“You’ll go with me, Jenny?”
“Aye, miss. I won’t leave ye.”
“Thank you.” Mary hugged her. “I don’t know what I would ever do without you.”
“So what will you do now?” Jenny asked.
“I don’t know yet. I suppose we have to wait for an opportunity. When it presents, we must be ready to act without hesitation.”
…
The hoped for opportunity presented when Lady Blanchard came to Mary shortly after noon. “Leave us,” she commanded Jenny. The maid signaled Mary with a slight nod and a hand on her pocket before she withdrew.
The countess locked the door behind her and then raked Mary from head to toe with a subtle smile and an arched brow. “How do you feel this morning, my dear? Did you sleep well?”
Mary didn’t know precisely what Lady Blanchard was about with her unusual solicitude, but she was obviously fishing and Mary refused to take the bait. “Very well, my lady,” Mary replied with a cheery smile. “And you?”
Lady Blanchard returned a puzzled frown. “You were not…disturbed…in any way during the night?”
“No, my lady.” Mary raised her brows above widened eyes. “Did something untoward occur?”
“Nothing at all, my dear.” The countess pasted on a false smile. “Perhaps it’s just my maternal instincts coming to the fore after the fright you gave us the other night.”
“I am so very sorry for worrying you,” Mary replied. “But I promised I would not run off again. Is it necessary to keep my door locked?”
The countess surveyed the room with a narrowed gaze before sitting upon the freshly made bed. She beckoned Mary to join her. “Let us talk my dear. You must understand that it is for your own good, as I only desire to keep you safe from harm. You are still under my care after all—at least until you are wed.”
“I see. Have you any further news from Sir Richard?” she asked. “Has he contracted an alliance for me?”
“Very soon, child. I expect the matter may even be concluded this day.”
“Today?” Mary had to remind herself to breathe.
“Yes, my dear. I daresay all will be arranged with great dispatch after what occurred the night of the opera.”
“Is it so very imminent?” Mary asked, feeling increasingly like a bird trapped in a cage.
“I can see the subject unsettles you. If it is your wedding night that causes such apprehension, perhaps I may allay your fears. I imagine you have many questions, but are perhaps reticent to broach the more delicate subjects pertaining to your marriage.”
Mary neither confessed nor denied it, but looked to the countess expectantly.
Mistaking her silence, Lady Blanchard continued, “Do you quite understand what will be required of you? Do you know what transpires in the marriage bed, Mary?”
Not daring to look the countess in the face for fear of betraying herself, she diverted her gaze to her hands and schooled her face to impassivity. “I understand the fundamentals regarding the act of procreation, if that is what you mean. Having lived my entire life in the country, I have seen various animals bred at the home farm—the sheep, the cattle, the horses. I cannot think it so very different for people.”
“But you have no personal experience regarding the intimacies between a man and a woman?”
“How could I when I am unwed?” Mary regarded her innocently and then looked away. “But if you are asking if I have ever permitted a gentleman any liberties with my person, I would have to confess my guilt.”
“Indeed?” The countess raised both delicately shaped brows.
“Yes, madam. I have allowed Lord Hadley to kiss me.”
“To kiss you?”
“Yes. Twice in fact. Once at Kensington Gardens and again at Bushy Park.”
“And that is all? Just a kiss?”
“I believe he would have pressed for much more, my lady, but I told him I didn’t like it.”
Lady Blanchard pinned her with an incredulous stare. “You didn’t like it when he kissed you?”
“No, my lady. At first it was pleasant enough, but then it became quite revolting when he put his tongue in my mouth.” She shuddered for effect.
“But, my dear girl, you must understand that on your wedding night your husband will place something much larger than his tongue in a place much more intimate than your mouth.”
Mary feigned a look of shock. “But can it be done very quickly?”
“Some men are amazingly rapid,” the countess replied dryly.
“Then perhaps it will not be too much to bear,” Mary replied. “I know it’s my duty.”
Lady Blanchard patted her hand. “Your common stock should make you a good breeder, so perhaps you won’t be troubled but a few times before you conceive and your husband returns to his mistress.”
“Must a marriage always be so cold?”
“My dear, as I said before, once the requisite heir is produced, a husband and wife generally go their separate ways…and pursue their own interests. But if it is intimacy you seek, rest assured that it may still be found.”
“I have no interest in taking a lover, if that is what you mean.”
“But my dear, we all experience the need for companionship…for intimacy.” Lady Blanchard stroked her cheek, adding soft as a whisper, “Needs that can be met with the utmost discretion when less conventional means are employed.”
“I don’t understand you.” An uneasy feeling settled in Mary’s stomach.
“La, child!” Lady Blanchard rose with a laugh. “Who but another woman can truly understand a woman’s needs?” She regarded Mary with an inscrutable look. “Have I laid your anxiety to rest, my dear?”
“I suppose as much as is possible.” In truth, their tête-à-tête had only fostered new fears.
“Very good, then. You know you need only come to me should you have any further concerns.” Lady Blanchard shook out her skirts and retrieved the key from her pocket, but stopped short at the door. “By the by, I almost forgot to mention I am expecting a gentleman for tea who is very desirous to meet you.” The countess smiled sweetly. “A most prominent gentleman and foremost amongst your potential suitors. His name is Lord Barnesley.”
Chapter Nineteen
Two hours later, the footman opened the door to Barbara’s boudoir to announce Frederick, Baron Barnesley of Oldham. Barbara had waited for this moment with great anticipation. Wearing only a diaphanous dressing gown loosely sashed over her stays, stockings, and beribboned garters, she rose to receive him. “Barnesley! What a delight!”
“My dear Countess, it has been far too long.” He smiled a slow predatory smile displaying the full expanse of his white teeth. His dark eyes raked over her state of dishabille as he accepted her extended hand. He plied a kiss to it, lingering to dart his tongue between her fingers.
She snatched her hand away with a throaty chuckle inspired by his blatantly sexual message. “You are all too wicked, Barnesley! But you know I have always adored that about you. Indeed I once thought we would have made such a fabulous pair.”
“Did you indeed?” He sized her up slowly, his black eyes glittering dangerously from beneath his hooded lids. “I have never made a secret of my desire for you, but wondered if you would be willing to accommodate my little…idiosyncrasies.”
“But I enjoy an inspired lover, one possessed of a vivid imagination. Pity you could never afford me.” Her lips formed a moue. “Won’t you sit, darling?” He inclined his head and flipped his coat skirts before lowering himself onto the silk upholstered divan. “Sherry?” she asked, her hand hovering over the bottle. “Or would you prefer I call for some port?”
“Nothing at the moment, thank you.”
She poured herself a drink and then joined him.
His gaze settled on her exposed décolletage. He traced an index finger over her collarbone. His gaze flicked up to meet hers. “You raise my expectations with this intimate chat, yet you are still under Sir Richard’s protectio
n, are you not?”
“For the nonce,” she replied. “But the arrangement no longer agrees with me. You might say I am become bored with the boor.” She chuckled and then lifted her finely shaped brow as she toyed with his lace cravat. “I had hoped that perhaps you and I might be able to come to some understanding.”
“Did you indeed?” His warm hand closed over hers. His grip tightened as his smile hardened. “Yet, your interest seems to conveniently coincide with my potential change of fortune,” he replied. “Is the rumor of my impending marriage to an heiress why you called for me?”
“How perceptive you are. Yes, darling,” she replied without guile. “I know that you are currently involved in some negotiations in the matter.”
“And how does this concern you?”
“Sir Richard’s ward is in my care. I can make her yours, Freddie.”
His raised brows betrayed his interest. “Why? What do you seek in return? Do you wish to become my mistress now, Barbara?”
“Simply your mistress?” she gave another throaty chortle. “Darling, I would never be so trite as to propose something so commonplace to a man like you.”
“No? Then what have you in mind?”
“Is it true what they say regarding the first Lady Barnesley?” she asked.
“That I strangled her during sex play?” He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “That is largely exaggerated.”
Barbara noted that his response neither confirmed nor denied the rumors.
He added with a resigned shrug. “She was of a feeble constitution and would have made a poor breeder anyway. Sir Richard assures me that Miss Edwardes, on the contrary, is extraordinarily robust.”
“Nevertheless, I fear the girl will disappoint you, darling.”
“How so?” he asked.
“We have become quite intimate these past months…though perhaps not as intimate as I might like.” She pursed her lips meaningfully. “But well enough to know that she will be clueless how to please a gentleman of your particular…tastes. Sadly, I don’t believe you will be at all compatible in your conjugal union.”
His lip twitched. “Never fear on that score, for I shall be quite compatible with her fortune. As for the rest,” he shrugged, “she can be taught.”
“But she is headstrong, darling. Perhaps, you’ll enjoy her resistance for a time, but it will grow exceedingly tiresome.”
His gaze narrowed. “You think so? What do you suggest?”
“Mayhap she would benefit from someone knowledgeable to guide her…to show her the ropes.”
“Only the ropes?” He chuckled. “I assure you my repertoire is quite expanded.” His black eyes glittered like shattered glass now. “Do you also enjoy such games, Barbara? Do you have a desire to employ the cat in your guidance?”
“It may be useful…among other things,” she replied coyly.
“You intrigue me, my dear. How very much I would enjoy watching you.”
“I thought you might, my love.” Her eyes flicked to his crotch noting to her delight he was growing as aroused by the conversation as she.
His mouth curved meaningfully. “You indeed command my full attention. I would hear more of your thoughts on the proper training of my proposed bride.”
“I wonder, since she is untried, if perhaps we could manage her together?” She watched with growing excitement as her idea took root. The notion of being with both a man and a woman was wickedly titillating and one of the few things she had not yet tried. Her mind was already awhirl with lewd and lascivious imaginings, impulses she was dying to act upon. With Barnesley’s particular creativity in sex games, this could be a fascinating arrangement indeed.
“My dear countess,” Barnesley replied in a sultry voice. “I would be only too delighted to agree to such an accommodation. My estate at Oldham is in a very isolated location…a very private place. I would hate my young bride to become lonely. Perhaps I could persuade you to become her companion?”
“But how considerate you are. I would be enchanted to oblige…at least until she has borne you an heir. After that perhaps I will have grown bored.”
“Bored with me?” he scoffed. “Highly unlikely, my dear.”
“No, darling,” she laughed. “Bored with the arrangement. Sharing is only a novelty to me.”
“Is that so? Then let us deal with that eventuality when and how the situation merits.” He slid a hand through the folds of her dressing gown to cup her sex. “You are wet, Barbara. I can smell your desire. Is it the thought of pleasure or pain that excites you?”
“Both,” she boldly declared.
He stood her up, and came behind her. “Then if our business is concluded,” he breathed hotly into her ear, “I would like very much to bend you over this couch and take you in the arse.”
“But of course, darling,” she purred. “I thought you would never ask.”
…
At Lady Blanchard’s insistence, Nanette appeared later in the afternoon with cosmetics and another detestable wig. Mary endured the ritual of paint and powder with the same wordless stoicism she adopted to meet her proposed suitor. When she entered the countess’ chambers, a gentleman rose with an innate aristocratic grace to sweep her a formal bow.
“My lord,” Mary dipped into the obligatory curtsey as the countess made the introduction. “Miss Mary Edwardes, I make known to you Lord Frederick, Baron Barnesley of Oldham.”
Mary had expected many things, but Lord Barnesley surprised her with his dark eyes and classically chiseled features. Rather than old, stout, and bushy-browed as expected, he was surprisingly young, of medium height, slender build, and exceptionally handsome.
“I am enchanted, Miss Edwardes,” the baron spoke in a pleasingly soft baritone. He smiled at her, baring white, even teeth. His black eyes, assessing her with cool appraisal, reminded Mary of unlit coal, dark and glittering, and lacking warmth. “I am astounded that the countess has managed to keep such a lovely creature a secret. I count myself the most fortunate of men to have seen you first.” He then inclined his head to Lady Blanchard. “It was a most exquisite pleasure to renew our acquaintance, countess. You may rest assured I will be calling upon Sir Richard at once.”
“You do not stay for tea, my lord?” Mary asked when she sat and he remained standing.
“No, dear child. I find it an insipid drink. If you come to know me better, you will quickly learn that my tastes incline toward…the unusual.” He and the countess exchanged a look as if they shared some secret jest. Lady Blanchard accompanied him to the door where they exchanged a few private words before he took his departure.
“I daresay that you are now positioned to become the next Baroness Barnesley of Oldham. He is quite a handsome gentleman, don’t you think?”
“I could hardly disagree,” Mary replied. She had found him unusually attractive—in an odd feline sort of way. “But we barely exchanged three words.”
“He already knew everything of import before he came to call.”
“You refer to my fortune.”
The countess tilted her head with a subtle smile. “And I daresay he is in great need of the bolster you will provide to his coffers. Truly, all that remained was for him to see that you are not altogether repulsive, and whether you would be suitable to bear his heirs.”
Mary strained to contain the heat of her reply. “Am I to assume that I passed muster?”
“Indeed so,” Lady Blanchard nodded. “I expect Sir Richard will deliver the happy news forthwith. It is quite a coup for one of your class, you know. Barnesley holds one of the oldest baronies in England, however impoverished it has become. Did I not promise to secure you the best husband of the lot?”
“You are too kind, my lady.”
“But it is nothing, child.”
“Where is the Barony of Oldham?”
“Somewhere to the north,” the countess waved her hand in a vague gesture. “It is a very old estate that no doubt shall require extensive refurbishment. I daresay
that should keep you exceedingly occupied as its new mistress.”
“But I thought I would return to live at Welham Grove.”
“My dear, you will live wherever your husband deems best. Barnesley is excessively proud of his heritage, but if it puts you at ease, dear child, I would be happy to accompany you there and see you settled in your new home.”
…
“What am I to do, Jenny?” Mary paced her chamber. “Even if I could nullify my marriage with Lord Hadley, I might never see Welham Grove again for they are already planning to wed me to another. If I say nothing and go through with it, I could be charged with bigamy!”
“Then you have no choice but to go with Lord Hadley,” Jenny replied. “Once you are away from this place, you can return to Welham Grove under the protection of his name. Ye needn’t worry so very much about money, for Sir Richard can hardly turn ye out of yer own house. Have ye anything of value to sell, miss? Just to get ye by for a short time?”
“There is indeed a hidden cupboard in Papa’s bedchamber where he kept some coin and other valuables. I never touched it, as there was never any need, but surely we can get by for months on what is there.”
Even as she and Jenny planned their escape, Mary’s thoughts were on her next meeting with Hadley. She despised his deceit and loathed his lies, but the thought of his handsome face evoked a miasma of confused emotions that she couldn’t begin to sort, even if she wanted to—which she didn’t. No, she was resolved to cling to her bitter disillusionment to see her through. It was the only emotion she could afford to indulge in.
When she dismissed Jenny, Mary didn’t seek her own bed but sat waiting by the light of a single candle, lost in her ruminations and endeavoring to build a wall of apathy about her shattered heart—a wall that threatened to crumble into dust the moment he entered the room.
Mary rose to greet him but made no further move. He looked haggard but his face still broke into a smile as extended his arms to take her into his embrace. Unwittingly she stiffened.
“Mary?” He halted, a question clouding his face “What’s amiss?”
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