by Cheryl Bolen
"My blushing bride," he said with a possessiveness he did not feel.
She looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "I cannot believe I've known you all my life and am still learning more about you. I think that's important for a husband and wife. It's important, too, to be friends." She lowered her voice to a soft murmur. "You'll always be my greatest friend, Blanks." Then she squinted her eyes and declared, "And I must warn you I most decidedly hate Aurora."
It seemed rather an odd thing to have a woman for his champion. Only his nurse—who had never been foolish enough to stand up to Aurora—had ever seen Aurora's injustice. Would Glee still care so greatly for him when he left her childless or when he slaked his hunger in the arms of another woman?
Chapter 11
When Appleton flew across Bath's Pulteney Bridge before their carriage, Glee was far more concerned over the hard-worked bays than she was over her husband's lost five-and-twenty pounds. For in his quest to win, Blanks had ordered the coachman to push them to their limit.
But after alighting from the carriage in front of the new townhouse and examining the horses for herself, Glee realized Blanks knew his horses' limits far better than she did. They were heavily lathered but other than that appeared to be unharmed. She removed her gloves and stroked each of their nuzzles, murmuring softly to them.
Once the coachman took them off through the dusk to the mews, she turned to her husband and Appleton with merriment on her face. By this time the twins had ridden up and were dismounting. "You gentlemen must do us the honor of being the first to dine with us at our new home. I'm sure the staff Blanks has procured will be able to assemble a humble meal," she said. Appleton's puzzled gaze shifted to Blanks. Color rose in Glee's face for she knew Appleton feared he would be intruding on their wedding night.
"Yes, do," Blanks assured his friends.
"Very kind of you, Miss--I mean, Mrs. Blankenship," Appleton said. "We'll return to our lodgings and hope to make ourselves presentable. Should be back in an hour."
"We'll be delighted," she said happily. "And you must call me Glee for I shall now address you by your Christian name."
"Don't see how I could call you that," Appleton said. Though she would far rather have been alone all night with Blanks, surrounding herself with his friends and becoming one of them was part of her battle plan.
Blanks came to stand beside her and draped his arm around her as they watched his friends ride back in the direction of Bath Abbey. Then Blanks turned toward the townhouse and opened the door for her.
A man Glee assumed was the butler came rushing forth, a worried look on his face until he recognized Blanks. "Good evening, Mr. Blankenship."
Blanks nodded stiffly, then glanced at Glee. "My dear, I should like to present your new butler to you." He shot a glance at the middle-aged man whose skin was very white and whose hair was very black. "Hampton."
Hampton bowed to Glee. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Blankenship. I shall tell the housekeeper you are here."
But he had no need to do so because a capable looking woman who appeared to be a decade older than Glee came climbing up from the basement, a smile on her face as she greeted Glee with a curtsey. "I'm your housekeeper. My name's Mrs. Roberts, and I shall be most happy to show you all I have discovered about your new house, though I daresay you're fatigued from the journey."
"Tomorrow will be soon enough," Glee said, trying not to sound too authoritarian. "I'm afraid I've got a demanding request for tonight, though. We will need dinner for five as we've invited a few of Mr. Blankenship's friends over, but we don't expect anything fancy."
"Oh, that will be no problem. Mr. Blankenship told me you'd be returning tonight, so we've a fine meal prepared. Three more will be no inconvenience whatsoever."
"Very good," Glee said. Then slipping her arm through Blanks's, she added, "If you don't mind, my husband and I will sweep through the house. It's our first home together, and we're very excited."
Mrs. Roberts smiled and bowed her head. "I hope you find everything in order." Then she disappeared back down the stairs.
"Oh, Blanks, it's such a wonderful house! And it's ours." She looked up at him, and his smile reached his flashing dark eyes.
He patted her hand. "I must admit having a townhouse—and a wife—is making me feel very old."
They walked along the marble foyer and entered the morning room, which was bathed in pea green. "You're still just four and twenty, and quite fancy free," she said, walking through a door into Blanks's study.
"This is where we gentlemen will smoke after dinner," he said.
She nodded up at him, unable to conceal her pleasure at being here in their house, with her arm entwined with her husband's. And she gave a silent prayer of thanks that she had been granted the first part of her wish. Accomplishing the second part was now up to her. She had to earn his love.
They strolled from the gentleman's study across the foyer to the gold dining room. A fire had been started, and the table was already covered with a white cloth. Glee saw that a place was laid at each end of the long table. She made a mental note to move hers next to Blanks. As they were leaving that room, a footman carrying three more place settings entered the dining chamber.
From the dining room, she and Blanks strolled to the saloon. "As much as I like Mrs. Harrison's furniture, I deplore the decoration of this room," Glee said.
He glanced around the vast chamber and with a puzzled expression asked, "What's wrong with it?"
"The pastels will never do. They're so. . .so insipid. I like bold colors, and they are all the rage in decorating."
He patted her hand. "Then you'll have to redecorate it."
"Exactly what I was thinking," Glee said with a laugh.
"Shall we go upstairs?" he asked.
She nodded shyly. Their private chambers were located on the next floor.
Holding hands, they silently climbed the broad stairway. The first room they came to was Glee's study, where a cabriolet-legged escritoire stood in its center. Sky blue walls were barely distinguishable from the sky blue silk draperies.
"I daresay the blue has to go," Blanks said, grinning. "Too pale for my wife."
Sweet heaven, but she loved those words! My wife. "I shall be forced to redecorate yet another room," she said with a laugh.
They went through a door in her study to her sleeping chamber, which was also done in sky blue. Her cheeks hot, Glee avoided looking at the focal point of the room: the bed. Then Blanks disengaged his arm from hers and looked at her seriously.
Her heart began to drum madly. Was he going to kiss her? Carry her to the satin bed and make love to her? But, of course, he wouldn't. Blanks was completely inflexible. If he said he would not bed her, she could take his words for gospel. Oh dear, what had she done—tying herself to a man who was dead-set against taking his conjugal rights. What if she proved unable to change him? Oh dear, she would not like that at all.
She watched him from beneath lowered lashes and was surprised to see him remove money from his purse.
"It's time I give you the funds with which to embark on your redecorating, my dear. Actually, the tradesmen can send all the household bills to me, but you will need your own money. Do you think you can manage on three hundred a quarter? Of course, I'll take responsibility for the staff and household purchases."
She was stunned. Three hundred pounds! 'Twas more than she'd had at her disposal in her entire life. She leaped to her tiptoes and flung her arms about his neck, kissing him on the cheek. "It's most generous."
Seeing the somber look on his face, she fell back to the soles of her feet. "I'm afraid you'll have to get used to my affectionate outbursts. It's my nature. I hope I haven't offended you."
A heartwarming smile leapt to his face even as he stepped back from her. "What man would object to having a beautiful woman kiss him?"
He might not object, but he certainly didn't reciprocate. She would have to console herself with his declaration of
her beauty.
"If I remember correctly, your chambers can be entered through that door," she said, pointing to a side wall of her chamber.
He nodded.
"Would you mind if I have a look?" she asked.
He stepped toward the door. "Not at all."
All she could see when she entered his olive green chamber was the huge bed in the center of the room. Would she ever lie there beside him? The very thought of it caused a liquid rush to center low in her body. She must not think of it or rush her fences. This would take time, and behaving the strumpet, while tempting, was beyond her. How did strumpets behave? She would have to ask. . .Blanks? A gentleman never spoke of such to his wife. Maybe one of the twins could be coaxed into giving her pointers. Or better yet, Jefferson.
She must think of something else to comment on. Finally, she blurted out the first thing that entered her head. "I shall very much like having my chamber close to you in a strange new house. It will make me feel quite safe knowing you're so near at hand."
Uncharacteristically, he did not smile. Was he thinking about sharing the bed with her? More likely, he was thinking of not sharing the bed with her. "If you ever have nightmares, call me," he said in a reassuring voice.
"I will." She turned toward her own chambers. "I had best clean up from the journey. I believe I'll ring for a bath."
* * *
Dinner was a two-hour affair. Glee used the time to get to know her husband's friends. Not that she did not already know them through her brother. But the relationship she was about to embark upon with them put their friendships in an altogether different light. She started with the discovery that the twin who sat to her immediate left was the shy one, Melvin. She made it her mission to bring him out. "Does it not vex you, Melvin, that no one seems to be able to distinguish between you and your twin, though I daresay the two of you are vastly different?"
He carefully chewed his mutton before responding. Then he cleared his throat. "I've always been content to let Elvin draw the attention. It suits my reserved nature. But it has never ceased to amaze me that to the majority of the population, we are one and the same."
How different the brothers talked! Where Elvin was outgoing, personable and given to slang, his brother thought carefully before uttering a syllable and spoke with the articulation of a prime minister. "I daresay that's because, to those who don't know you, physical appearance, unfortunately, weighs more heavily. It brings to mind a homely girl who may be beautiful on the inside, but because her appearance is unremarkable, she's overlooked."
"A good analogy, I think," he said, then lifted his claret.
She doubted the word analogy would even have been understood by his brother. While her husband and Appleton and Elvin spoke of an upcoming auction at Tattersall's, she continued her conversation with Melvin. "Besides your difference in nature, are there other significant differences between you and Elvin? It appears the two of you rather enjoy the same types of activities."
"I'm afraid I'm not very assertive. I tend to let my brother lead the way. He has a keen sense of fun, so I'm rarely disappointed.
"Then you're not as interested in sporting pleasures and merriment as your brother?"
He thought for a moment before answering. "To a certain degree, I am. But I also enjoy reading—a pursuit I never seem to have the time for."
"It's the same with me," she confided. "There's never enough time for one to read all that one wishes to read." She sipped her wine. It was very smooth. In fact, Mrs. Roberts had set a very fine table. Which would reflect very well on Glee.
She looked up and saw that her husband was smiling at her.
"Please, Melvin, don't allow my wife to bore you with talk of books." Instead of scorn, Blanks's voice rang with pride, a pride that puzzled her.
Elvin answered for his twin. "Daresay me brother craves such a conversation. I'm forever pulling his head out of a book. Don't understand the fascination they hold over him."
"I'm told it's rather the same with my wife," Blanks lamented in a light tone.
"Then you don't have to worry about entertaining Mrs. Blankenship," Appleton said to Blanks. "Just foist Melvin on her. Daresay the two will be as content as two pigs in slop." Then he turned to Glee, a look of embarrassment on his face. "Pardon me, Mrs. Blankenship. Didn't mean to imply that you were a burd---, I mean, oh, confound it!"
"And I daresay he regrets likening you to a pig," Elvin interjected.
Glee met her husband's dancing eyes, and both of them broke into heaps of laughter.
When the men removed themselves to the smoking room, Glee invited herself. "Since there are no other women present, I prefer to join you men. Just think of me as one of you, and don't fret over the smoke. I love the smell of cigars. It reminds me of my dear Papa."
Silence fell over the group when she sat beside Blanks on the sofa. Her presence was no doubt a hindrance to their easy flow of conversation. So she took it upon herself to introduce a topic of conversation the gentlemen could embrace. She had not lived her nineteen years with her sport-mad brother not to know what interested young bloods. "When does the racing begin here in Bath? I never can remember."
"Next week," Appleton replied. "Stalwart shall race here for the first time."
"I saw him last March at Newmarket," Blanks added. "A magnificent creature."
For the next hour, the gentlemen spoke of nothing but racing while she feigned a hearty, though silent, interest. She was thankful of the opportunity to watch her husband without drawing his attention. That his friends deferred to him on every subject filled her with pride. His easy wit and perpetual grin were two things she would never tire of. She studied his thick dark hair and the way it nearly matched his shimmering eyes. Her eyes trailed to his well tailored coat which stretched across his broad shoulders. Then she looked back up into his handsome face and found that he smiled at her with a grin that lifted only one side of his mouth. His customary amused grin. She easily returned the smile.
Though Blanks invited his friends to play loo, they declined in a most self-conscious fashion. It was obvious they did not want to intrude on the Blankenship's wedding night.
After she and Blanks saw the men from the house, Blanks took her hand, and they began to mount the stairs. Her pulse accelerated and for the first time that night, Glee could find no words to say. Then they came to the door of her sleeping chamber.
"You'll make me a fine hostess, Glee," he said. "You possess the facility of putting guests at ease. You've made a conquest of my friends." He paused. Then he bent to kiss her forehead. "Good-night, my dear."
She squeezed the hand that still held hers. "Good night, Blanks."
She watched somberly as he walked to his own chamber. Such was the wedding night of their most unusual marriage, she reflected uneasily. Of course, it was just as she had expected. She must be patient. As a young colt must be slowly brought to saddle and bridle, Blanks would eventually seek her bed. First, she had to get him used to their marriage.
Chapter 12
For the next few days Glee contented herself with buying up half of Bath. She sent for painters and ordered new draperies and silk damask wall coverings, and she underwent fittings for new ball gowns that would signal her position as a married woman. She grew anxious to wear her daring new gowns and gauge her husband's reaction to them. The new Glee would look nothing like the innocent virgin she had appeared during her last season in Bath.
All these shopping excursions she conducted on her own, completely alone. It was the first time in her life she had shopped without her sister or a friend. She had considered asking her timid friend, Miss Arbuckle, to accompany her but quickly dismissed such a thought. It would not be in keeping with the new Glee, who would cut a dashing—though scandalous—path through the watering city. Which was all part of her plan to snare Blanks's heart.
Miss Arbuckle would serve another purpose. Later.
For her first assembly as a married woman, Glee chose her most da
ring dress. Her abigail Patty's eyes danced when she beheld the scarlet dress. "I loves red!" Patty said. "It's like a poppy in my mum's garden. Don't know why it's out of fashion. I daresay your wearing it will make it all the rage again."
But the abigail's tone changed once she had assisted her mistress into it. "Oh, dear," the young maid said. "You will have to return for a better fitting."
Standing up straight and regal before her looking glass, Glee perused the new gown from every possible angle. First, she faced the glass. Yes, it draped off the shoulders, leaving her white shoulders completely bare. Then she turned sideways, secretly pleased at the view of her breasts barely dipping into the skimpy bodice. But the dress did cover her breasts, and in so doing, exaggerated the size of her modest bosom. It pleased her that she looked somewhat like Carlotta Ennis—though her bosom was a great deal smaller than her rival's. She turned around and glanced over her shoulder into the glass and observed the way the train commenced near her waist, revealing her ivory back. Completing her turn, her eyes trailed along the length of the clinging silk crepe gown. "It fits exactly as I instructed Madam Herbert."
Patty's eyes widened. "My mama said the ways of the ton were different."
Patty's shock was exactly the reaction Glee was hoping for. Blanks did so hunger after loose women. She only hoped she looked loose enough.
There was a soft knock on her chamber door. She glanced at Patty and with a slight nod dismissed her. "My husband will fasten my necklace," she said.
Patty opened the door to Blanks, then excused herself as Blanks came into Glee's dressing chamber.
"Oh, Blanks, do fasten these rubies for me," she said, handing him the jewels. "Then I shall be ready for the assembly." She cast an embarrassed glance at him. She had felt utterly confident before he stepped inside her chamber. Now she felt as if she stood before him completely naked.
To her surprise, he surveyed her under lowered, scowling brows. "Surely you don't intend to wear that dress in public."