Chapter 10 #2
“How could I refuse such a charming invitation?” the Duke of Ravenhill laughed in return and came into the room, pausing to catch Rose’s eye. “As long as my wife does not object, of course. These are her private rooms after all.”
Blushing, Rose shook her head. Dorian had never been in her sitting room before, any more than her dressing room or bedroom. It felt strange to see him in these surroundings but not unwelcome. His dark eyes moved appreciatively over the room and its contents.
“Rose has furnished her rooms beautifully, hasn’t she?” said Madeline and the duke nodded his agreement.
“Rose has excellent taste,” he commented, reaching out to lightly touch the velvet of the chaise-longue and then the rich walnut desk.
She saw a smile briefly quirk the corners of his mouth as he glanced at the books on her shelves.
It made Rose blush all over again as she guessed Dorian was wondering whether she had brought any of those scandalous books from the library up to her room.
Of course, she had not, the idea not even suggesting itself to her before now.
For the next few minutes, Rose only listened as the duke talked effortlessly with her friends of common acquaintances and events in London, his wit and urbanity making both Josephine and Madeline laugh.
He really could charm anyone, Rose sighed to herself, although she knew that Josephine’s love for Cassius and Madeline’s common sense meant that neither of them would actually fall for him.
Part of her wondered why she even tried to resist Dorian’s manifold attractions. No other woman of the ton seemed capable of it…
At length, with a polite bow, her too-handsome and too-charming husband took his leave, his final words addressed to Rose.
“You really have done splendidly with this room, Rose. If you would like to rearrange some of the other rooms in the house, you would be very welcome.”
“How lucky you are, Rose! What a perfect gentleman he is in his own house,” said Madeline in a loud whisper as soon as the door closed behind the Duke of Ravenhill.
“Shhh! He will hear you and grow big-headed,” Josephine giggled.
“Nonsense,” Madeline insisted. “That man hears far stronger praise than mine from ladies in every ballroom he enters. His head is still of normal proportions, which tells me that he has sense as well as beauty. Don’t you think so, Rose?”
Rose nodded, biting her lip at Madeline’s description of how the ladies of the ton viewed her husband even while she told herself not to be so silly.
“Dorian does have sense,” Rose agreed. “He is a clever man and an artist too. “I’m glad that he liked my rooms.”
“Hasn’t he seen them before?” asked Josephine with surprise.
“He never comes in here,” Rose explained. “We meet sometimes at meals, or in the library…”
She stopped and cleared her throat, unable to meet her friends’ curious eyes.
“Does the duke’s suite not adjoin yours?” Madeline asked, with a puzzled expression. “I thought that was always the arrangement in great houses.”
“Oh, no. This is the west wing. Dorian’s rooms are at the far end of the east wing.”
“How curious,” observed Josephine. “My rooms and Cassius’ rooms are connected. We sleep half in one and half in the other. I should hate to have to go wandering the corridors to find him, especially in winter. Why don’t you move somewhere closer to him, Rose?”
Rose felt sad for a moment, knowing that she could never have the love-match that Josephine had found. She did not want to admit aloud that she doubted Dorian would want her any closer to his private rooms, and likely didn’t really even think of her as his wife. It sounded too pitiful.
“Maybe Rose doesn’t like the east wing,” Madeline suggested in jest. “The duke did just imply that some of the house needed redecoration and after being occupied by single men for so long I can quite believe that certain parts must be quite awful. After seeing the state of the east wing on her wedding night, Rose immediately moved to the west!”
Josephine laughed and shook her head.
“With a husband like Dorian Voss, I cannot believe that Rose spent her wedding night considering Ravenhill House’s furnishing,” she remarked. “It is remarkable that you even found the time and energy to arrange these rooms so soon.”
Rose flushed, feeling herself on uncertain ground.
“I was too homesick to think about anything else on my wedding night,” she said quietly. “I read a book and went to sleep. The wedding day itself had tired me out.”
“You are joking?” asked Josephine, blinking at this reply. “You read a book and went to sleep? But where was your duke?”
Rose shrugged, seeing a look of consternation pass between her two friends.
“I imagine Dorian was in his own chambers. We said goodnight after dinner. I didn’t see him again until luncheon the following day.”
“You mean he hasn’t…” Madeline began to ask but Josephine shushed her with a frown and then glanced back to Rose with concerned eyes.
“I am sure that all is well,” Josephine said slowly. “Rose and Dorian must still get to know one another and there is plenty of time for that. Not everything rushes at things in the madcap, careless way that I have done. We should not interrogate her.”
Rose smiled gratefully and the conversation soon turned again to Madeline’s problems with Francesca and strategies to rein the wild girl in.
In the evening, as her guests were leaving, Josephine hugged Rose and whispered in her ear while Madeline was taking her leave of the Duke of Ravenhill.
“If you ever would like to talk to me about… bedroom matters, you can. I imagine your duke is only taking things slowly, which is likely to his credit under the circumstances. Still, you are a wife now and you have rights, especially if there is to be an heir to the duchy of Ravenhill…”
Rose swallowed and nodded. Bedroom matters… Was Josephine referring to the distance between her rooms and Dorian’s? Or was this a reference to the activities she had recently learned of from the adventures of Captain Henri and Lord Basington?
Was Rose meant to be engaging in such scandalous acts with her husband?
! The thought made her feel hot and disoriented, as well as slightly doubtful that much of it was even physically possible.
Then, Rose would never have known that Dorian could make her feel such ecstasy with his fingers if he had not shown her.
Her more experienced friend also seemed to be making a link between “bedroom matters” and future children, which only sparked more questions. Rose also recalled vague references in the stories to means of avoiding children but had not really understood them.
“I do have questions,” Rose admitted. “If I haven’t found the answers by the next time we meet…”
“…then I shall tell you everything I know,” promised Josephine.
“You shall tell Rose everything you know?” queried the smiling Dorian Voss, who had now escorted Madeline down the steps to meet them at the carriage. “I should very much like to hear that story myself.”
“About being a duchess,” Josephine returned with a grin, allowing the Duke of Ravenhill to hand her into the carriage as a footman held its door. “You have no need to hear about being a duchess and can offer us no useful experience.”
“Not at all, I have known many duchesses,” Dorian answered with good humor, helping Madeline into the carriage too and then nodding a farewell to both of them.
While he smiled at Rose too, she felt herself wince slightly at his words. Why should it bother her so much that he had known many women, duchesses or otherwise? This was who Dorian Voss was, who he had always been, and likely always would be.
She sighed as the carriage pulled away down the drive.
“You will see your friends again as soon as you wish it,” the duke tried to reassure her in pleasant tones as he waved after her departing friends. “Remember, there is a carriage always at your disposal.”
Rose made herself smile back, telling herself that she must be grateful that her husband was kind and reasonable and expect nothing more.