Chapter 11
Lady Bridget was a vision in her lavender gown.
Lewis clasped his hands behind his back and feigned nonchalance, as her figure drifted nearer, her brother walking alongside her.
It was a pleasant day, the wind blowing gently across the lake and sending ripples of water sweeping across the surface.
Perhaps Elias would give them some space to speak in private, so Lewis could grasp the full measure of his soon-to-be bride.
His loins stirred, vexingly reminded him that—despite his general distaste for being wed—Lady Bridget was an attractive, young lady, and he was a man with carnal urges.
“Your Grace,” Elias said.
Lewis smiled thinly, his eyes fixed on Lady Bridget’s face. Her eyes were demurely lowered, but he did not believe that she was so agreeable for a moment. “I would like some measure of privacy with your sister,” Lewis said.
Elias clenched his jaw and moved subtly nearer to his sister. “That can be arranged. I shall keep my distance.”
He cast Lady Bridget a soft look, and although Lewis did not entirely understand it, the lady nodded; it seemed as though the message had been received.
Elias clasped his hands behind his back and inclined his head slightly.
Lady Bridget stepped forward, her eyes fixed on Lewis’s face.
He bowed and swept his hand forward, gesturing for them to walk.
Lady Bridget took her first step, not waiting to see if he walked with her, which he did. Lewis’s eyes flickered down for just a heartbeat, gazing at the pale, full breasts which rose above the bodice of her gown. His fingers ached to take the appealing breasts in his hands. He swallowed hard.
He would need to manage his lust carefully if married to such a woman. Lady Bridget was marrying him for mutually convenient reasons. Her purpose would be to provide him with an heir, be his duchess, and if she proved sufficiently pliant, tend to his grandmother.
“The weather is lovely,” Lady Bridget said.
“What a dull observation,” Lewis said.
A quick glance confirmed that color bloomed across her face. Lady Bridget was not a woman who hid her emotions well. Her every thought was painfully obvious. He supposed that he would not have to worry about her lying to him.
“What happened at the lake?” Lewis asked.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I assume you did not leap into the water yourself,” he clarified. “Fully clothed, no less.”
Lewis tried not to contemplate what Lady Bridget might look like leaping into a lake in only her chemise or even better, nothing at all.
“No,” Lady Bridget said. “I wished to confront Lady Susan about the terrible gossip she was spreading about me. I said something that angered her, and she shoved me in the lake.”
“You must have said something dreadful to her,” Lewis said. “Lady Susan is known for her impeccable breeding and behavior.”
He did not really know much about Lady Susan, but Lady Bridget’s flushed face told him everything that he needed to know.
“The world would be a more convenient place if everyone with cruel intentions simply announced them, wouldn’t it?
” Lady Bridget asked tartly. “If you truly believe that Lady Susan is such a paragon of virtue, you might want to consider the possibility that you are a poor judge of character, Your Grace.”
“I see.”
He let the silence grow between them, curious to see if the lady would offer more information. She did not, but it was difficult to determine if her refusal to be forthcoming stemmed more from embarrassment or something else.
“What was the gossip?” Lewis asked.
The lady’s scowl deepened. “Do you really need me to repeat what she said?”
“I should know if there are any rumors circulating about my wife, which might harm my reputation.”
“Your reputation?”
He smiled sharply. “If we are to be married, anything detrimental to your reputation also impacts mine. I am certain that I do not need to explain this to you.”
“And I am certain that you already know about the rumors,” Lady Bridget retorted. “Asking me is unnecessary unless your aim is to humiliate me further.”
Lewis snorted. “Contrary to what you may believe, I have far more important matters to attend to than listening to every rumor and scandal circulating among the ton.”
“But you would have heard of mine. I cannot imagine that you would have agreed to this match without learning more about my character.” As she spoke, a small note of hope entered her voice.
Lewis sensed that something had only just occurred to her, but he could not say what.
“But perhaps you do not know. After all, most reasonable men would not wish to marry a lady with a scandal such as mine.”
Lewis did know, though. He had done a small investigation before asking this lady to be his bride. He merely wanted to hear what she had to say about the matter, for he also knew well that the ton had a regrettable tendency to exaggerate.
“It was—it was dreadful,” Lady Bridget said, something malicious and gleeful in her expression.
He suspected that she might be exaggerating herself. Lewis fixed his gaze forward, thinking. Why would a young lady wish to embellish the severity of her scandal? That made little sense.
Lewis frowned.
Or it makes all the sense in the world.
She hoped that he would refuse to marry her, and doubtlessly, she was preparing to craft some exceptionally salacious tale to persuade him against his present course of action.
“I was found alone in a room with an unmarried gentleman,” she said. “Not only a gentleman but an incurable rake.”
“Were you?” he asked mildly. “And what did this incurable rake do to you?”
“A kiss on the cheek.”
“And?”
Her eyes darted to him, and her lips slightly parted. “And is—is that not sufficient for you?”
Lewis laughed. “Just a kiss? That is hardly anything.”
“B-but it was—”
“Barely a scandal.”
“How can you say that?” Her voice hitched a little. “That scandal ruined my marriage prospects!”
“Only because the ton is full of hypocrites,” Lewis said. “A kiss? That is nothing.”
“It was not nothing.”
Lewis’s eyes snapped to her face. “It was. You might believe that you are knowledgeable, young miss. However, it is obvious to me that you know little about the world. Certainly, you know nothing of debauchery.”
Lady Bridget’s nostrils flared. At first, she appeared angry. Lewis idly wondered if she might snap at him or do something more dramatic, like strike him. Then, her shoulders fell, and she seemed to wilt like a flower struck by an untimely frost.
“It meant everything to me,” Lady Bridget said.
“Did you love him?”
Lady Bridget swallowed hard and clasped her hands together. “Why does that matter? Are you going to chastise me for behaving so—so foolishly?”
“Of course not.”
Lady Bridget sighed. “I suppose I was more in love with the idea of being in love than in love with him if that makes sense. I forced myself to believe that I loved him because I had always wanted romance.”
“Love?”
“More than anything.”
“I see.”
“But I was young and na?ve, then,” Lady Bridget continued. “I know much more about the world now.”
“Do you?” he asked incredulously. “I would think that you are still quite na?ve. You believe that a kiss is some great scandal.”
“Most of the ton agrees that it is,” she said primly. “You are clearly a disreputable and contrary man for believing otherwise.”
“Or maybe I am the only consistent man.”
“If everyone in London believes something, except for you, they are not the problem,” Lady Bridget said. “Is that why you have remained unwed until now? You have no idea what constitutes proper behavior?”
“I clearly know what proper behavior is,” he said. “Propriety demands that I marry you, and I am doing so.”
“Oh, please! You offered me your hand over something that was barely a scandal at all, and we both know it was accidental. Do you always follow the rules?” Lady Bridget asked.
“Given your resolve to marry me and your seeming disinterest in my kiss, I am left to wonder if you are instead a hypocrite. That would make you quite like most men I have met. You certainly seem very quick to please the ton over a rather fickle matter.”
His jaw clenched at her fiery defiance. Worse, he could not deny that her argument made sense.
Lewis could not simply choose which rules of society he followed, but he had been wild once.
Wild that night when he returned to his grandmother’s fear and wide eyes when he was scarcely twenty years of age.
A kiss was nothing. He could show Lady Bridget everything else and some things that even most proper ladies would never know. Lewis imagined Lady Bridget’s eyes widening, as he whispered all the salacious things he might do to her in the privacy of his bedchamber.
“You will soon learn that some rules must be followed,” Lewis said. “And I would love to show you precisely what happens to little minxes like yourself. Regrettably, we are in a public place.”
His palm tingled in anticipation, his pulse jumping when he imagined himself showing her precisely what discipline misbehaving young ladies received.
“I know what happens,” Lady Bridget said curtly. “Those ladies are forced to marry detestable men.”
“You did not seem to find me so detestable last week,” he said, making his voice low and sultry.
She inhaled sharply. “How dare you?” she hissed.
“How dare you?” he retorted. “Do you believe that such behavior is befitting of the future Duchess of Wheelton?”
She tipped her chin defiantly up. Lewis’s eyes snapped backwards, glancing briefly at Elias. The man was too far away to hear his conversation with Lady Bridget, but Lewis had no doubt that he would notice if Lewis dared reach for Lady Bridget.
“If you find my behavior so unbecoming, you should not marry me. You can find another bride, after all.”
He chuckled. “No need. You are young and clever. You will learn to be what I want—a perfect, obedient wife.”
Lady Bridget visibly bristled. “No lessons will be sufficient for turning me into that, Your Grace.”
“Oh, I disagree,” he said. “I think you will take well to my lessons. Indeed, you will find the reward for being my proper wife so agreeable that you will beg for it.”
Lewis halted abruptly along the path, and Lady Bridget stumbled to a stop before him. Color had risen to her cheeks, and her breath came quickly. He allowed himself a long, lingering look once more on her breasts, heaving and straining against the confines of her gown.
“You are presumptuous,” Lady Bridget said, “and it is unbecoming for a man of your position.”
She was so fiery. It took all the strength of his will not to pull the young lady to him and show her precisely which one of them would win their little contest of wills.
“You should not concern yourself with what society says,” Lewis said. “Otherwise, there will be consequences. You might find yourself once more thrown into a lake.”
“That was not my fault,” she scoffed.
“It was. No one made you confront Lady Susan. You chose to do that yourself, and I saved you,” he continued. “And before that, your siblings saved you. They are always saving you.”
Red-faced, Lady Bridget averted her eyes. “You do not know anything about my family or me.”
“I know enough. As my wife, you must be in a position to control your surroundings. You must not be ruled by them.”
Acting on impulse, he reached out. Lewis had the wild impulse of taking her and bringing their bodies together, but instead, he trailed a finger up the young woman’s arm. He dared let his touch drift just above her gloves. Lady Bridget’s skin was warm and soft, and her breath hitched.
“What are you doing?” she whispered without any heat.
“You are mine,” he said.
“I am not—not yet,” she said. “And given your behavior, I find you to be rather hypocritical. Are you always perfectly composed, Your Grace? I doubt that.”
“You will have to find out.”
“What made you like this?” Lady Bridget asked, undeterred.
The question struck him hard, and his chest suddenly ached. A sensation perilously close to guilt curled inside him. Forcing a rakish smile, Lewis said, “And that is the conclusion of our first lesson, my lady. I anticipate many more to come.”