by Golden Angel
It was almost worth it.
Cynthia was softer in the morning, her sensuality transformed from a blatant siren into something more subtle, more gently appealing. He could all too easily imagine her rising, rumpled and warm, from her sheets. Hell, he could all too easily imagine her all rumpled and warm between his sheets. She'd be perfect mistress material if she wasn't both an innocent and his ward.
Another soft sigh of pleasure had him gritting his teeth and he peeked over the top edge of his newspaper to find out what in the bloody hell the woman was making those sounds for.
Strawberries. She had a ripe, red strawberry pressed to her lips, staining the pink bow a darker red and making his cock quite suddenly stand to attention as her tongue flicked out to capture some of the juices that were spilling over her pouting lower lip. The almost dreamy look on her face, the warm flush in her cheeks, and the way her soft pink day dress clung to her ample curves only exacerbated his situation.
"What do you like to do?" he asked, putting the newspaper down almost violently on the table. Cynthia jumped, eyeing him warily as she popped the rest of the strawberry between those incredibly luscious lips.
"Excuse me?" she asked, once she had swallowed. Her amber eyes were glowing faintly in the sunlight that was trickling in through the windows, giving them an almost golden cast. "What do you mean?"
"What do you like to do?" he repeated, waving his hand through the air expansively. "Ride? Watercolors? Gardens?" The sooner he could get her married off to an appropriate gentleman and take temptation away from under his roof, so that he could return to his usual pursuits of business, his friendships and seducing socially acceptable ladies - the bored matrons of the ton, the better. He could find out some of Cynthia's interests, look over the field of gentleman available in Bath at the Assembly on Thursday and find her an amenable husband.
Perhaps amenable enough that once she'd popped out an heir or two, she'd be yet another bored matron that he could seduce.
Strangely, the idea didn't appeal as much as it had the day before, but he attributed the restlessness that he felt to impatience. After all, what man wanted to wait a few years to realize a fantasy? Even a fantasy that had been in existence for only a few days?
"I like to ride," she said, looking at him as though he was an animal at the zoo whose behavior she was trying to discern. He supposed he had spoken a little abruptly. "And I'm fond of the pianoforte. But I rather hate musicales. It's a tragedy how many of the ton have no talent, and most of them don't seem to realize it." He couldn't gainsay her on that, since he religiously avoided all musicales, which were little more than events designed to show off young ladies’ in the Marriage Mart’s musical attributes. For someone who truly appreciated music, those evenings were often torturous.
"Theater? Opera?"
"I've never been," she replied, rather wistfully.
That seemed almost a crime. A woman as stunning as Cynthia deserved to be one of the adornments in an opera box; he could imagine her in a low cut evening dress, dripping sparkling jewels - yellow topaz to bring out the gold in her eyes, breathlessly listening to a passionate aria. He'd have to see which of the men currently in Bath enjoyed such outings, there must be some, although the vast majority of that kind would be in London for the end of the current Season.
For a moment he wondered why his mother hadn't brought Cynthia to London, instead of Bath, and then he remembered the way in which he'd met Cynthia and how his mother had looked when he'd first arrived. No, Cynthia was far too wild for his mother to adequately deal with in a city like London when it was filled with all sorts of unsavory gentlemen who would be only too pleased with Cynthia's looks and lack of decorum. If she'd appeared in some ballroom, without him knowing who she was, the saints only knew what his reaction would have been.
"Very good," he said, distractedly. Cynthia gave him another confused look as he stood and left the table, but he didn't notice. He was too busy concentrating on running from temptation and the strange urge to stay and enjoy her company. It was time to retreat.
******
The house that Lord and Lady Hyde in was in an equally fashionable part of Bath as the Countess' residence, although the decor showed it to be a house to let, unlike the Countess' house which was obviously a home. Still, it was quite beautiful and Cynthia found herself very quickly relaxed as she chatted with Eleanor, who seemed to be just as interested in Cynthia as Cynthia was in her. Today the blonde was dressed quite fashionably in a blue and cream damask that brought out the bright color of her eyes and enhanced the golden blonde of her hair, the stylish cut making the most of her rather striking figure.
In contrast, Cynthia was wearing a dark pink dress that was fashionably cut, but much less modestly than Lady Hyde's. She'd managed to get her own way on most of her dresses when she and the Countess had visited the modiste, and it wasn't until she sat next to Eleanor that she felt tawdry in comparison. But Eleanor didn't seem to think so, she barely paid attention to what Cynthia was wearing, she was much more interested in questioning her about Lord Spencer and the state of the household.
"He's not generally so stuffy," she assured Cynthia, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement. "It was quite entertaining seeing him performing as a proper gentleman yesterday. I've never seen him act quite like that before."
"I think it's me," Cynthia said truthfully. "He seemed very different from when he was speaking with just you and Lord Hyde... I mean..." Her cheeks flushed darkly to match her dress as she realized what she had just revealed. Fortunately Lady Hyde wasn't upset, she laughed in genuine amusement.
"Were you listening at the keyhole?"
"Ah... yes." Giving the other woman a sheepish look, Cynthia shrugged her shoulders. Normally she wasn't so loose-tongued, but Eleanor made her feel comfortable in a way that she'd never experienced before; it was just so easy to talk to her. "I was curious about the Earl, he acts so differently around me than his brothers described."
"The Earl..." Eleanor repeated, as if tasting the words and debating whether or not she found them to her liking. "It's so hard to think of him like that... We grew up together. My brother Hugh, Edwin and Wesley. Out of all of them, Wesley's changed the least I think. At least, I thought that until I saw how stuffy he was being yesterday." She laughed again. "He was certainly playing the Earl in front of you. I wonder why."
The intelligence in those bright, searching blue eyes belied the old adage that beauty came without brains. Not that Cynthia had ever subscribed to that belief anyway, since she knew very well that she was considered beautiful and she had never thought of herself as anything but rather clever.
"We ah... may not have had the best introduction." Unable to help it, Cynthia giggled conspiratorially, leaning in to tell Eleanor about running into Wesley in the street. Under the other woman's excited urgings, she even told her about Mr. Carter, at which point Eleanor's face grew more solemn.
"I've heard of him..." she murmured, sitting up straight with a rather worried expression. "He doesn't have a very good reputation."
"The Countess told me," Cynthia said with a shrug. "But he's never done more than kiss me. And a bit of… touching... above my waist," she added hastily, seeing Eleanor's shocked expression. "It's just... it's so very exciting."
"I can imagine," Eleanor said, a little smile of fellow feeling crossing her face before she turned serious again. "But, it's so much better to have that excitement with someone who truly cares about you. Someone whom you can trust."
It was true that it was sometimes tiresome to put off Mr. Carter, and the other gentlemen that Cynthia had kissed, from further importunities. Of course, that was half the fun, letting them convince or seduce her into going just a bit farther. But so far she hadn't met any that she could truly lose her head to, not the way she read about in novels or heard whispered about from the maids. Perhaps trust was the missing ingredient? After all, if she trusted a man, then she wouldn't feel the need to constantly keep an eye on where
his hands were going.
"And Lord Hyde? He cares about you? You find this... excitement with him?"
Lady Hyde blushed and hesitated.
"I'm sorry, I know it's personal..." Cynthia put on her wounded bird look. "It's just that I don't have anyone else to ask. I certainly can't ask the Countess, she'd probably faint."
The look Eleanor gave her said that she didn't buy Cynthia's false despair at all, but there was no denying that she couldn’t ask the Countess such questions. "He does. I'm fairly certain he does." A faint flush grew in her cheeks. "And I trust him, I always have, since I was a girl. Before we married, I thought to find a man... I thought my ideal husband would be very different from him. But now I can't imagine being married to anyone else. I wouldn't want to be."
"And... and what do you do with him?" Cynthia asked, her insides curdling with excitement. She'd never spoken to anyone with the warm, wistful expression that Eleanor had now. Someone who was willing to explain some of the intricacies between a man and a woman with her. All the Countess would tell her was what she shouldn't do, and while disobeying that had led to some fascinating discoveries, there was quite a bit that Cynthia was curious about, but which she wanted some more information on before exploring on her own. "Does he touch you on your quim? Men are always wanting to touch me there... it feels wonderful when I do it on my own, but what would I do if I got with child?"
"Good God..." Eleanor stared at her and Cynthia shrank into herself, suddenly worried that she'd ruined their friendship by saying too much. What would Eleanor think of her now? Would she disapprove and pull away? Cynthia waited on tenterhooks, horribly afraid now that she'd exposed herself. She didn't think she could bear it if Eleanor rejected her now. The other woman's lips closed and then twitched in something like amusement and Cynthia found that she could suddenly breathe a little easier. "This is really... these are things that should be discussed before your wedding night. And you absolutely should not let any gentlemen touch your... your quim. You've ah... you've touched it yourself?"
"Oh yes," Cynthia said cheerfully, reassured that Eleanor was not going to boot her from the drawing room. "Mother told me not to, you see. And it's quite lovely. I've thought about letting a gentleman touch me there, to see if it’s different, but I don't want to get with child."
"That won't, but you shouldn't let them touch you there anyway. Once they do they might try to go further, and if they put their... um, their rod into your quim then you will get with child," Eleanor said rather sternly.
"Their rod?"
Eleanor blushed and gestured to her groin area. "Men have a... a rod where a woman has a quim."
"Oh, you mean a cock."
This time Eleanor burst out laughing, covering her mouth with her hands as Cynthia stared at her, slightly confused. The amusement was contagious though, and she found herself smiling. It was a rather absurd conversation, as well as wonderfully revealing. And she'd learned a new word.
"You are the most... confusing mix of innocence and too much knowledge," Eleanor said when her giggles finally subsided, although she was still smiling rather widely. "It's bound to get you into trouble. How do you know what a cock is?"
"Mr. Carter told me when I asked what was pressing against me so hard when we kissed."
"Good grief," Eleanor said, rolling her eyes. "He sounds like a complete scoundrel, he shouldn’t have said that at all. That word is rather ah... crude. You really shouldn't allow him to touch you though, even if it won’t get you with child. I know the Countess has asked Wesley to find you a husband, and once he has then you can explore to your heart's content."
"What about my mouth? Will that get me with child?"
"Your mouth?"
Cynthia found herself enjoying shocking Eleanor. There was a quality of delight, as much as some disapproval, in the other woman's reactions. And she didn't condemn Cynthia, or tell her absolutely not to do something - Eleanor was obviously intelligent enough to realize that the word 'don't' had a rather motivating effect on Cynthia, somehow "shouldn't" didn't engender quite the same response - but she explained things in such a manner to make Cynthia think more about what she was doing. It was also exciting to know that she knew a few more things than a properly married lady did.
"Yes, Mr. Carter suggested that I might put his co- ah... rod, into my mouth and that he would find that quite pleasurable."
To her delight, Eleanor looked very much struck by the notion. "Why... I have no idea."
"Better not risk it then," Cynthia said musingly.
"Better not risk anything at all with Mr. Carter," Eleanor observed. "Unless you think you might want to marry him? Wesley absolutely won't allow you to be ruined on his watch, but Mr. Carter doesn't sound look good husband material."
"No, I suppose not." Cynthia sighed. "But he is a very good kisser."
"I'm sure that if you do have a preference, Wesley would be reasonable. He was always stubborn, but very considerate."
Smiling, Cynthia allowed Eleanor to turn the subject back to the Earl of Spencer. After all, she wasn't loathe to hear more about her intriguingly confusing guardian, especially from someone who’d known him as long as Eleanor had and could provide so much insight. Besides, when it came to relations between men and women, Eleanor’s answers to her questions had already given her plenty to think on.
******
That evening Eleanor and Edwin dined with friends of their parents, Lord and Lady Montgomery and a small assembly of their guests. Since the Season was coming to an end in London there were some younger guests that were closer to Eleanor and Edwin’s age. Eleanor had noticed that, other than Cynthia, Bath was quite bereft of anyone that could be considered her or Edwin’s “crowd.” In some ways, that was a relief, because there was also less competition for her husband’s attention and for hers.
She hadn’t realized, until they’d left the ballrooms of London, how much of a strain it was for both of them to be constantly importuned by others. There were always women hovering around Edwin, and Eleanor realized that, with his reputation, more than one of them probably had rather intimate knowledge of her husband. But by the same token, there were always men hovering around Eleanor, disappointed that they hadn’t seen her before Edwin had snapped her up, and now wondering if she might be amenable to some intimacies.
It had only been their stalwort attention to each other that had deflected the others, but now they could relax and enjoy themselves in this very different company. Which gave Eleanor some time to think and ponder other things, such as some of the revelations she’d had during her afternoon with Cynthia.
While Eleanor knew she’d been considered headstrong and that some of her actions, especially at her coming out ball, would have been seen as brazen, she had nothing on Cynthia. It was a good thing that they weren’t in London or the girl’s reputation would probably already be shredded. For her part, Eleanor didn’t see anything particularly wrong with Cynthia wanting to know the same things that Eleanor had wanted to know before she’d married Edwin. So she’d shared what she could with the young woman.
But Cynthia’d had a few things to share with Eleanor too.
Such as the very astonishing idea of taking Edwin’s cock into her mouth. He'd done the reverse to her, but somehow it had never occurred to her that Edwin might enjoy it as well. After all, he was so very dictatorial, so very demanding in their love making, that she assumed he would initiate anything that he desired.
What would it be like to surprise him with something pleasurable?
She rather liked the idea.
In the past few days their relationship felt as though it had done more than relax, away from the bustle of London, it felt as though it had become something softer, sweeter. Although she didn't doubt that he would still spank the dickens out of her if she were to misbehave. But honestly, Eleanor didn't feel like misbehaving as much. She was too busy trying to get her husband to admit his feelings for her, because she was becoming more and more hopeful
that they existed even if he didn't say so.
Perhaps surprising him with something new and different would also motivate a new verbal admission from him. At the very least, it would be fascinating to see his reaction when she wanted to take control. Would he let her?
"Nell, your mind is wandering," Edwin murmured, his finger stroking lightly down the back of her neck and making her shiver. She very nearly glared at him, right in front of Lady Montgomery, who was watching their amusement with interaction.
"I'm sorry Lady Montgomery," she said instead. "What did you say?"
"I was just declaring how glad your mother must be, having both you and Hugh make such brilliant matches. And your father as well, I know he's hated the necessity of spending so much time apart from your mother, but she really cannot tolerate London for any length of time."
"Yes, I don't believe I've ever seen her happier," said Eleanor, smiling. "Although I don't think she realized that Lord Hyde would come up to scratch quite so quickly." That was a little nudge at Edwin. Even though she didn't throw any larger temper tantrums, hadn't since he'd caught her trying to leave London without him, she couldn't help but twit him a little. It was just part of her personality. And for the most part he didn't seem to mind too much. His fingers exerted just the slightest bit more pressure on the back of her neck, a warning. It made her skin tingle.
To her surprise, Lady Montgomery waved her hand dismissively. "Pish. Of course he came up to scratch immediately." The older woman smiled at both of them, her sharp eyes piercing. "It's obvious that you'd be a Diamond of the First Water given a full Season, and with your antecedents and dowry, the competition would be fierce. I can't imagine an intelligent man letting any time waste, especially not one that's practically been waiting for you to step onto the Marriage Mart."