Chapter 6
The honeymoon was as gentle and intelligent as Bert was himself.
Sensing how innocent she was, he’d arranged to begin their honeymoon in Rome, with many historic monuments and churches to visit.
It was hot in July and there was a festive atmosphere in the streets of Rome, and lively restaurants with delicious food.
They stayed at the most elegant hotel, the Grand Hotel Rome, built by César Ritz.
Bert had been there before on business, and was somewhat familiar with the city.
Victoria loved all the places he took her and the history he shared with her.
He had a passion for Italian art, and taught her many things about it she didn’t know, although she was knowledgeable on the subject too.
It reminded her of traveling with her father, and she grew more and more at ease with her new husband.
He let her grow accustomed to his company, without pressing any marital obligations on her, for which she was grateful.
She wasn’t sure what to expect, and had no female relatives to explain it to her.
Her governesses had been far too proper to discuss what they considered unseemly subjects.
Since she’d never even come close to marrying and insisted she didn’t want to, her father had never considered the awkward subject either.
She was a total innocent about what might be expected of her.
And Bert wanted to give her time to get used to him, before giving in to his passionate feelings for her.
She was completely at ease with him by the time they left Rome for Florence, having seen all the important tourist locations.
They had dinner in charming restaurants every night and ate delicious food.
They talked for hours over dinner, and late into the night.
Bert had booked adjoining rooms for them in Rome, and Victoria wondered if his doing so was related to her having been emphatic about not wanting children.
She became more and more at ease with his coming and going in his dressing gown, and gently waking her with a kiss in the morning.
Then they had breakfast on their balcony overlooking the Spanish Steps, before beginning their day as enchanted tourists.
Victoria was sorry to leave Rome, although she was excited about visiting the Uffizi Galleries in Florence with Bert.
She had been there several times with her father.
Florence always seemed a little less festive than Rome, but it was paradise for an art lover, which they both were, and she was deeply impressed by the depth of Bert’s knowledge and culture.
He had booked them into the Hotel Savoy in Florence, in the beautiful Piazza del Mercato Vecchio.
He had stayed there often on his own visits to the city, and the hotel had given them a magnificent suite which, Victoria realized after they’d been there for an hour, had only one bedroom.
Bert asked her gently if she would prefer he get an additional room for himself, but the suite was so beautiful, and she was so at ease with him by then, that she said she didn’t mind sharing the bedroom.
She thought it would be fun to share the suite with him, and he lay for hours watching her sleep at night, longing to make love to her, but preferring to let her continue growing accustomed to his presence.
He helped her lace up her corset since she hadn’t brought a maid with her, and she helped him with his cufflinks, and they were best friends as they combed the Uffizi for paintings they had seen before and loved, and discovered new ones that they studied together.
The week they spent in Florence was a broadening of their already extensive knowledge of Italian art, and a noticeable narrowing of the physical gap between them.
After two weeks of their honeymoon, she was beginning to feel truly married to him.
She chatted with him as she brushed her long blond hair and finished dressing, and he did the same.
The food in the restaurants they went to was more refined than in Rome, and they went to the Uffizi for a last time, and promised each other that they would come back again soon to see whatever they had missed this time.
From Florence they traveled to Venice, which had the impact he had hoped it would.
He had always thought it the most romantic city in the world, other than Paris.
Venice had a mystical magic all its own.
They took endless gondola rides and kissed under the Bridge of Sighs.
He bought her a pretty gold bracelet that she liked in a shop on the Rialto Bridge.
They walked for miles and had delicious meals.
Their suite had a view of the Grand Canal, and they walked through Saint Mark’s Square and discovered tiny churches with remarkable paintings in the back streets around it.
They came back to their majestic suite at night, lighting the candles in splendid candelabras all around the room, and it was there that they consummated their marriage, and Victoria discovered the wonders of a loving husband, which no one had ever told her about and which seemed entirely normal to her now with a man she loved and felt so at ease with.
They were perfectly suited as he led her down the paths of passion as gently as he could, and finally opened the floodgates of his feelings and desire for her.
They spent their days enjoying Venice and their nights satisfying their hunger for each other.
She realized now how gently he had led her to it, and how wise and kind and patient he had been.
She couldn’t imagine a man her own age being as tender with her.
Bert was an extraordinary lover, enhanced by the fact that he already loved her deeply.
She felt very womanly and grown-up when they left the hotel after a week of increasingly lustful delights.
She was even at ease enough to initiate her approach to him several times, which pleased him.
They boarded the train to Paris, in the private car he had arranged for them, and made love on the train.
She had added her own spirit of fun and gentle teasing to their lovemaking.
They had been on their honeymoon for three weeks, and she had fully become a woman in Venice.
Bert had stayed in contact with his office from time to time.
Manchester had one of the best modern telephone exchanges in England, established thirty years before.
It was the most powerful system outside London, and made it easy for him to reach his office whenever he wanted to.
He had refrained from doing business during their honeymoon, but he touched base with his office once or twice a week and was relieved that all was going smoothly in his absence.
They arrived in Paris at the Gare de Lyon and a car was waiting to take them to the Hotel Ritz, with a second car for their bags.
They were given a palatial suite with a view of the Place Vend?me, and they spent the final week of their honeymoon enjoying the abundance of things to do, in a city they both knew well, which made it even more fun.
Bert went there often on business and promised to take her with him in the future.
They had exquisite meals and went to all the museums they loved.
The Jeu de Paume, the Musée d’Orsay, the Louvre.
Bert took her shopping and bought whatever she said she liked.
He bought her a diamond bracelet at Cartier to commemorate their honeymoon.
They had gone to all the cities they both loved most, and she was rapidly becoming a willing and skillful lover.
They were best friends and passionate lovers by the time they left Paris, taking the ferry across the English Channel to return to London.
They went straight to Hampshire when they arrived, where they planned to spend one last week in pastoral relaxation on her beautiful estate.
He took her fishing with him, and they swam in the lake.
They went for long walks, and enjoyed the peace and splendor of her country home, which belonged to her now.
He could see why she loved it, and so did he.
It was going to be a happy addition to their life whenever they had time to get there.
He had a country home of his own in Yorkshire, which he said was much smaller and less beautiful than hers.
But it was close to Manchester and he enjoyed going there to relax sometimes.
Victoria was hoping they would be able to spend the month of August in Hampshire every summer, as she had always done.
She was aware that Bert had been exceptionally generous with the time he had devoted to their honeymoon, but he said that he usually took vacation in August every year, and she was happy that he enjoyed her family seat so much.
Her father had loved it there too. There were tenant farms as well, all of which were occupied by tenants whose families had been there for generations, and a very efficient manager who ran the estate well, and had worked for her father for nearly thirty years.
The estate manager gave Bert a tour of the entire estate, and reported back to the servants afterward that he was a very nice man, had rapidly understood how the estate was run, and made no attempt to interfere.
He said it was Lady Victoria’s province and he had no desire to change anything, which won the estate manager over immediately.
The servants had nothing to fear from Bert.