An Unsuitable Match

by Glint, Chloe

  Kale stared at his wife's body for the first time. Despite the fact Camille was not fair like Gabrielle, she had a lovely back. It had a beautiful arch that led straight down to her solid behind. As she released her hold on her undergarment and dropped it to the floor, his heart thundered. His wife wasn't perfect, but her body wasn't bad either. Unfortunately, she was trembling so badly the sudden burst of adrenaline was stolen away by pity. He hesitated, then laid his hand on her naked shoulder for the first time. Her skin was warm beneath his touch. Instead of comforting her, though, his touch only appeared to make her tremble harder.

  "It's alright," Kale said. "This is something we've both got to get used to."

  "I know. I'm sorry." Camille hung her head. "I've just never been naked in front of a man before."

  "And do you think I've seen any naked women either?" Kale frowned. "You are my first."

  Silence fell between them. He had the sudden urge to kiss her shoulder, which alarmed him. He wasn't sure what to do with his feelings. It had happened too suddenly, he realized. It wasn't his fault. One second he was standing with his wife who was fully clothed, the next she was naked before him. Of course his body would react to such a sudden change. And she was his spouse, after all. He shouldn't be ashamed by his arousal. It was normal and healthy. In fact, it was good. It meant that even though they weren't perfect for each other, they could still procreate. Stop it, Kale! His mind screamed.

  He dropped his hand from his bride's shoulder and studied his feet. Despite the fact this was technically his honeymoon, he tried to quench his sudden and surprising physical response by reasoning that now was not the time. They'd have to leave for their new home soon, anyway. He had to get Camille her dress quickly, before his body got the better of him. I didn't know how quickly lust could take over. Before this, I always had such well-established self-control. The sudden change he had gone through surprised him. Shivering from shock and yearning, he walked over to the chair and gathered the ivy colored silk dress in his hands. When he picked it up, it was surprisingly heavy. A second part of the dress fell from his fingers. It was a similar piece to the one that he had just removed from Camille's body—an underdress—but it was a light green instead of white. There was also a corset.

  Do women actually have to wear this many layers? He carried the dress over to her, feeling sorrowful that he would have to help his bride cover her body. But he was glad too. He may have gotten a reaction from his manhood after seeing a naked lady—he believed it was only natural—but he was still jaded because of what had happened with Gabrielle. If Camille could make him feel this excited, then he had no idea what would have happened if he had seen the girl's sibling naked.

  As he held out the underdress to his bride, he willed himself not to think about Gabrielle anymore. When Camille collected the underdress and corset from him, it was surprisingly easy to forget about her sibling. Likely because his bride was present and nude. He was unable to tear his eyes away as she pulled the underdress over her head. When she had it on, it bulged at her bodice and bosom. She placed the corset over the underdress. He reached out and played with the honey colored lace that would tighten the thinning device. For just a moment, he stared.

  "Kale?" Camille whispered, her voice soft and timid.

  "My apologies," he stuttered, not exactly sure what he was apologizing for. Staring, perhaps?

  He tightened the strings on both sides of the corset and heard his bride squeak as if she was a mouse that had been trodden upon. That has to be enough, he thought. Already, he felt guilty, what with causing her to cry out in the first place. Just as he began to tie a knot, though, his wife looked at him from over her shoulder.

  "Wait." She pouted.

  "Am I doing it wrong?" He paused.

  "It's not tight enough," she said.

  "I just pulled so hard I hurt you." He glowered. "That has to be enough."

  At first he thought that she would not respond because she just stared at him with dark eyes. After a moment went by, though, she said, "You truly have not spent much time in the presence of women, have you?"

  He wasn't sure whether to take the words as a compliment or as an insult, but they did drive him to pull at the lace one last time. After she released a shaky sigh, she pressed her hand against her thin stomach. Now he'd refuse to tighten the corset even a hair more. If he did so, he might find himself not with the wrong bride but with no bride at all. He knotted the lace ribbons together and then stepped back.

  "Alright," he said. "You're done."

  "Not quite. Help lift that final piece over my head." For the first time since she had removed her dress, she turned to face him.

  Both of them stared at each other in silence as Kale held the final piece of her gown. Now that his wife looked at him, he was more aware of what had just occurred than ever. He also noted how her eyes, which he once considered to be strange, were beautiful as well. A single fleck of honeyed gold was near the iris as if God had painted her and decided he wanted to add a dash of unusual color to an already exotic girl. He swallowed.

  "Is something wrong?" Camille cocked her head, her cheeks filling with color. "Shall I call a maid to do this?"

  "No, I can do it." He pulled the dress up. "I did the other things."

  "Alright."

  Though she still frowned at him as if she wasn't sure he was alright, his bride lifted her arms and allowed him to pull the dress over her head. With her hair as wild and untamed as it was, he imagined it would be a great ordeal trying to get the clothing on. Instead his wife pushed her thin arms through the ivy sleeves, then gathered her raven hair in a tight fist. He tugged the dress down and stepped back. Suddenly, he felt as though he had been hit by a moving carriage. The dress his mother had picked out for Camille was perfect. The ivy hue of the material brought out the blonde highlights in her hair. His stomach grew warm at the sight of it, so he was forced to look away.

  "Thank you for your help." Camille said awkwardly.

  "It's not a problem." He paused. "Like I said, I am your husband."

  "Yes." She turned away from him. "I'll put my hair up, then I will be ready to meet with my family before…"

  ****

  Camille didn't know why, but Kale refused to look at her when she pinned up her hair, even though she looked fine. Maybe not in comparison to her sister, but for herself. Frowning in disappointment, she gazed at her reflection in the mirror before turning away. Her husband lay on the bed, his knee bent, with a confused look on his face. She wondered what he was thinking about.

  "Shall we go soon?" she asked. "My parents are probably anxious for their departure."

  She deliberately avoided the word Gabrielle in case it would upset him. If she was to be honest, even thinking the name of her sister brought a sour taste to her mouth. It wasn't the girl's fault that this had happened, but still, the bitterness was there, no matter how hard she tried to fight it away.

  With a frown, Kale jumped off of the bed and then extended his arm to her. She stared at him for a minute, noticing how her heart sped up at the sight of her husband's actions. Remember why he's behaving so chivalrous, she thought. He was doing it because it was what a husband was supposed to do, not because he longed to be at her side. Still she had no choice but to step forward and take his arm. He was surprisingly warm and she noted that the corner of his mouth turned up as he led her toward the door. It was almost like, for the faintest minute, he was hiding a proud smile. But she did not think that could be true.

  After her husband opened the door and escorted her down the hallway, the pair of them headed down the stairs. She heard the sound of her sister's laughter coming from the tea room and felt her husband stiffen at her side. The bitter taste in her mouth returned, reminding her of the time she had drunk a special tea from Asia that she loathed. Her stomach twisted at the thought that she was becoming angry at her sister. As she shook it off, Kale led her to the tea room and paused at the threshold of the room.

  Her par
ents sat on a couch with a mahogany table laden with cakes in front of them. Her sister leaned against the wall unceremoniously, a cup full of what appeared to be steaming tea in her dainty hand. When Camille entered the room with her husband at her side, she noted that he tried hard not to look at Gabrielle. Instead his focus was entirely on her parents. Still his jaw was tense.

  "So the two of you are finally out and about." Her father placed his teacup on the table. "I thought we would have to leave without saying our farewells."

  Her father eyeballed Camille as if he could see whether she had fulfilled her wifely duties just by looking at her. It made her cheeks burn with shame that he thought about her in such a way.

  "Don't so much as even jest about not saying goodbye, Father." Gabrielle headed toward them, grinning even though her eyes were painted with sorrow. "We won't be seeing Camille for a long time. We couldn't just leave."

  Though Camille now knew her parents probably considered doing just that, she kept her mouth closed. There was no point in telling her sibling how awful their parents truly were.

  "How was your night?" Gabrielle asked. "Did you sleep well?"

  "I slept alright," she lied, then bit her bottom lip.

  Her sister reached out and seized her free hand. Her eyes sparkled like two gleaming pools. Camille's looked at Kale out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was staring determinedly at the wall.

  "You two must visit us during Christmas time, alright?" Gabrielle said.

  Though Camille longed to agree at once, the bitter taste in her mouth grew so strong she almost vomited. If she brought her husband to visit Gabrielle, it would be sheer torture for them both.

  "Sister?" Gabrielle's face fell. "You do not wish to see me anymore?"

  "Don't be ridiculous." Her heart pinched with pain.

  "We'll go, won't we, sweetheart?" Kale said, though his voice had a tense edge she had never heard before. "I would hate for you not to be able to see your family anymore."

  The words stunned her. Though she looked at Gabrielle long enough to see her eyes brighten, she stole a glance at Kale and saw how much effort it had taken him to say the words.

  "I suppose that's well enough, then," her mother said. "Maybe by Christmas time, you'll be with child."

  "Wouldn't that be lovely!" Gabrielle clapped her hands together in excitement. "A little niece or nephew. I can't even imagine it. Even thinking of you being married feels so strange."

  Then, with tears pouring from her eyes, Gabrielle threw herself at Camille and wrapped her arms around her neck. The girl buried her face into her shoulder. For a moment Camille thought her sister was merely laughing about the idea of imagining her with child. When hot tears soaked through the fabric of her dress, though, she realized what was happening. Her sister was weeping. She pulled away from her husband and wrapped her arms around the girl. The bitter taste faded away. She'd been thinking so selfishly. Her sister was going to be alone with parents that she disagreed with. It would be harder for Gabrielle because the girl had vowed never to marry. Camille had just seen firsthand what her parents were willing to do in order to make things go their way. She tangled her fingers into her sister's golden locks and fought down the urge to sob herself.

  As she swallowed her tears and focused on her sister's wild weeping, her father jumped to his feet and seized Gabrielle by her waist. For the first time since Camille could remember, her sister's beauty was marred because of her swollen face. She had always envied her sibling's looks, but she couldn't stand to see it destroyed either. She reached out, longing to embrace her sister again, and the girl reached back. Her father, though, did not allow them to touch and hauled Gabrielle to the couch.

  "Now, now," her father said. "You heard them. You'll see your sister at Christmas time. Don't be so overemotional."

  "Christmas time is months away." Gabrielle's voice sounded less like a siren's song and more like a frog's croak. "You are so cold."

  Her father didn't address the insult. He didn't even stiffen. Instead he turned toward Camille and approached her.

  "We'd best leave soon, before your sister cries herself dry," her father said. "We'll say our farewells here."

  Normally, Camille would have thrown herself into her father's arms and wept in melancholy, but now she didn't want to. Unfortunately, he embraced her. The smell of his cologne, a rich, musky scent, made her choke. She didn't want him close, yet she didn't want to push him away either. Her thoughts argued with one another. Her parents had betrayed her, but she could not bring herself to loathe them. Instead she just wanted to loathe them.

  After her father pulled back, he offered his hand for Kale to shake. Despite the fact that her husband's eyebrow twitched in anger, he took the other man's hand and shook it as if all was well. Camille's mother stood up and came to embrace her as well. The woman's arms were surprisingly strong for somebody so small. Her mother leaned in close to her ear so she could feel the woman's warm breath tickle her skin.

  "Don't mess this up, Camille," her mother hissed.

  The woman stepped away, feigning wiping tears from her eyes, as Camille's face burned in humiliation. At least Kale had not heard the words. She wasn't sure she could stomach it if he had. As she hung her head, her mother turned and held out her hand to Kale. He kissed the back of it, but he had a far-off expression on his face when he did so, as if he longed to be anywhere else.

  "I'll see you at Christmas time," Gabrielle croaked from the sofa, her voice small and hopeless.

  "Oh, Gabrielle…" Camille swallowed.

  "Go, go." Her father, his face stern, waved the two of them out of the room.

  Like usual, Camille did just as her father ordered.

  Chapter Ten

  Time slipped away as Kale sat inside a carriage. Camille was beside him, her eyes dark and sad. He studied his wife's olive face and dark hair. He tried to seek out similarities between her and her sister, but he could find hardly any at all. His jaw tensed and he returned to staring out the window. Green country passed by. His back was tense, but it was not from the large amount of time he had spent sitting on a wooden seat. It was because he could not find anything to say to his new bride. He fished around to find words, but none came.

  As forests passed and became plains, his wife was the first to break the silence. "This new place…Do your parents live there?"

  He looked away from the window and glanced at Camille instead. "No. Thank heavens. This estate will be just for the two of us. And the servants, naturally."

  "Naturally." She paused, biting her bottom lip. "It sounds as though you aren't very fond of your parents."

  "Can you blame me?" Kale snapped.

  When he saw his new wife flinch, he knew he had gone too far. It wasn't her fault his father was the devil.

  "My apologies." He looked down at his clenched hands. "To be honest, the sting of betrayal is still fresh."

  "It was my fault." She shook her head. "I shouldn't have asked about your family. It was too personal."

  Once again, the awful silence probed his ears. The two of them had finally begun talking, but he had made a mistake. He wanted to fix it. If the two of them were going to be married, then he wanted them to at least be civil to one another. He wasn't the sort of man who would treat his bride the way his father treated his mother.

  After a moment's hesitation, he reached out and grabbed his wife's hand. Her skin was surprisingly warm. She glanced at him, her large eyes wide. The sun caught the unusual fleck in her eye, making her unusual looks even stranger. He supposed that he was lucky in one way. He doubted another man had a wife quite like his own.

  "I really am sorry I snapped at you." He sighed. "You're my wife. You should know about my family, and I should know about yours. Things aren't perfect, but I want to try to make this marriage work."

  Judging by the way her mouth fell open, these were not the words she expected him to say. She quickly shut her mouth again and wore a cool mask that he assumed guarded her disco
mfort.

  "I am glad you feel that way." She hung her head. "My thoughts have been turning in my head over and over again."

  "Mine too." He felt a small wave of relief that he wasn't in this alone.

  He could tell by Camille's furrowed brows that she was thinking hard. He wasn't sure if she too was trying to figure out what to say next, or whether she was just adjusting to the new situation. Either way, he knew he wanted to break through the quiet again.

  "So do you still want to know how I feel about my family?" Kale asked.

  "Very much." Camille nodded without hesitation.

  "My mother and I have always been very close. I pray that she had nothing to do with this." Kale swallowed, his heart aching. "My father, on the other hand, has always clashed with me. We don't see eye to eye on most topics. To be honest, the man frightens me. He has no regard for me as a person, as I've come to notice."

  "Oh." Camille swallowed. "I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I think that you and your father are very different people. I could tell right away."

  His wife's words were simple, but they warmed his heart none no less. To his shock, a massive weight was lifted off his shoulders. She had eased a worry he didn't know he had.

  "Thank you." A small crossed his face. "I don't want to be like him. I don't like the way he treats people."

  "You are a very kind man." Her frown deepened. "I can tell by the way you dealt with the situation with me."

  The way she spoke of herself as if she was something to be dealt with, like a bastard child or an unwanted pustule, made his heart pinch. The situation between them was certainly less than desirable, but it wasn't because she didn't have worth.

  "You need to have more love for yourself." Kale nudged her. "You're just fine. Nothing to deal with. The situation itself is confusing, but you aren't bad at all."

  For the first time that carriage ride, she smiled. A rosy blush coated her cheeks. She looked away, shy about the compliment. She's surprisingly cute, Kale thought, grinning himself now.

  "What about you?" Kale asked. "What is your family like? Your mother and father and…your sister."