Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Thalia appeared at the top of the staircase, dressed in her dazzling gown, radiating feminine beauty the likes of which she had never allowed herself before.
Her gown was dark blue and trimmed in silver; the trimming came alive across her skirt in a floral pattern meant to evoke images of icicles in a snowstorm.
It was tight around her waist, low across the neck, and billowing over her legs.
She paired it with silver gloves that came to her elbows, crystal jewelry on her neck and in her ears, and a tiara that had her feeling like a queen.
When she appeared at the top of the stairs, she paused and allowed Caspian to drink her in. He was standing in the foyer and when he saw her, he tilted his head and looked up to see her standing there.
She smiled at him, expecting one in return. More than that, she expected him to gape and gawk and lose himself in her beauty. She shone like the sun, she glowed like the moon, and Thalia knew that this moment right here might come to define their entire marriage.
“We are running late,” Caspian said when she appeared. “Quickly now.”
Her face dropped. Her shoulders slumped. And she nearly turned around and walked back to her room.
I know that he is attracted to me. I know that he wants me. He might claim that he was only pretending to be that way toward me, but I saw it in his eyes, and I felt it in his touch. He is not nearly as controlled as he wishes himself to be.
For three days now, Thalia had been unable to erase that moment they shared from her head.
How effortlessly Caspian had transformed before her eyes, turned into a seducer the likes of which she thought to be impossible for her cold husband.
He had swept toward her, pulled her in close, purred in her ear and nibbled her lobe, all while making her body tremble with a sense of desire that she did not know she was capable of feeling.
It was enough to tell Thalia that there was more to her husband than she had originally believed. And it was enough to tell her that this month would not be a complete waste of time.
The problem, as she now saw it, was eliciting that same reaction again. From both her husband and herself.
“Oh, are we?” She stayed at the top of the staircase and fluttered her eyelashes. “What’s the rush?”
“I will not be the last one to arrive.” He looked at her a final time, his expression controlled, and then he turned away. “Come now, do not dally.”
It did not help that for those few moments, Thalia had felt attracted to her husband beyond measure. Indeed, she had wondered these last three days what might have happened if he had attempted to bed her then and there. Would she have said no? Did she have that much control?
I suppose it doesn’t matter now, does it. Caspian is back to his old self, and I sense deeply that the other side of him isn’t about to rear its head anytime soon.
A shame really…
“Well then, we best hurry.” Thalia forced herself not to sulk and she started down the steps toward her waiting husband. And while he seemed to be purposefully not looking at her, she did catch one or two stray glances.
To some, it would be nothing. But for my husband? He might as well have been gawking with his mouth hanging open.
That was how she chose to interpret it, anyway.
They spent the ride to Eveleigh Estate in mostly silence. This was expected, as her husband was not one to waste words. And it was because of this silence, that Thalia was able to conceive of a plan… of sorts. Or rather, a mode of operation for tonight’s Ball.
In truth, Thalia was excited about tonight. Where she might not have looked forward to spending the evening with her husband, she did look forward to what it represented.
It was their first chance to spend time together as a couple.
What was more, they would be spending it together around other people.
Caspian was many things, and one of those things was a slave to appearances.
When they were alone, he was cold and distant because he could be.
But when members of the peerage were in sight, he would have no choice but to treat her with kindness and possibly even warmth.
Thus, Thalia planned on playing the role of a love-filled couple to perfection. She was going to be fun. She was going to be personable. She was going to show Caspian what it meant to be married. And, hopefully, he would have no choice but to play along.
And who knows, maybe if tonight goes well, I will see that other side of him…
Just that thought alone sent a warmth spreading through Thalia’s body. She might not have liked everything about Caspian, but that side of him was one she could get used to.
“Oh, look at how many people are here!” It was the first thing that she said when the carriage pulled onto the driveway. She looked out the window, eyes wide with excitement, and turned back to fix them on her husband. “Most of the ton is here, it seems.”
“It would appear that way.”
“I hope there is dancing,” she said. “I would very much like to dance.”
“We shall see.”
She narrowed her eyes but was quick to soften them and then laugh. “I bet you are quite the dancer?”
Her husband frowned as if he did not understand what she meant.
Nonetheless, when the carriage came to a stop, Caspian was the first one out the door. And then, surprisingly, he turned and offered her a hand to help her down.
She raised an eyebrow at the hand. “Worried I might fall?”
“More worried that people might see you if you do.”
“I suppose that will have to be enough,” she laughed and took his hand, allowing him to help her down.
They walked hand-in-hand down the drive and toward the manor.
As they did, they were sure to smile and wave at the other couples making their way toward the home.
It felt strange holding her husband’s hand as she was, and not nearly as comfortable as she might have liked. But that would change soon enough.
“Oh, look at the colors!” Thalia gasped as they entered the main ballroom. “It is beautiful, Caspian.” She looked at her husband for a response.
He observed their surroundings with a bored expression. “It is quite nice.”
She blew threw her lips. “Don’t be too gracious in your compliments, husband. People might think that you are exaggerating.”
To that comment, he offered her a half-smile of amusement.
The ballroom was as grandiose and opulent as Thalia had come to expect from these Seasonal Balls.
It was a cavalcade of color, like a rainbow exploding across the hall as the scores of bright gowns moved to and fro.
The jewelry worn sparkled in the light, the marble floor glimmered, and the golden painted walls glistened.
Everywhere that Thalia looked, she saw laughter and joy. Lords and ladies, husbands and wives, daughters and sons, they moved about in small groups as they chatted and bantered and enjoyed the festivities as was expected.
All save her husband, who kept a straight face as they started into the ballroom.
“Shall we have a drink?” she asked him.
“I am quite fine, thank you.”
Something to eat?”
“I am not hungry.”
She took a deep breath. “Perhaps we should try being social then? Unless the plan is to stand in the corner and glower all evening?” Her words were sharper than she had intended, but dammit if her husband wasn’t making it hard on her.
He raised an eyebrow at the tone. She looked pointedly back at him.
“Yes,” he said finally. “That is a fine idea. Come.”
At least he kept a firm hold of her hand as they waded across the ballroom. Better still, when he introduced her to friends and acquaintances of his, Caspian was sure to stay close, offer her praise, and put on airs of being smitten with his new wife.
Or rather, he is trying to be. I wonder, is it so hard for him to pretend that he loves me? Or is he working as hard as he can not to overdo it, lest we have a repeat of the last time…
“Happy is not the word I would use,” Caspian explained to Lord Elmsmere, one of the many random lords who called for Caspian’s attention as they night wore on. “I would prefer in love.”
“And you look it too!” Lord Elmsmere agreed.
“She makes it so easy on me,” Caspian said simply. “Does she not shine like the north star?”
“Glowing, Your Grace. Glowing!”
“Tell him, Thalia. How happy we are.” Caspian looked at her expectantly.
“Oh, yes…” Thalia gave her head a quick shake and brightened. “So in love that it hurts. Sometimes, I wonder how I got so lucky.”
“Wonderful,” Lord Elmsmere crooned. “Marvelous.”
The words spoken were the right ones, but it was the way that they were said that irked Thalia.
All evening, everyone who they spoke with, it was the same thing.
Caspian would tell them all how in love and happy they were, while doing nothing to show that he was.
His tone was flat. His expression was bored.
And while he held her hand throughout, it was done awkwardly and with no affection whatsoever.
Slowly but surely, Thalia began to lose hope.
Her plan had been to stay by Caspian’s side the entire evening.
To radiate joy and positivity, to show him that it was not such a bad thing to find comfort and happiness beside one’s own wife.
But he was resistant, even disinterested, and as the evening wore on, Thalia started to accept that perhaps nothing would change him.
“Oh, look who it is.” They were walking across the ballroom together when Thalia spied someone not so far away who she was very much hoping to see.
“Who?”
“Lady Seraphine,” she said, pointing to show the Duke who she meant. “Rosaline’s younger sister.”
Caspian saw her. “Oh, yes. So it is.”
“Might we…” She started to pull her husband over.
“I was meaning to speak with Lord Cashmere.” He indicated in the opposite direction to where an old and stuffy lord was standing. “Business.”
Thalia clicked her tongue. “I suppose I can come and find you? I won’t be long.”