by Golden Angel
For some reason, she just didn’t seem to want to be with him. At first he couldn’t figure out why she was ignoring him for the rest of the young men that had gathered around her – since he was the only one singled out for such treatment. Then as she’d raved about the flowers that each man had sent her following her come-out, thanking them prettily in turn, he’d realized his blunder.
Well, he’d never liked being part of a crowd anyway.
But he hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings either. Regardless, there was nothing to be done about it now. He wasn’t in the habit of courting young debutantes – ever – and so it wasn’t surprising that he’d made a misstep. He’d been trying to make up for it with their dances, but she held herself back from him there too, only making the bare minimum of conversation. Should he apologize again? Or would pointing out that he was cognizant of his misstep only exacerbate the situation?
“Booth, eh?” Philip asked, coming up beside Felix and frowning as the young Mr. Booth made Gabrielle laugh. “He’s in dun territory.”
“This is his first dance with her and she’s shown him no inclination,” Felix said calmly. While he didn’t like Booth, he wasn’t overly concerned about him either. The man was not well-skilled at subterfuge, not like some of the impoverished rakes that Gabrielle had also attracted. They didn’t approach, not with Philip and his cousins, as well as Felix and his brothers, beside Gabrielle’s friend Arabella and her brothers… but they circled. Like sharks just waiting at a chance to bite into some tasty prey.
“Is there anyone she seems interested in?”
Felix shook his head, thankful for that. The only gentleman who received any kind of significant difference in behavior was himself, and it was not in a positive manner.
“Eckeridge is trying hard though, I think he might actually be smitten – although I doubt he’d be quite so interested without her dowry. He’s not up the River Tick yet, but if he doesn’t stay out of the gambling houses, he will be soon. Foster and Rothingham are also well caught, they rarely leave her side.”
“Foster’s not so bad,” Philip mused, and Felix had to restrain himself from shouting the idea down. Foster wasn’t so bad, he just wasn’t right for Gabrielle. She wouldn’t be able to run over him exactly, but she wouldn’t need to; the man loved to indulge his ladies. Felix had no doubt that his wife wouldn’t lack for anything material, although he also doubted Gabrielle would be willing to share her husband with several mistresses. If Felix was her husband, he sure as hell wouldn’t have a woman on the side.
In fact, he hadn’t had an interest in any other woman since meeting her. It was damned frustrating… but it was also worthwhile. He’d seen the way Philip’s, Petersham’s, and Hyde’s marriages worked; now that the thought of marriage seemed to have burrowed into his brain, he was coming to realize that he wanted to be similarly situated. Just being wed to an attractive woman whom he could discipline as he saw fit wasn’t enough; he wanted her to want to submit to him, to be faithful to him, and to love him. He wanted the loyalty that he saw the others’ wives give them, and the satisfaction they obviously received from their unions.
“Rothingham would be better,” Felix said. He was at least the type who would be faithful, and while he did need to marry a lady with a large dowry, he was a good sort of fellow. Certainly better suited to Gabrielle’s temperament than Foster. “He’s good husband material and a calm sort of fellow, Gabrielle’s dramatics would barely touch him.”
“Good, good. Thanks for taking care of her, Felix,” Philip said, clapping his hand to Felix’s shoulder before a wicked grin crossed his face. “Stand guard on Gabrielle for a bit? I’m ah… going to go see if my wife would like to get a breath of fresh air.”
By which he meant he was going to go find Cordelia and drag her off to have his way with her. A pang of envy went through Felix. There had been a time in his life when he could have looked forward to that as well. Instead, he was now spending his time making sure no one did that to Gabrielle.
Watching his friend go, he didn’t notice the glittering green eyes that were boring a hole in the back of his head. It never even occurred to him that the dance had ended and someone might have been listening to their conversation.
******
The Duke of Richmond's House
Her first kiss left Gabrielle breathless.
In part, because she thought she'd never have one. It was clear that the Marquess wanted her to marry, but at the same time, he'd made it nearly impossible for her to truly be courted. Gabrielle's every movement was tracked, by him, his cousins, and - of course - Mr. Hood. Whom she still determinedly thought of as Mr. Hood, now that she’d realized his attempt at closeness by giving her leave to use his Christian name had meant nothing.
She'd almost been taken in by his apology and his charm until she'd discovered that he was one of her 'guards.' Of course the Marquess had asked his best friend to keep an eye on her for the Season.
It had hurt a great deal, because for a very short time, she'd actually thought that Mr. Hood had been interested in her for her. When she'd realized he wasn't, it had also made clear to her what a little fool she'd been. So she'd thrown herself into the attentions of her suitors, and she'd been quite taken with Mr. Pressen.
He was blonde and tall, slim instead of muscular, and wrote her the most romantic letters. They’d been corresponding for two weeks now and he sent her bouquets daily. He wasn’t the only one whom she received daily bouquets from, but off all her suitors he was also the boldest. When they danced, he whispered how he longed to kiss her, to touch her. He excited her with little caresses that no one noticed. It was wrong of them, she knew, but also terribly exciting.
Mostly, his obvious interest helped to balm the wound her childish hopes had suffered in regards to Mr. Hood.
So, with the help of Arabella, who was thrilled by the romantic adventure, Gabrielle had snuck away to meet Mr. Pressen alone, away from the ballroom. They’d been writing back and forth for a while, although he only occasionally approached her in the ballrooms since her guards were ever alert, and she was both flattered and excited by his attentions. Going into a dark room with him seemed like an utterly romantic adventure. While she could still hear the sounds of merriment, the library was utterly deserted but for her and Mr. Pressen.
His lips were firm and gentle, his hands cupping her face, one of them sliding to the back of her neck and making her gasp as his fingers trailed over her collarbone. As she did so, his tongue slid into her mouth, shocking her. He tasted of brandy and chocolate, and she felt her curiosity grow as his tongue stroked hers. This was an entirely new world for her. It wasn’t unpleasant, although she didn’t quite feel the same excitement that she’d expected to. Since it was her first, of course it wasn’t exciting, but it seemed to be missing a certain… spark. Perhaps her imagination had gotten away with her. It was a very nice kiss after all.
The kiss deepened and she moved closer to him, her lips clinging to his as they explored each other's mouths.
When the door slammed open, she nearly bit his tongue.
"Gabrielle!"
"Fe- Mr. Hood!" She gasped out, her heart pounding with the knowledge that she'd just been caught... and also fury at who had interrupted her first, magical kiss. The bounder was standing in the doorway, brow furrowed in fury, eyes ablaze, and with an expression she’d never seen before on his face.
"Ah, Hood," Mr. Pressen rumbled, releasing Gabrielle from his hold and giving him a kind of companionable grin. "Room's taken, as you can see, if you're-"
With a dull roar, Mr. Hood bounded forward, slamming the door shut behind him, looking like the very devil with his black eyes afire. He slammed his fist into Mr. Pressen's jaw, knocking him down with one blow, and Gabrielle clapped her hands over her mouth to smother her scream. She was completely shell shocked as Mr. Hood grabbed her arm and dragged her out to the hallway.
“Mr. Hood-
“Not. One. Word.” It sounded like he was f
orcing the words out through his teeth.
“Please… Felix - “
“Don’t you dare call me that right now!”
Gabrielle’s lips clamped shut. Damn him, damn him to hell and back for ruining her night. Her kiss. Even worse, she couldn’t help but examine him for signs that perhaps he was jealous… that maybe his anger stemmed from something more than duty… but then he just handed her off to the Marquess with a succinct account of “what he’d found,” which made her roll her eyes, and then he’d followed them to the carriage, but hadn’t gotten in with them. He didn’t even said goodbye to her, just to the Marquess and Cordelia.
And on top of all that, she already knew she was going to be ending her evening with a spanking.
Bloody hell.
******
White's
The club was mostly empty; other than Felix and Philip, there were only two other gentlemen present. One was completely engrossed in his newspaper by the fireplace, the other was already passed out and the staff was obviously trying to decide whether or not they should attempt to wake him. Thus was a morning at White's...
Slumped in his chair, Felix studied his friend, who was swirling his brandy in his glass and had been for the past five minutes. He looked down at the glass in his own hand and tried to drum up the inclination to take a sip. Instead, all he could think about was how Gabrielle had looked last night, her lips against Pressen's, her cheeks flushed with happiness. And then how she'd looked at him once she'd gotten over her shock.
He wanted Gabrielle, he truly did, but how long could he go on wanting a woman who did nothing but turn him away? Every time he thought he'd gotten somewhere with her, it turned out he'd actually taken a step or two back. He realized that he’d hurt her feelings when he hadn’t sent her flowers after her come out, but dash it all, would she hold that against him forever? While Felix was a master at seduction, it was becoming quite clear to him that he had very little idea how to court a proper young lady. Not that he was courting, Gabrielle, really. He hadn’t decided to, yet.
Looking back up at Philip, he saw that his friend was still staring into the depths of his drink.
"I believe you're supposed to sip that, not stare at it. It's not a crystal ball after all," he commented.
Philip sighed. "Even if it were, I don't know that it could help me. Not unless it could show me the perfect husband for Gabrielle and how to get him leg-shackled to her."
Felix winced. He thought he would be a good husband for Gabrielle - he understood that there was more going on behind those pretty green eyes than she showed the world, and he would be willing to tolerate her temper, while curbing the wildest of her impulses, if she would give him any small sign that she at least didn't despise him.
"I've been thinking," he started to say, and then fell silent. Philip turned towards him, raising an eyebrow as he waited for Felix to continue. Felix ran his finger around the top of his glass, scowling. When he'd first met Gabrielle, he'd joked to Philip that he would take Gabrielle if Philip would include two of his hound pups as a wedding present. At the time, he'd only been half joking. Now... he still felt the same, but Gabrielle's recent behavior had been giving him pause. "I was going to wait till the end of her first season, but I'm still considering offering for Gabrielle."
Well, he’d been thinking about waiting till the end of the Season anyway. If he made an offer. In part because he needed his time to wrap his head round the idea.
"Truly?"
"She's... different." She engaged him like no other woman ever had. Not just because of the challenge she presented, but because he felt that the reward at the end would be more than worth it. The different facets of her personality made him want to figure her out, like she was a puzzle box.
"If by different you mean spoiled and self-involved, although truthfully I don't think that makes her stand out from the other ladies of the ton."
Felix immediately felt defensive of Gabrielle. "Because that's not all she is."
"She wants for discipline."
"She also wants for cherishing," Felix said, glaring at Philip. "I'm beginning to agree with your wife, you're too hard on the girl." Gabrielle needed attention. She needed love. She needed to feel like she was desired. After several discussions with Cordelia about how Gabrielle had been treated during her childhood, Felix agreed with her on that. Besides, he couldn’t shake that first impression he’d had of Gabrielle, giving those two little girls dresses for their dolls. That wasn’t spoiled or self-involved at all. But she certainly was in other ways, so he could understand why Philip thought so.
"I have a lack of patience for those who don't appreciate what they're being given by others. Especially when the one doing the giving is Cordelia," Philip admitted in conciliatory tones.
That was true enough; Gabrielle was not always very pleasant to Cordelia, and it was nearly always undeserved. Of course Philip would feel protective of his wife.
"Understandably."
"And I don't dislike Gabrielle all the time. Her company can be quite enjoyable when she wants to be charming. I'd like her a good deal more if she didn't revert back the second she's not getting her way."
Drumming his fingers on the table, Felix nodded. "She needs her own husband." And her own household. A place that she belonged and that wasn't her stepmother's.
"So offer for her."
"I'm not ready yet." Felix looked away from Philip's probing gaze, marshaling his thoughts. "Marriage is a serious proposition. I want something like what you and Cordelia have. What your cousins have. While I think Gabrielle is attracted to me, I'm not sure that she actually likes me. And after she went off with Pressen last night, I'm not sure how discriminating she is when it comes to attraction."
He wanted her loyalty and her heart, not just her hand in marriage. While he couldn't fault her for being curious, at the same time, he'd been hurt when he'd found her with Pressen. It was one thing for her to ignore him in favor of the flattery of others, since she wasn't paying particular attentions to any of them, but for her to actually encourage one as she had Pressen... He wanted to throw her over his knee and spank the thought of any other man out of her head and then kiss her breathless and pleasure her until the lesson had set.
Felix was well versed in pleasure, and he knew damn well that the wives of the ton would often search for it outside of their marriages, and that was exactly what he didn’t want. Which was a large part of why Gabrielle’s behavior tonight gave him pause. Was she the type who went searching for pleasure, regardless of the source? Or did she have true feelings for Mr. Pressen? If she was just looking for passion, Felix was sure that he could provide and keep her sated, if given the opportunity. But if she truly cared for another man… the key to loyalty, as he’d seen in his peers, was love. So perhaps the question he should truly be asking was – could Gabrielle love him?
Chapter 5
Jersey House
The social scene wasn't fun anymore, Gabrielle thought sadly. She enjoyed the compliments of her court, but at the same time, she had to suspect everyone's motives. Pressen had disappeared entirely, proving that whatever he'd felt for her, it wasn't strong enough to withstand Mr. Hood's fist. Now she wondered why each man was paying court to her... was it because of her large dowry? Was it because her best friend was a Duke's sister? Was it to impress the Marquess?
Strangely, she didn’t hate the Marquess anymore. He wasn’t cold, he was just very controlled. And he did care about her, and it didn’t seem like it was just because of Cordelia. When he’d spanked her after the incident with Mr. Pressen, his lecture had driven that home. He didn’t want her to be ruined – but if she was, she felt sure now that he would still take care of her. In some ways, she almost appreciated that he’d spanked her. If he’d just let the incident go, that would have truly showed he didn’t care. They were actually enjoying a better relationship than ever in the aftermath, and he seemed particularly pleased with her normal behavior following her second spanking.
In stark contrast, Mr. Hood no longer danced with her or even attempted an interaction. He just… hovered. Watched her like a hawk. Fulfilled his guard duties. She did her best to ignore him, telling herself that it didn't hurt and she didn't miss him.
Although, if he didn’t need to do more than hover to fulfill his duties, then why had he always danced with her and spoken with her before?
It was all too confusing and it hurt too much to think that he might have cared and now he didn't. So she just pretended he wasn't there.
She truly didn't think she could hurt any worse, until she heard the rumors about him and Cordelia.
******
Cordelia leaned into Felix's side, looking at the dance floor, where he'd pretended not to be watching Gabrielle dancing with his eldest brother, Thomas. "Why don't you ask her to dance anymore?"
It didn’t surprise Felix that Cordelia had noticed his absence from the social scene and, even more notably, his absence from Gabrielle’s dance card even when he did deign to attend. Watching her with her suitors held no joy for him, as she ignored him thoroughly, but he couldn’t completely stay away either. At first he’d watched her because he’d needed to know if she had true emotion for Mr. Pressen, but she didn’t seem too put out by his disappearance from her circle. Then he’d watched her to see if she had any preferences or if she was looking for passion from any of her other suitors. So far she seemed most circumspect with all of them, but that could have been because of her punishment following her misstep with Pressen.
"She didn't seem to particularly enjoy it when I did."
He glanced down to see Cordelia making a face up at him and he couldn't help but chuckle. Her sunny air might not be as fascinating as Gabrielle's stormy temper, but she could always make him smile. "Who wouldn't enjoy dancing with you? Did you step on her feet? Check your breath for garlic? Bore her with your conversation?"