Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Matthew
Once again, Matthew awoke randy and ready. Once again, his wife was too sore to accommodate him with her pussy but happily used her mouth for his pleasure. Why were so many men against married life? Why had he been so against rushing to marry? This was wonderful.
In the future, Matthew would not allow himself to be so influenced by the attitudes of others.
Though he supposed his wife could just be different from other wives. After all, most wives were not rescued in the manner she had been. Perhaps this was her showing her gratitude.
Which… Matthew did not enjoy that idea as much as he had when he’d first rescued her.
Gratitude was all well and good, but truth be told, he did not just like marriage more than he’d expected.
He liked his wife. She was loving. Kind.
Warm. Willing to do anything for her family.
Open-minded. She did not judge the use of his coin; in fact, she’d joined him in it.
If he was the type to write out a list of attributes for a wife, she would have checked every single box and some he would not have thought of.
Sighing, he leaned his head back against the headboard, stroking her hair as she fell to her side, resting her head against his stomach as his cock slowly deflated. She really did remind him of a kitten… and he very much enjoyed making her purr.
Matthew realized, at that moment, that he very much wanted his wife to like him as much as he liked her.
But how could he tell?
“We should probably get dressed and go to breakfast,” she murmured, though she did not actually move. “My sisters will come looking for us if we take too long.”
“Mmm.” Matthew ran his fingers through the silky strands of her hair, looking down at where she rested on her stomach, facing away from him.
She did enjoy what they did. He felt sure of that much.
He could ensure she received as much pleasure as he did.
And she had been very enthusiastic yesterday and this morning about taking him in her mouth.
After all, she had been the one to suggest it yesterday.
But…
Did she like him?
How did one ask such a question?
He’d never been in this position before, and he did not like it.
Would his coin work for this? He eyed where it rested on the nightstand.
It was not a decision. And it had to do with her, not him. Therefore, he could not be certain he could rely on the coin’s answer.
Blast.
Matthew pushed the thoughts away for now.
That was something he could ponder another time.
At the moment, she seemed to like him. Not just out of gratitude.
Perhaps there were things he could do to make sure she liked him.
The normal things gentlemen did during courtship, since they had skipped over that.
Not poetry.
But flowers. Jewelry.
“Do you have dancing lessons again today?” he asked hopefully. She had seemed enthusiastic about him and his friends joining the lessons. If she had them today, he could join them today. If the coin confirmed that decision. Dancing with ladies was part of courting them.
“Not today. I am learning more about the household with your grandmother and Mrs. Syme. I believe we are going in to have our ballgowns fitted as well. And I should check on my mother at some point.” She sighed.
“Should I stop in to see your mother as well?” he asked, hoping she did not think him a neglectful husband for not having done so yet.
“Oh, no.” Johanna sat up, shaking her head. Which had the delightful side effect of jiggling her breasts in a very distracting manner.
Matthew was distracted enough that he almost forgot the question he’d just asked that she was saying no to.
“I do not think she would be comfortable meeting you when she is… indisposed.”
“I feel the same,” he replied agreeably, somewhat relieved, still focused on his wife’s beautiful breasts.
This was the first time she’d been so exposed to him without trying to cover herself, and he was quite enjoying it.
“But I also feel as though I have been a bad son-in-law when she is in the house, and I still have not met her.”
“I am hopeful she will be able to meet you soon.” Something in Johanna’s voice had Matthew lifting his gaze to meet hers, but she was already looking away and moving to the edge of the bed. “But we should ready for the day now. I will certainly look in on her today and see how she is doing.”
Picking up her nightrail and peignoir from the floor, Johanna clutched them to her chest as she hurried to the adjoining door and disappeared through it. While Matthew enjoyed the sight of her delectable backside, he did not get to watch it nearly long enough. She was in too much of a hurry.
He wondered if she would always be so modest or if the need for it in front of him would eventually wear off.
Sighing, he rang for Reedy to come and help him get ready to meet the day. While he was waiting for his manservant, he flipped his coin several times to see what he might do with his time today.
Spend some time with Micah—the boy could assist Matthew on estate business and learn from him at the same time.
Matthew was not one of the dukes who would be completing the next part of their investigation.
Zachary would be speaking with his uncle, of course, and Christian would be tracking down Conyngham.
Drake had said he would approach Hatchett, who was belligerent at the best of times, and all of them were happy to leave the earl to him.
Sebastian had volunteered to take on Carmathan.
Which rather left Matthew, Gregory, and Nathanial at loose ends. Because, as married men, they ostensibly had responsibilities toward their wives. But Matthew’s wife did not need him today.
Perhaps he could visit his friends later and see what they had found out.
The coin flipped through the air and landed four separate times.
No to Drake. No to Zachary. No to Christian. Yes to Sebastian. How very interesting. Well, so be it. At least he had a plan for the day now. Micah in the morning, he could seek out Sebastian in the afternoon, and then hopefully be home in time for supper this evening.
Matthew smiled as Reedy knocked, then entered the room. It was good to have a plan.
Johanna
Scurrying into her bedroom, Johanna pressed her hands against her chest, feeling strangely winded even though she had not moved very far. The panic that had sparked when Matthew had asked about meeting her mother…
Hopefully, her mother was in her right mind today.
It felt like there was a huge lump in Johanna’s throat as she closed her eyes, leaning against the wardrobe. The hard wood helped her remain upright. Somehow she’d brazen through. She must.
Everything was going so well; surely, Mother must have recovered by now.
Physically and mentally. Johanna knew that was not how life worked, yet everything was finally falling into place.
Her mother was the last missing piece; then everything would be wonderful.
Far better than she’d ever dreamed it could be.
Giving herself a shake, Johanna froze as she realized she’d just run naked from her husband’s room. Of course, it was not as though he had not seen her naked by now. But she had not even given it a thought because she’d been so quick to flee once he’d started asking about her mother.
Leaning against her bedpost, she caught her breath.
She had not been lying when she told Matthew that they needed to get dressed; otherwise, her siblings were likely to come looking for her.
So, that was what she did. She rang for Nettie and gathered herself, shaking off the worry that had crept up on her when she’d realized Matthew wanted to meet her mother.
Because of course he did.
Thankfully, her mother being confined to her bedroom was a good reason not to allow it yet.
A knock at the door distracted Johanna from her worries.
Nettie came bustling in to get her ready for the day.
It seemed to go in a whirlwind, from getting dressed to eating breakfast with the family, exchanging small, secret glances with her husband as they did so.
Afterward, Matthew asked Micah if he would like to join him in his study, to which Micah very quickly expressed his interest.
Seeing the two of them together, Matthew smiling at Micah, who beamed up at him in pure hero worship, made Johanna’s heart melt.
Both her husband and his grandmother seemed to relish having her family in the house, which did much to ease any guilt that might have reared its head over the duke being forced to support them.
As soon as they were done eating, Bridget and Charlotte were rounded up by Lady Stark, who said they could come and see what she was teaching Johanna and Rose until their new governess arrived.
Unsurprisingly, Bridget was not particularly interested in the kinds and colors of linens that were available to the household, no matter how Lady Stark tried to explain their importance.
Especially if Johanna were to ever throw a ball.
Thankfully, the girls’ governess, a Miss Marjorie Swift, arrived midmorning, and they went to meet her.
Lady Stark’s explanations sped up considerably after Bridget was no longer there with a thousand questions irrelevant to the topic at hand.
They were interrupted by the butler, Holt, as they were going through the different sets of tableware that were available.
“Excuse me, ladies, Your Grace.” He bowed. “Are you at-home this afternoon? Lady Astrid Blackstone and their Graces the Duchesses of Clarence and Hereford have come calling.”
“Goodness,” Lady Stark said, blinking in surprise and exchanging a glance with Mrs. Syme. “Is it that time already? I should very much like to retire to my chamber for a bit of a rest. Johanna, you may hostess them if you wish.”