by Golden Angel
Then she was distracted as the Earl settled himself down on her other side, rather than on the chair where she'd expected him to sit. She was now firmly wedged between the two Spencers. While she knew that the Countess wanted Cynthia there so that she could keep an eye on her, she didn't know why the Earl sat so close to her as well. She was hardly going to misbehave right now - she had no desire to make a complete ninny of herself in front of either Lord or Lady Hyde. For one, Cynthia rather liked Eleanor already. For two, Lord Hyde didn't look the type to allow his wife to spend time with the likes of Cynthia if she was blatantly improper in front of him.
And Cynthia did rather want a friend near her age.
Besides, as a married lady, Eleanor probably knew all sorts of things that Cynthia was curious about.
The Earl's thigh pressed against hers through her skirts, distracting her, but she couldn't move away without encroaching on the Countess' space. It was only then that she realized Eleanor had asked her a question.
Blushing, she forced herself to focus, wondering why she was so off-kilter. Surely it was the presence of guests, and not the attractive and surly man beside her.
******
Seeing the amusement in Edwin's eyes, Wesley wondered again why he hadn't sat down in the chair that had been left open for him. At first he'd told himself that he'd sat beside Cynthia in order to lessen the burden of watching over her from his mother. It was a well-known fact in the Spencer household that the Countess would keep whatever child she thought was most likely to misbehave close to her side. She was adept at knowing which one was up to mischief.
But now that he was sitting here, his thigh pressed against Cynthia's through her skirts, and his eyes wandering to that fantastic bosom - no matter that it was currently decently covered - he knew that he'd been lying to himself. He'd wanted to sit next to her. To discompose her the way she discomposed him.
Once he'd realized that she'd been listening at the keyhole, his hand had itched to spank her again. In fact, he'd found himself becoming aroused at the thought, despite the presence of Eleanor, Edwin and, most notably, his mother. Was it the temptation of forbidden fruit? Or was it the lush curves of the young woman in question?
Either way, he knew that it was a temptation he wasn't going to be giving in to. He had to get the chit married off, and quickly. Maybe he'd seduce her afterwards, he mused, once she was no longer a (possible) innocent, no longer his responsibility and had become acceptable prey for seduction. Then he wondered if the reason he insisted on casting a shadow of doubt over her innocence was for his own sordid desires.
"Wesley are you listening?"
"Ah - no, sorry Mother, I was wool gathering." Years of practice kept him from actually blushing. Nothing like plotting the possible future seduction of your ward only to be caught out by your mother. Besides which, he was going to need to convince some poor sot to marry her first. There had to be at least a few unobjectionable men that would want his favor and be willing to overlook her wild ways - unobjectionable to his mother that was. He could think of a dozen fortune hunters off hand that would be happy to take on a wife like Cynthia as long as she came with a good dowry, especially considering her looks, but his mother would never stand for it.
"I was saying that there's going to be a ball at the Assembly house on Thursday. As the Earl, you should be there." The glint in his mother's eye made Wesley feel a little uneasy. He assumed that she wanted him there to keep an eye on Cynthia and to assist with her chaperoning duties, but something about the way she said it made him think there was more to the matter. And that whatever the "more" was, it was something she thought he wouldn't like.
"You'll be going, won't you?" he asked, turning to Edwin and Nell. Bath tended to be dull as it was, but if he had to go then perhaps his friends would indulge him as well.
Eleanor glanced at Edwin, beseechingly. Good old Nell. He could always count on her to want to get out and have some fun. Edwin's eyes rolled upwards but he nodded his head.
"Yes, I'm sure Eleanor would enjoy an evening out." He smiled indulgently at her as she beamed at him. "I know how you love to dance."
"I'll save all my waltzes for you."
The Countess shook her head and tutted. "Scandalous." But she was smiling and there was no heat to her voice.
"Yes, we caused quite a bit of talk back in London," Edwin said unrepentantly. "I am unfashionably enamoured of my wife." Eleanor's cheeks turn a bright pink as he reached out and took her hand. Wes thought his mother looked a bit wistful. Glancing down at Cynthia, she was watching the couple with a strange kind of fascination. He wondered what was going through the little minx's mind.
"Well I think it's lovely," Wesley's mother said firmly. "As long as you're not completely improper about it."
Eleanor cleared her throat, still looking quite pink and pleased. "Would you and Cynthia like to come for tea tomorrow afternoon? I would love to have some company."
"I'm having tea with the Dowager Duchess of Camden," the Countess said. Wesley actually felt Cynthia wilt beside him in disappointment and he coughed to cover a snicker. The Dowager Duchess was a right old bag, he couldn't imagine that she had anything approving or complimentary to say to Cynthia. "I'm sure that Cynthia would love to join you, however."
"Really?!" Cynthia perked right back up before slapping her hands over her mouth, as if afraid the reprieve would be snatched away if she questioned it. Wesley didn't bother to hold back his laughter this time. When she glared at him he only laughed harder. Edwin was chuckling as well.
"I'm sure Lady Hyde will be much more... ah... convivial company for you than my own set," the Countess said, shooting a dark look at both Wesley and Edwin. He grinned at her and then winked at Cynthia, who was pretending not to notice him. But her cheeks darkened even further when he winked. There was something delightfully refreshing about her uncensored reactions; amazing that she'd managed to hold onto that trait when living with his mother. It also made teasing her quite a bit more enjoyable. "And it will be good for you to have some companionship of a proper young lady."
This time, Wesley and Edwin both manfully swallowed their laughter. While her husband might be working on her behavior, Wesley doubted that Eleanor would ever be completely proper.
Chapter 3
London was lonely without Hugh's friends and family. Irene was making new connections as his wife and a future Countess, but she had no idea whether or not those connections were because of her new position or because she was liked for herself. Eleanor would have been able to help her, but now she was taken away to Bath with her husband; which made Irene fret as it had been all her fault that Edwin and Hugh had learned about Eleanor's plans to leave town. While Hugh assured her that Edwin would never harm Eleanor, he'd looked so black and angry when he'd left.
Irene had sent a letter to Eleanor, apologizing profusely, but it took time for the mail to be delivered. And who knew if Eleanor would write her back? Perhaps she would be too angry.
Other than Eleanor, Alex would have been someone that Irene could count on to steer her in the right direction, but she didn't want to upset the wonderful new revelations between her and Hugh. After all, she'd only just barely realized that her love for Hugh was very different from her love for Alex; she worried that any further contact with Alex might make Hugh doubt those revelations.
She'd much rather stay in every night than go out. It was a strain to be the perfect wife in Society, to make up to Hugh for her embarrassing lack of restraint when she'd thrown herself at Alex, and all the while wondering which smiles directed her way were sincere and which were not. Staying in with her husband and his wonderfully inventive and exciting activities in their bedroom was much more preferable. Unfortunately Hugh's title and responsibilities, and effectively her own, made that an impossibility.
Standing at the front window of their house, Irene stared out onto the street, watching people passing without really seeing them. Hugh had gone out for the afternoon to his club
and she'd told him that she was going to visit some friends. Except that she'd stayed home instead. She couldn't wait until the Season was over and they could go back out to the country, back to Westingdon. That was really where their relationship had begun, where she'd started to learn the difference between girlish love and adoration for Alex and the real love and desire that had unfolded between her and Hugh.
Two men strode into view, obviously deeply involved in conversation, and Irene blinked. Was that Hugh and Alex? What were they doing together?
She glanced at the clock. It was only half an hour till dinner, which was when Hugh had told her that he'd return home.
Backing away from the window, Irene stood in the middle of the drawing room, her hands shaking, and wondered what she should do. Catching a glimpse of herself in the gilded mirror over the mantle, she could see that her green eyes looked overly large in her pale face, almost frightened.
She hadn't seen Alex since that awful night when she'd thrown herself at him, desperate to prove to herself that she loved him the way she'd always thought she did, only to discover that not only was she wrong, but that Alex's feelings for her didn't go beyond brotherly. Although, in retrospect, that was a good thing because he hadn't aroused a single ounce of desire in her either. Love, adoration, and warmth, but not the stronger, wilder emotions that her husband inspired. But, as if that hadn't been embarrassing enough, then Hugh had spanked her in front of Alex to demonstrate how to deal with a recalcitrant wife. The entire evening had been horribly embarrassing.
Scrubbing her hands over her suddenly burning face, Irene took a deep breath. Whether or not it had been humiliating, she also realized that night had been the beginning of a turning point in her marriage. She hadn't been quite ready to admit it until then, but she'd finally seen her delusions for what they were and, because of that night, she and Hugh had admitted their emotions to each other. Now Irene was happy, at least with her marriage, and felt secure in Hugh's love for her. But it was time to face Alex as well.
After all, she did miss her friend. And hadn't she just been thinking about how bereft she was of people that she truly trusted?
How like her husband to make the first steps in mending the breach. If Hugh was bringing Alex to their home at this time of night, she assumed he had asked Alex to stay for dinner.
Masculine voices rang in the entrance hall and Irene gathered her courage. Being married to Hugh had bolstered her confidence in so many ways. When she'd first married Hugh, she would have faced whatever he wanted her to because he wanted her to. Now she faced uncomfortable situations because she had learned how to have strength for herself.
******
Seeing his wife coming to greet them, Hugh had to push down the automatic rush of possessiveness that rose up inside of him. He'd run into Lord Brooke at the club and they'd sat down to have a talk over a glass of brandy. Although it was obvious that Alex didn't see Irene as anything other than a well-loved younger sister, and never had, Hugh couldn't help but remember that helpless jealousy that he'd experienced upon realizing that Irene's feelings had been more conflicted. They'd worked through that between the two of them, but he knew she was lonely and missed her friend. Part of him wanted the two of them to never see each other again, but he knew that was unfair and unreasonable.
Besides, even if Irene hadn't cared whether or not she ever saw Alex again, Hugh knew it would be unavoidable. He'd grown up with two best friends who were still his closest friends in the world, Edwin and Wesley, and Wesley had recently become quite attached to Alex. Also, with the lands from Irene's dowry, they were now neighbors in the country. There would be no avoiding him in the future, not with those kind of connections.
And, Hugh had to admit to himself, he did enjoy the man's company. He was extremely intelligent, had a sharp wit even though he never smiled, and never sat on his laurels. Unlike many of their peers, they didn't rest on their laurels and allow others to transact all their business. It was a trait that Hugh shared with his other two friends and very much appreciated in Alex.
"Hello sweetheart," Hugh said, striding forward to greet Irene and also to lend her any support that she might need. He knew that his wife was not always comfortable in difficult social situations. Spanking her in front of Alex might have been a mistake, but he'd been so very angry that night and he'd wanted very much to prove to her that he wasn't a monster. Punishing her with Alex as an audience had demonstrated, in a way that nothing else could have, that her childhood hero wasn't going to step in and save her from richly deserved discipline. But now he didn’t want a permanent wedge between her and her closest friend from childhood either. Hopefully, by having dinner together tonight, they could start a new kind of friendship between the three of them. "I've asked Lord Brooke to dine with us tonight."
Lowering his lips to Irene, he gave her a chaste but intense kiss, and when he turned back to face Alex, it was with his arm firmly wrapped around his wife's waist. He didn't look at the other man's face but watched Irene's; she was so easy to read sometimes, her emotions clearly written across her beautiful face. Hope. Desire. Fear.
"That's wonderful," she said, leaning into Hugh as she looked up at Brooke, the hopefulness in her expression was almost heart-breaking. Hugh felt his jealousy melt away a little bit, replaced by warmth at her reaction. This had been the right thing to do. A tremulous smile crossed her lips. "We're happy to have you, Lord Brooke."
For a moment, tension hung in the air and then Alex smiled back at her. Hugh was struck by the same sense of awe he always had at seeing such an expression on the man's face, but he couldn't blame him. Refusing Irene at that moment would have been akin to kicking a puppy and he didn't think that Brooke had it in him, no matter how hard he usually looked.
"I do hope that you haven't forgotten my name, pet," Brooke murmured as he bowed to her. Strangely the endearment didn't bother Hugh at all. It's not as if it was a particularly romantic one.
"Alex," she said, relaxing under Hugh's arm. He rather liked the way she snuggled against him even as she and her childhood friend smoothed over their current awkwardness. "It's a pleasure to have you here with us."
******
Dinner wasn't nearly as tense as Irene had originally feared. Hugh and Alex seemed to have come to their own kind of truce and as long as she didn't think about the fact that Alex had seen her being soundly spanked, or what a fool she'd been when she'd thrown herself at him, then she didn't feel anxious at all. It was almost like old times. And since neither of the gentlemen would ever be so crass as to make mention of her transgression, it was surprisingly easy to pretend like it had never happened.
As the two men talked about the current horseflesh being offered up at Tattersall's, with her occasional input, Irene had the opportunity to really look at them side by side. They were such a study in contrasts, despite their many similarities. While they were both able Corinthians and enjoyed the country life outdoors more than town life, Hugh's mostly easygoing nature and ready laugh was in direct contrast to Alex's much more serious mien. They weren't light and darkness in the visual sense, like Hugh and Edwin were, but Hugh seemed like sunshine and Alex more like a void that sucked in light.
It hurt to see her friend brought so low. No wonder she'd gotten her emotions all confused; she absolutely cared about Alex and she'd wanted to fix what was wrong for him. She'd wanted to be his sunshine and bring some light to his life and she'd thought she was the right woman for the job because she loved him and she could always make him smile. Now he didn't smile as easily at her and that was all her fault too.
She didn't quite know what to do, however, as she certainly didn't want to attempt anything that could be misconstrued by her husband. Hurting Hugh again in an attempt to help Alex was absolutely not acceptable to her. Not when things were starting to be so lovely between the two of them.
Although she had to admit that she was at least partially motivated by the determination not to give her husband a reason to spank her a
gain.
"Are you alright, darling?" Hugh asked, putting his hand atop hers.
Blinking, Irene refocused on the two gentlemen that meant more to her than anything else in the world, and realized that she hadn't heard a single word they'd said for at least several minutes. "Oh yes... I'm sorry. What did you say?"
"I was telling Alex that after the Season we would be heading out to the estates, although we might stop by Bath to see Wesley, Edwin and Eleanor. Perhaps he could join us." Hugh smiled at her and then Alex, warming her insides completely. It was so wonderful how Hugh trusted her and loved her, despite the fact that she didn't truly deserve it yet. She hadn't earned it.
That was one benefit to being spanked; the moment her punishment was over she'd been forgiven. Unlike when she'd lived with her mother and anything that she did wrong was brought up over and over again for weeks.
"As much as I appreciate the invitation, I'm not able to make any firm plans at this time," Alex said. "I've decided to reconcile with my wife. And I have no idea how long that might take or where I'll need to be at the end of the Season." Although his expression didn't change, Irene could see the weariness in his eyes.
Anger rose up inside of her. Not that she could claim to be the best wife to Hugh, and her plans had sounded alarmingly like the way Lady Grace lived her life, but she couldn't have any sympathy for the other woman when she'd obviously hurt Alex so. Humiliated him. Whenever he walked into a ballroom, whispers tittered around the room. He was a man whose wife had left him and brazenly flaunted her affairs without ever providing him with a heir.
While Irene was well aware that she had thought of doing something similar, she had never planned to be indiscreet or to hurt Hugh – even though she almost had been. Lady Grace's behavior seemed almost designed to be as painful and humiliating as possible for her husband, on purpose. Irene just couldn't countenance it, especially because Alex was such a good man. She knew he would be a wonderful husband to Lady Grace if the woman would just allow it.