The Notorious Marriage

by Nicola Cornick

  ‘Oh!’ Charlotte clenched her fists with aggravation. ‘And does it matter nothing to you that you are making me unhappy? Does Marcus not care that Beth is made distraught by his behaviour?’

  Justin put out a hand and pulled her resisting body close. ‘Does it make you unhappy, my love?’

  Charlotte looked at him from beneath her lashes. ‘Prodigiously!’

  ‘Then I am sorry for it, but I cannot compromise my principles. Now, kiss me to show that there are no bad feelings between us…’

  Charlotte wrenched herself from his grip and stood back. ‘Kiss you! I think not, sir! Nor shall I speak to you again until this whole, wretched matter is resolved!’

  Justin frowned. ‘You will not speak to me at all?’

  ‘No! Until you come to your senses!’

  Justin scratched his head. ‘Charlotte, this is foolish! Can we not simply talk about it?’

  There was no reply. Charlotte gathered up the skirts of her dress, gave him a speaking look over her shoulder and swept out of the room and up to bed.

  Beth, Countess of Trevithick, was sitting before her mirror in her shift and brushing out her hair. It had also been a most trying evening and she was prepared to lay the blame completely at Marcus’s door. At this point in her thoughts, the connecting door to her husband’s suite of rooms opened and Marcus came through. He was wearing a brocade dressing-gown with, Beth would wager, nothing underneath, and as always the sight of him made her catch her breath and caused her heart to beat a little faster. Tonight, however, she was in no mood to be nice to him.

  She waited until he was standing behind her then met his eyes directly in the glass.

  ‘Marcus, how long do you intend to persist in this ridiculous behaviour towards Kit? You put me quite out of patience with you!’

  Marcus laughed. ‘Why, as long as I please, my love! Your cousin should not think that he can return to be gathered into the bosom of the family! His behaviour has been inexcusable!’

  ‘That is for Kit to resolve with Eleanor,’ Beth said coldly, trying to ignore the shiver of pleasure that went through her as Marcus raised one hand and slowly stroked her bare arm beneath the short sleeve of the shift.

  ‘I agree…’ Marcus bent to kiss her neck. ‘But as head of the family I have certain obligations and one is to make my disapproval plain…’

  ‘Pompous poppycock!’ Beth exclaimed, pulling her head away. ‘Besides, Marcus, you are upsetting me…’

  ‘Am I, my love…?’ Marcus’s lips moved to the soft skin of her throat. His hands were on her shoulders again, sliding the shift downwards. ‘Let me make it up to you…’

  Beth got to her feet, only to find that that brought her into even closer proximity with her husband. His arms went around her—she tried to pull away. The shift was already around her waist.

  ‘Marcus, this is serious—’

  ‘I know…’ He had bent to kiss her breasts now and Beth almost groaned with frustration—and pleasure. It was becoming increasingly difficult to think.

  ‘Marcus,’ she whispered, ‘if you do not end this ridiculous feud I shall not speak to you again!’

  That caused him to pause for a whole five seconds. Beth held her breath. Marcus bent his head to hers, kissing her lips gently.

  ‘We do not need to speak, love, at least not for now…’

  Later, much later, cursing herself for her lack of determination, Beth looked at her sleeping husband and decided that something had to be done. Sterner steps should be taken to achieve her goal. And she had just had the very idea of how to do it.

  Chapter Seven

  ‘I am dreadfully sorry, my lord.’ Eleanor tilted her parasol against the sunlight in an attempt to prevent herself from squinting. They were walking in the garden after breakfast and it seemed a very bright morning, unnaturally sunny, but perhaps that was merely because her head ached a little. When she had awoken she had had an imperfect memory of the night before, but she knew that it involved a mistaken dose of laudanum and that somewhere along the line she had made a complete cake of herself. She seemed to recall that Kit had been terribly kind to her, which somehow made her feel much worse. She peered at him from beneath the brim of her hat.

  Kit was not squinting in the sunlight. He looked immaculately elegant to Eleanor’s eyes, making her feel ever so slightly grubby. His hair was a tawny gold, ruffled by the slight wind, and his eyes a deep, dark blue. Eleanor gave an involuntary sigh.

  ‘I am so very sorry, my lord,’ she said again. ‘I did not intend to become unruly last night, or embarrass you in public…’

  Kit’s fingers, long and strong interlocked with hers. He was smiling.

  ‘I confess it was a change to see you less…self-possessed,’ he said. ‘You need not apologise though, Eleanor. I found the whole experience highly instructive.’

  Eleanor frowned. This sounded ominous, particularly as she could remember so little herself. She allowed Kit to take her arm and they walked down the terrace steps and on to the path that led across the lawn. The air was cool and refreshing.

  ‘Instructive? Did you? But, surely…’

  Kit smiled down at her. ‘You said things that I am sure you would not have mentioned under normal circumstances. It was particularly interesting.’

  Eleanor frowned a little harder. This sounded even worse than she had thought. ‘I did? Such as…what, my lord?’

  ‘Oh…’ Kit’s smile had a wicked edge ‘…that you wished to be a fast matron but that you found you did not care for it after all! That you had too much regard for the opinion of society but that in future you would not care so much…’

  Eleanor pressed her hands to her cheeks. She had the dreadful suspicion that this was the least of the things that she had said. There had been something about stolen kisses…

  ‘Did I mention…other men, my lord?’

  ‘You did!’ Kit eyed her blushing embarrassment with good humour. ‘I cannot tell you how glad I am that one small misunderstanding is resolved between us!’

  Eleanor eyed him suspiciously. ‘And that is…’

  ‘That though we were apart from each other for too long, neither of us was tempted to avail ourselves of the charms of others. I confess I am glad that we may now both disregard the gossip!’

  ‘Oh!’ Eleanor let out a small breath of relief. ‘It is a somewhat delicate topic…’

  ‘But one that I am glad we have broached.’ Kit smiled broadly. ‘Now that that is taken care of, we may perhaps progress to resolving other matters—all in good time, of course, and in the interests of our friendship!’

  Eleanor felt as though the ground was slipping from beneath her feet. On the surface Kit’s suggestion seemed like a good idea—once they had resolved the past they might come to an easier understanding, and there were still plenty of issues between them that required resolution. Yet there was something treacherous lurking beneath the surface here. Each confidence brought them closer, inevitably, dangerously closer to each other. One thing led to another. Which reminded her of the previous night…

  An image flashed through Eleanor’s mind, a vivid picture of herself lying back on the big four poster bed—she could see the canopy above her head, and she could remember how she had stretched long and luxuriously and asked Kit…The colour rushed into her cheeks. She had asked Kit if he would like to make love to her, had invited him—twice! And he had turned her down…

  ‘Ohhhh!’

  ‘Are you feeling unwell this morning, my love?’ Kit enquired solicitously, the twinkle still in his eye. ‘It might have been expected. Come, sit down over here.’ He led her to the garden seat that had been placed in the middle of the lawn, beneath a canopy of green. It was shadowed and cool and Eleanor sat down and folded her parasol, relieved to be out of the direct sun.

  ‘Kit…’ she spoke hesitantly, uncertain if she really wanted to know the answer ‘…is it true or did I just imagine asking you last night if you would make love to me?’

  The
re was a pause whilst she waited for him to come to her rescue, to assure her that she had asked nothing of him at all. Kit grinned. He looked insufferably pleased with himself. ‘No, you did not imagine it, Eleanor.’

  Eleanor’s blush deepened. ‘Ohhhhh…But you did not…’

  Kit sobered. ‘No. It would scarcely have been the right occasion.’

  Eleanor took a deep breath. ‘I think that I must thank you, my lord. You could have taken advantage of me—and yet you did not.’

  Their eyes met and held. Kit was still smiling very faintly and there was something else in his expression that made Eleanor’s stomach drop away. She sat quite still, transfixed, and Kit leaned forward and kissed her very gently.

  Eleanor’s lips clung softly to his. She immediately knew that she did not want to pull away. The sensation was so very sweet, the touch of his lips so tender, demanding nothing but giving everything. Eleanor moved a little closer along the seat. She wanted more than this tentative caress and the knowledge of her own desires shocked her briefly. But there was no danger—the kiss was no more than the lightest of touches. It was up to her to make more of it if she wished.

  She did wish. She found that she wished it quite desperately. She parted her lips beneath Kit’s and was instantly gratified to feel the change in him, the demand that lay beneath his iron control. His tongue touched hers, exploring her mouth, slowly and sensuously, evoking a response that made her tremble. She felt languid and melting, yet unbearably excited at one and the same time. She knew that Kit was still exerting a frustrating self-control and suddenly it seemed imperative to make him lose it. She pressed closer to him and Kit broke off the kiss. Eleanor let out a sigh of pure annoyance. ‘Oh!’

  ‘I am sorry, my love.’ Kit was breathing a little unevenly, the only sign that he had been disturbed at all. ‘Charlotte and Beth are coming across the lawn, and with them—yes, Carrick with the morning tea tray!’

  Eleanor spun around. Beth had said that she would call, and on most occasions Eleanor would have been more than delighted to see her, but now…She shivered as the sensual warmth ebbed from her blood. To think that she had not been unduly concerned about her developing friendship with Kit! Had she been wilfully blind or just deluding herself…

  Kit stood up, bending to brush his lips against her cheek in a gesture that sent another echo of passion fizzing along Eleanor’s nerves.

  ‘I will leave you with Beth and Charlotte now, but I will see you later, my love.’

  ‘Very well,’ Eleanor agreed shakily. She watched as he strolled across the lawn, pausing to kiss his sister and cousin and exchange a few words on the way. Carrick brought the tea over and Eleanor dragged her gaze away from Kit’s tall figure. It was odd—she found it incredibly difficult to look away from him. She started to think about the kiss, then hastily sought to distract herself by rearranging the chairs and table and helping Carrick with the cups.

  ‘Eleanor! How are you this morning?’

  Beth, resplendent in a silver and white striped dress, bustled over and bent to hug her sister-in-law. ‘I wondered what had happened to you at the musicale last night!’ she reproached. ‘I thought that you might not be feeling quite the thing, or it could just have been the caterwauling of the terrible singer…’

  ‘It was dreadful, was it not,’ Charlotte agreed, with a shudder. ‘It gave me the most appalling headache…’

  ‘You are both dreadfully uncultured!’ Eleanor scolded, tongue in cheek. She was feeling quite kindly disposed towards the diva now that she knew Kit had no interest in her. ‘Why, everyone knows that La Perla is the most sought-after opera singer in Italy—in more than one sense!’

  Eleanor saw Carrick blush to his ears and blink very rapidly, a sure sign that the butler was discomfited. Really, he was a dreadful old puritan.

  ‘Thank you, Carrick,’ she said hastily. ‘We shall call you if we require anything else.’

  ‘Poor Carrick,’ Beth said as the butler withdrew, ‘he is so easily shocked! Why, you would have thought that he was inured to such things after witnessing my behaviour…’

  ‘And mine,’ Eleanor said feelingly.

  Charlotte touched her hand. ‘So tell us what happened last night! Were you taken ill?’

  ‘Oh!’ Eleanor frowned a little. She felt strangely reluctant to admit to her mistake with the laudanum, more out of loyalty to her mother than because of her own shame. ‘I had some ratafia and it did not agree with me.’

  ‘Nasty stuff,’ Beth commented. ‘I tried the Negus…’

  ‘Oh, you did not!’

  ‘I did, and it was quite revolting! I shall stick to port in future!’

  ‘For my part I had nothing but lemonade—’ Charlotte said, drinking her tea.

  ‘But then you are always so good!’

  They all laughed.

  ‘So Kit had to bring you home,’ Beth said, wiping her eyes, ‘and put you to bed, Eleanor?’

  ‘Beth…’ Eleanor said, blushing. ‘Truth to tell, I remember very little of it! Kit and I are the best of friends, but it is just that—friendship!’

  She did not miss the significant glance that flashed between her sister-in-law and cousin.

  ‘I see,’ Beth said slowly. ‘And when we arrived just now you were kissing Kit goodbye—in a friendly manner?’

  Eleanor blushed to the roots of her hair. Remembering the conversation she had had with Beth only a week ago, she thought suddenly how perspicacious her sister-in-law had been in thinking that Kit would not simply sit back and allow her to dictate their makeshift marriage.

  ‘I did warn you!’ Beth said shrewdly, eyeing the tell-tale rose-pink in Eleanor’s cheeks.

  ‘Pray do not put poor Nell to the blush, Beth!’ Charlotte said, rescuing her. ‘You are too inquisitive! I am sure it is nobody’s business but their own…’

  ‘Speaking of which…’ Eleanor rushed in to change the subject ‘…what are we to do about this ridiculous feud that the men insist on indulging in? Why, it is Lady Knighton’s rout tonight and I feel half-inclined to refuse just to avoid another foolish confrontation!’

  ‘That is just what we were saying on the way here,’ Charlotte said comfortably. She stirred sugar into her tea. ‘I tried to reason with Justin after the musicale last night, but he was quite adamant. In the end I was obliged to tell him that I would not speak to him until he showed some sense!’

  ‘Has it worked yet?’ Beth enquired, leaning forward. She fanned herself. ‘Goodness, but it is getting hot today! The rout will be a sad crush tonight.’

  ‘No, it has not worked,’ Charlotte said, a little disconsolately. ‘I used to enjoy discussing matters with Justin—the papers, the politics, any matter that was worthy of debate, I suppose—but this morning he said that he may get sensible conversation at his club and if I choose to sulk that is my affair!’

  Beth tutted.

  ‘I hear that Marcus and Justin are speaking of having Kit blackballed from Whites,’ Eleanor said hesitantly. ‘I tried to speak to Kit of it last evening but he just said that it was a matter between the three of them.’

  ‘Pshaw!’ Charlotte took a piece of cake. ‘Have you had any success in influencing Marcus, Beth? I know you mentioned you were planning to speak to him.’

  Beth raised her eyebrows. ‘Surely you jest, Lottie!’ She went off into a peal of laughter. ‘I too told Marcus last night that I would not speak to him if he persisted in such ridiculous behaviour and all he said was that we did not need to speak for what he had in mind!’

  Charlotte spluttered into her tea. ‘Fortunate that Carrick has gone, Beth! You would have shocked him to the core!’

  ‘But what’s to do?’ Beth asked plaintively. ‘If the men will not listen to reason we might be set with this foolish feud for months—or years—to come!’

  ‘I agree that we need to take some action,’ Eleanor said glumly. ‘But what?’

  The three of them looked at each other. Charlotte blushed. ‘I did think of something
…’ she said, after a moment.

  Eleanor and Beth waited.

  ‘You are looking very furtive, Lottie!’ Beth accused. ‘Why, whatever can this be…’

  Charlotte cast her eyes down modestly. ‘I thought that if we were to refuse our husbands their…marital rights…they might come to heel a little more quickly than if we simply refuse to speak to them!’ She looked at them. ‘It was just an idea…’

  There was a silence.

  ‘Lottie!’ Beth said, shocked. ‘That is the sort of idea that I would have!’ She sat back in her chair, looking thoughtful. ‘Not that the scheme does not have merit! If we feel secure enough that our husbands will not seek solace elsewhere…’

  ‘I do not think there is the least chance of either of your husbands considering such a course!’ Eleanor said stoutly and truthfully. ‘Why, anyone can see that Justin adores you, Charlotte, and as for Marcus, he has been known as the most attentive husband in the Ton for the past few months! Besides, you are both newly wed and I do not believe that it will take very long…’

  Beth’s eyes sparkled. ‘No indeed! Oh, to see Marcus’s face…’

  Charlotte smiled. ‘It is a piquant thought,’ she agreed. ‘I do believe we may have some success…’

  Eleanor sighed. ‘I am sorry that I cannot contribute to the plan. My friendship with Kit…’ she blushed delicately ‘…is scarcely on such terms…’

  ‘I’ll wager he would wish it so though, Nell!’ Beth said slyly. ‘So you may find yourself called upon to participate! Remember—no giving in until the feud is laid to rest, no matter the temptation, no matter the blandishments…’

  ‘When do we start?’ Charlotte enquired, popping a sugared almond into her mouth.

  ‘Tonight!’ Beth said.

  On returning from Whites, Marcus Trevithick was pleased to discover his wife alone in the drawing-room and apparently deeply engrossed in a book. There were a couple of hours before they were due to depart for Lady Knighton’s rout and Marcus, contemplating the delicate line of Beth’s shoulder and the delicious curve of her breast, was certain that he knew just how to pass the time.