With His Ring (Brides of Bath Book 2) (14 page)

All she could see when she entered his olive
green chamber was the huge bed in the center of the room. Would she
ever lie there beside him? The very thought of it caused a liquid
rush to center low in her body. She must not think of it or rush
her fences. This would take time, and behaving the strumpet, while
tempting, was beyond her. How did strumpets behave? She would have
to ask. . .Blanks? A gentleman never spoke of such to his wife.
Maybe one of the twins could be coaxed into giving her pointers. Or
better yet, Jefferson.

She must think of something else to comment
on. Finally, she blurted out the first thing that entered her head.
"I shall very much like having my chamber close to you in a strange
new house. It will make me feel quite safe knowing you're so near
at hand."

Uncharacteristically, he did not smile. Was
he thinking about sharing the bed with her? More likely, he was
thinking of
not
sharing the bed with her. "If you ever have
nightmares, call me," he said in a reassuring voice.

"I will." She turned toward her own
chambers. "I had best clean up from the journey. I believe I'll
ring for a bath."

* * *

Dinner was a two-hour affair. Glee used the
time to get to know her husband's friends. Not that she did not
already know them through her brother. But the relationship she was
about to embark upon with them put their friendships in an
altogether different light. She started with the discovery that the
twin who sat to her immediate left was the shy one, Melvin. She
made it her mission to bring him out. "Does it not vex you, Melvin,
that no one seems to be able to distinguish between you and your
twin, though I daresay the two of you are vastly different?"

He carefully chewed his mutton before
responding. Then he cleared his throat. "I've always been content
to let Elvin draw the attention. It suits my reserved nature. But
it has never ceased to amaze me that to the majority of the
population, we are one and the same."

How different the brothers talked! Where
Elvin was outgoing, personable and given to slang, his brother
thought carefully before uttering a syllable and spoke with the
articulation of a prime minister. "I daresay that's because, to
those who don't know you, physical appearance, unfortunately,
weighs more heavily. It brings to mind a homely girl who may be
beautiful on the inside, but because her appearance is
unremarkable, she's overlooked."

"A good analogy, I think," he said, then
lifted his claret.

She doubted the word analogy would even have
been understood by his brother. While her husband and Appleton and
Elvin spoke of an upcoming auction at Tattersall's, she continued
her conversation with Melvin. "Besides your difference in nature,
are there other significant differences between you and Elvin? It
appears the two of you rather enjoy the same types of
activities."

"I'm afraid I'm not very assertive. I tend
to let my brother lead the way. He has a keen sense of fun, so I'm
rarely disappointed.

"Then you're not as interested in sporting
pleasures and merriment as your brother?"

He thought for a moment before answering.
"To a certain degree, I am. But I also enjoy reading—a pursuit I
never seem to have the time for."

"It's the same with me," she confided.
"There's never enough time for one to read all that one wishes to
read." She sipped her wine. It was very smooth. In fact, Mrs.
Roberts had set a very fine table. Which would reflect very well on
Glee.

She looked up and saw that her husband was
smiling at her.

"Please, Melvin, don't allow my wife to bore
you with talk of books." Instead of scorn, Blanks's voice rang with
pride, a pride that puzzled her.

Elvin answered for his twin. "Daresay me
brother craves such a conversation. I'm forever pulling his head
out of a book. Don't understand the fascination they hold over
him."

"I'm told it's rather the same with my
wife," Blanks lamented in a light tone.

"Then you don't have to worry about
entertaining Mrs. Blankenship," Appleton said to Blanks. "Just
foist Melvin on her. Daresay the two will be as content as two pigs
in slop." Then he turned to Glee, a look of embarrassment on his
face. "Pardon me, Mrs. Blankenship. Didn't mean to imply that you
were a burd---, I mean, oh, confound it!"

"And I daresay he regrets likening you to a
pig," Elvin interjected.

Glee met her husband's dancing eyes, and
both of them broke into heaps of laughter.

When the men removed themselves to the
smoking room, Glee invited herself. "Since there are no other women
present, I prefer to join you men. Just think of me as one of you,
and don't fret over the smoke. I love the smell of cigars. It
reminds me of my dear Papa."

Silence fell over the group when she sat
beside Blanks on the sofa. Her presence was no doubt a hindrance to
their easy flow of conversation. So she took it upon herself to
introduce a topic of conversation the gentlemen could embrace. She
had not lived her nineteen years with her sport-mad brother not to
know what interested young bloods. "When does the racing begin here
in Bath? I never can remember."

"Next week," Appleton replied. "Stalwart
shall race here for the first time."

"I saw him last March at Newmarket," Blanks
added. "A magnificent creature."

For the next hour, the gentlemen spoke of
nothing but racing while she feigned a hearty, though silent,
interest. She was thankful of the opportunity to watch her husband
without drawing his attention. That his friends deferred to him on
every subject filled her with pride. His easy wit and perpetual
grin were two things she would never tire of. She studied his thick
dark hair and the way it nearly matched his shimmering eyes. Her
eyes trailed to his well tailored coat which stretched across his
broad shoulders. Then she looked back up into his handsome face and
found that he smiled at her with a grin that lifted only one side
of his mouth. His customary amused grin. She easily returned the
smile.

Though Blanks invited his friends to play
loo, they declined in a most self-conscious fashion. It was obvious
they did not want to intrude on the Blankenship's wedding
night.

After she and Blanks saw the men from the
house, Blanks took her hand, and they began to mount the stairs.
Her pulse accelerated and for the first time that night, Glee could
find no words to say. Then they came to the door of her sleeping
chamber.

"You'll make me a fine hostess, Glee," he
said. "You possess the facility of putting guests at ease. You've
made a conquest of my friends." He paused. Then he bent to kiss her
forehead. "Good-night, my dear."

She squeezed the hand that still held hers.
"Good night, Blanks."

She watched somberly as he walked to his own
chamber. Such was the wedding night of their most unusual marriage,
she reflected uneasily. Of course, it was just as she had expected.
She must be patient. As a young colt must be slowly brought to
saddle and bridle, Blanks would eventually seek her bed. First, she
had to get him used to their marriage.

Chapter 12

For the next few days Glee contented herself
with buying up half of Bath. She sent for painters and ordered new
draperies and silk damask wall coverings, and she underwent
fittings for new ball gowns that would signal her position as a
married woman. She grew anxious to wear her daring new gowns and
gauge her husband's reaction to them. The new Glee would look
nothing like the innocent virgin she had appeared during her last
season in Bath.

All these shopping excursions she conducted
on her own, completely alone. It was the first time in her life she
had shopped without her sister or a friend. She had considered
asking her timid friend, Miss Arbuckle, to accompany her but
quickly dismissed such a thought. It would not be in keeping with
the new Glee, who would cut a dashing—though scandalous—path
through the watering city. Which was all part of her plan to snare
Blanks's heart.

Miss Arbuckle would serve another purpose.
Later.

For her first assembly as a married woman,
Glee chose her most daring dress. Her abigail Patty's eyes danced
when she beheld the scarlet dress. "I loves red!" Patty said. "It's
like a poppy in my mum's garden. Don't know why it's out of
fashion. I daresay your wearing it will make it all the rage
again."

But the abigail's tone changed once she had
assisted her mistress into it. "Oh, dear," the young maid said.
"You will have to return for a better fitting."

Standing up straight and regal before her
looking glass, Glee perused the new gown from every possible angle.
First, she faced the glass. Yes, it draped off the shoulders,
leaving her white shoulders completely bare. Then she turned
sideways, secretly pleased at the view of her breasts barely
dipping into the skimpy bodice. But the dress did cover her
breasts, and in so doing, exaggerated the size of her modest bosom.
It pleased her that she looked somewhat like Carlotta Ennis—though
her bosom was a great deal smaller than her rival's. She turned
around and glanced over her shoulder into the glass and observed
the way the train commenced near her waist, revealing her ivory
back. Completing her turn, her eyes trailed along the length of the
clinging silk crepe gown. "It fits exactly as I instructed Madam
Herbert."

Patty's eyes widened. "My mama said the ways
of the
ton
were different."

Patty's shock was exactly the reaction Glee
was hoping for. Blanks did so hunger after loose women. She only
hoped she looked loose enough.

There was a soft knock on her chamber door.
She glanced at Patty and with a slight nod dismissed her. "My
husband will fasten my necklace," she said.

Patty opened the door to Blanks, then
excused herself as Blanks came into Glee's dressing chamber.

"Oh, Blanks, do fasten these rubies for me,"
she said, handing him the jewels. "Then I shall be ready for the
assembly." She cast an embarrassed glance at him. She had felt
utterly confident before he stepped inside her chamber. Now she
felt as if she stood before him completely naked.

To her surprise, he surveyed her under
lowered, scowling brows. "Surely you don't intend to wear that
dress in public."

Though crestfallen, she held up her head
proudly. "Why not?"

"A maiden does not dress like that."

"Like what?" she challenged.

"Like a doxie."

She took a single white glove from her
dressing table and slipped her hand into it, finger by finger,
seductively looking up at him as she carefully slid up the sleeve.
"First of all, dear Blanks, no one at the assembly tonight will
think of me as a maiden. To all the world, I'm a married woman."
She lifted her long lashes and spoke throatily. "A woman who has
been bedded by a man known for his virility. And second, you cannot
tell me you object to women who dress as I am, for I know
otherwise. Does not Carlotta Ennis dress in much the same fashion
as I am dressing?"

"I did not ask Carlotta Ennis to marry me,"
he said savagely.

"Then you're saying I don't dress as a wife
should?"

"Yes, I
am
saying that."

"But, for all practical purposes, I'm not
really your wife," she said with a smile. "If I cannot elicit
passion in you, it would please me to elicit it in other men."

Anger flared in his dark eyes. "You will do
no such thing!"

She began to casually slip on the other
glove. "Don't worry, Blanks, I've given you my word I shall not
have an affair. And don't worry about your hard-earned reputation
as a lady killer. All of Bath will believe you pleasure me
well."

Once again, she handed him the rubies.
Shooting her a menacing glare, he took them and fastened them
around her graceful white neck, mumbling curses under his
breath.

When he finished, she tucked her arm into
his as they left the chamber.

Sitting in the carriage on opposite sides
from one another, he spoke not a word. All in all, his reaction was
quite satisfying. If she didn't know better, she would swear he was
acting possessive.

* * *

Gregory could not remember when he had been
so angry. Even when his solicitor had told him of his father's
strange will, his fury had not been this great. Yet, though Glee
was his wife, he was powerless to stop her from conducting herself
in so bold a manner. How could he impose his will on her when it
was his very same will that was keeping her from bearing the
children he knew she wanted?

When they arrived at the Upper Assembly
Rooms, he escorted her into the ballroom.

Glee looked up at him and flashed a smile.
"I daresay you'd rather be in the card room than dancing attendance
upon me. I assure you, I shall get along tolerably without you,
dearest."

His anger was boiling over. "But, my dear,
I've the rest of my life to play cards. Tonight I will dance with
my bride." Better him than someone like Jefferson, who might take
Glee's new look as an invitation for an affair. And Glee, in her
innocence, might very well succumb—out of curiosity or to test her
own powers. In that dress she invited a man to put his hands on
her, to kiss the creamy swells of her breasts. And, good lord, when
she turned, her slim back was scandalously bare. He took her shawl
and laid it across her shoulders. "Be careful, you'll catch a
chill."

"How very kind of you," she said, smiling.
"The first set must be ours."

The first dance of the set was a minuet.
Every time he gazed upon Glee's bodice he had an overwhelming urge
to bring the shawl she had hastened to remove. He shuddered when
the dance demanded she dip into a curtsey. From the corner of his
eye, he saw that Jefferson, too, was watching Glee. Gregory had a
strong urge to blacken the man's eye for the way he watched Glee
move so gracefully over the dance floor. Whenever Gregory looked up
from showering attentions on his wife, Jefferson was watching Glee
with naked desire. Gregory found himself enumerating all the
women—virgins and married women alike—who had been seduced by
Jefferson, and he grew angrier with each note of the music.