”

Garret nodded, his green eyes
twinkling. “I’ve instructed his nanny to take him to the park
today. I took the liberty to arrange fittings for you. During this
time of year it’s necessary if you wish to hire a competent
dressmaker. My driver will escort you there after
breakfast.”

Arianne was tongue-tied Garret made the
appointment in advance and was relieved he’d thought of everything.
She was slightly piqued to know he’d anticipated her coming with
him all along. His arrogance in that was obvious.

A feeling of jealousy suddenly spiked
once more to realize he must have purchased many wardrobes for
countless women over the years. Those thoughts were unfair, but it
troubled her to know her husband was hardly celibate during their
estrangement. The thought of him with the maids the night before,
or any other woman, hurt more than she liked to dwell on. She had
no right to such feelings, but they persisted.

“
Thank you,” she said simply
and looked down at her plate. “That was very thoughtful of
you.”

“
I have my moments, few as
they are,” he replied with a wry grin. “You will find I’m not that
hard to get along with, Arianne. Once we get to know one another,
you will see that.”

She nodded, refusing to allow her anger
and disappointment to show. “You spoke of my new duties on the way
here, my lord. When do those duties begin?” She was determined to
ignore her waspish jealousy. Her husband owed her nothing,
certainly not fidelity. He reached over and handed her the jar of
orange marmalade. She accepted it, her hand brushing his on
accident. She felt a slight current at the brief touch and seemed
to hesitate as she took the jar from him.

Garret stared at her lush, cherry lips.
He grinned maddeningly, knowing she’d be shocked should he admit
the duties he aforementioned took place within his bedchamber. “We
can begin going over your duties another time. After you settle in,
that is.”

“
I wish to start as soon as
possible. I have nothing else to do,” she insisted, a light of
determination in her eyes. “I fear I get bored quite easily with
nothing to do. Can’t we get to it right now?”

“
I too, would enjoy that
very much were you to begin those…ah… duties. Right now in fact,”
Garret allowed with a smirk.

“
I’m very accomplished, you
will find, Garret,” she informed him as she moodily buttered her
toast and spread marmalade on it, having no idea what he really
meant at all. “You will be pleased with me, I think. I mean to be
the very best at whatever my duties entail.”

“
Of that I have no doubt, my
dear,” Garret replied and decided to quit this wicked game he
played with her, his growing arousal reminding him he needed to
allow her time to get used to him.

“
I’m looking forward to
learning all I can. I can’t wait to get started.”

Garret’s eyes lingered on her snug
bodice when she returned her attention to her meal, his eyes
devouring her while she sat before him. He had to quit thinking of
those things he’d like to teach her, or he’d take her back upstairs
for certain. This wait was all new to him. The intoxication and
excitement was a heady feeling. It was torture the longer he waited
to bring her to his bed, but even that gave him a strangely
pleasurable feeling to delay it.

“
Did you hear me, Garret?”
She eyed him expectantly, pulling him out of his
thoughts.

Garret shook his head. “I apologize. An
estate matter plagues me. What did you say, Arianne?”

She smiled patiently, folding her
napkin in her lap. “I asked if we can start training me at my new
duties as soon as possible. I’m very eager to begin.”

Garret smiled indulgently. “I think we
can arrange that, my dear. I’m eager for you to begin them as
well.”

“
Good, I can assure you that
I’m up for the challenge.”

So am I
, he thought in dismay, his cock so hard he knew he dare not
get up from his chair. He saw she finished her breakfast by then.
She regarded him with a smile before she sought out his driver to
take her to the dressmaker’s shop.

Garret watched as she left the dining
room, his gaze lingering on her trim back with longing. The
anticipation was sweeter than anything he’d ever endured. If this
was going to work at all between them, he needed her absolute
trust.

He was appalled at his lack
of desire when the upstairs chambermaids waylaid him the night
before. Normally, he would have pleasured them all before they left
his bed. Last night, he could barely summon the desire, and had to
finish himself off.
Soon
, he thought.

Once he had his wife to his heart’s
content, he would be back to normal. Perhaps he was just tired from
the long journey? Even as he consoled himself for his failure the
night before, her image burned into his mind, mocking any doubt it
was her he desired.

~ ~ ~

Arianne was accompanied by Ginny to the
busy dress shop. Many well-dressed ladies eyed her speculatively as
she waited for her appointment in the luxurious sitting area. It
occurred to her all were aware of who she was. The coach outside
with its gleaming bronze crest emblazoned on the side left little
doubt she was Lady Ravensford.

She became self-conscious of their
intense scrutiny. The whispers and bonnets came together, almost
making her dash from the shop in mortification, thinking she
committed some gross faux pas she was unaware of.

Arianne became annoyed as none saw fit
to approach her. What she saw as rudeness continued for the better
part of a half-hour. A tiny Frenchwoman and her assistant took her
and Ginny into the back of the shop, relieving her of feeling like
she was inside a fishbowl.

Madame Dulaine was a vivacious woman in
her mid-forties with a shrewd, calculating eye as she sized her up.
Her snapping black eyes and austere manner was imposing as she
seated her on a divan and went over sketches already drawn up. The
woman seemed to know what she required.

Arianne was annoyed to later discover
Garret already commissioned the dresses for her before her arrival
in London. They just needed her measurements to complete the order.
A feeling of defiance filled her to know she didn’t have even some
say in even her own undergarments, coloring wildly to know he’d
selected everything himself.

She fought the rising indignation that
was swirling under her pasted smile as she thanked the woman. The
annoyance continued when she and Ginny left the shop, aware of the
many eyes at her back the whole time.