by Cari Hislop
…
Mary’s knees trembled with relief as she followed the other ladies and curtsied low to her partner at the end of the dance. All she could think about was escaping back to the safety of the man sitting alone, with his arms folded, against the wall. She put her hand on the outstretched black silk covered arm and ignored the loud sneering whispers with her head held high. “You dance like a cygnet taking to water my dear.” Morley firmly grasped her hand and forcefully led her in the opposite direction she wished to go. “Poor Marshall has finally found a bit of luck. If I placed an ad for a wife I’d unearth a mountain of trolls.”
“Lord Raynham didn’t advertise for a wife, he merely listed general requirements for an assistant. He only proposed after he felt I could fulfil his needs.”
“Modesty becomes you my dear. Marshall must be ‘relieved’ to have found someone to ‘fulfil’ his ‘needs’.” Mary’s eyes narrowed at the suggestive tone. Something about the man was making her feel deeply uncomfortable.
“You’re very kind I’m sure. If you’ll excuse me I wish to return to my husband.”
“Don’t be silly my dear. Society wives never display a preference for their husbands; it’s simply not done. Allow me to introduce you to a few people…”
“It’s very kind of you, but I’d rather return to Lord Raynham.” Mary tried to pull her hand free but it was held firmly in place as she was carried like a duckling into a fox’s den.
Mary was finally allowed to limp back to her angry husband, emotionally torn and bleeding. She’d barely sat back down when her ears were steamed with a boiling hiss. “How could you spend forty-five minutes chin-wagging while I sat here waiting for you?” Mary blanched at his fury and silently prayed Lord Morley would disappear.
Taking advantage of Mary’s silence Morley leaned towards his friend, “She asked me to introduce her to a few people. She said she’d feel more comfortable attending engagements if a few faces had names. She’s not a parrot. You can’t expect her to sit on your shoulder all night.”
“Yes I can!”
“You sound like a brute. No woman wants to spend every hour of an evening propped against her husband, it isn’t natural. Give her some space to breathe. You want her to be happy don’t you?”
“Yes of course, but…”
“Well then let her spread her wings a little. Caged birds may get fed daily, but their hearts shrivel and die. You can be angry, but you know it’s true. It was a pleasure to meet you my dear; I shall call on you soon. We shall become…better acquainted. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find two young ladies who look almost identical, but not quite. I wish you both a very pleasurable evening.” Mary blushed again as the man winked at Marshall insinuating something lurid and sighed with relief as his face was lost in the crowd of strangers. She glanced up at her husband, but he was either deep in thought or ignoring her.
The rest of the evening was unpleasantly quiet. The few times she had to speak into his ear his shoulder stiffened at her touch, her nearness clearly unwelcome. The ride home in the early hours of the morning was a noisy chatter as the twins tormented their sleepy brother with details of their conquests, but as soon as they were home and the door shut on the world Mary felt his burning eyes.
“A private word Wife…” He held the study door and waited as she untied her bonnet and handed it to a maid. Mary opened her mouth to protest that she was too tired to talk, but wisely stepped into the moonlit room. The door closed behind her with a quiet click and then Marshall folded his arms. “I didn’t hire you to mingle in polite society!” The deafening words made her ears pop. “At least ten people tried to talk to me while you were socialising and I had to sit there like an imbecile. I’m very disappointed in you Merry Dunne. I didn’t think you were a woman who sought the approval of her betters. What are you crying for? If you think weeping will soften me think again. I hate weeping! Well?”
“I didn’t…”
“Speak into my ear!”
“I didn’t want to meet those horrid people, Lord Morley insisted. I couldn’t pull free without making a scene.”
“Do you expect me to believe my oldest friend forced my wife to meet people and then lied about it? I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous.”
“Please don’t sack me; I didn’t want to meet those hateful people.” The terror in her voice unlocked Marshall’s arms. He could feel her trembling as he pulled her close and sighed with disgust at his soft yielding heart. Whatever the truth, with her face pressed into his shoulder it was hard to hear above the blood pounding in his veins. “I’d rather haunt your shoulder than meet the King.”
“And if the King wasn’t mad?”
“I’m not someone who needs to meet the great and good. They mean nothing to me.”
“So you say.”
“I don’t lie, it’s a personal rule.” The words were wet with tears.
“Ah yes, Merry’s rules…” Shadows were starting to form out of the inky morning blackness. “…it’s been a long night. You need to come to bed.”
“I won’t be able to sleep…you’re angry with me.”
Gentle fingers took hold of her chin, tipped back her head and caressed her cheek.
“Come, Sleep, and with thy sweet deceiving,
Lock me in delight awhile;
Let some pleasing dreams beguile,
All my fancies; that from thence
I may feel an influence
All my powers of care bereaving!
Though but a shadow, but a sliding,
Let me know some little joy!
We that suffer long annoy
Are contented with a thought
Through an idle fancy wrought:
O let my joys have some abiding!”
Holding her close, he could feel the poem fall into his empty soul with a dull thud. He desperately needed some little joy. His plan to wait a few weeks before declaring his intention was forgotten.
“Who wrote that? It’s lovely.”
“John Fletcher; you’ve no need to fear being sacked. I told you I’m pleased with my Lady Raynham.” The rising light glinted off lonely sapphires. Mary was conscious of a possessive hand on her waist as her husband’s warm breath rhythmically approached and receded like the tide. “Merry, I’m getting old.”
“I wouldn’t say…”
“Don’t interrupt! I hate people who interrupt.” The roar dropped to a faint whisper, “You don’t find my touch repulsive.” Marshall punctuated the statement by running his fingers over her cheek to her throat.
“No…of course not…” She shivered as his fingers slid down to the hollow of her throat.
“I may be able to put flesh on two of your ghostly dreams Merry; motherhood and security.” His fingers slid around to hesitantly caress the nape of her neck. “I’ll give you a home and you’ll give me a happy family.”
“But…”
“You’d never be hungry again and I’m not a brute…I’d never hurt you.”
She stared up at him in disbelief. “You’d abandon all hope of being loved and settle for a woman you’ve known for two days? I don’t think you’ve thought this…”
“I’m a starving man; I need to wake up and find a kind woman in my bed.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re kind and you’re already my wife. You’re not ideal, but you’ll do. I can’t keep searching for woman who doesn’t exist. Does that make me a monster?”
“No of course not, but…”
“Well? Say something!”
“I need time.”
“Time for what?”
“To see how I feel.”
“Feel about what?”
“I need time to explore how I feel about being your wife, mothering your children. You hired me to be your chatelaine not your soul mate. I need time to see how I feel about you.”
“I don’t expect you to feel anything; I just need you to be kind.”
“I need time.”
“I should know how I feel after six months.”
“Six months? I’m not waiting six months to bed my wife!”
“Two days ago you were willing to wait a year before getting an annulment; I don’t see what difference it makes.”
“The difference is that I no longer desire an annulment, I want you to be my wife.”
“Marshall, let’s be sensible…”
“I’m tired of being sensible. I want to wake up and find you in my bed. You can have three weeks.”
“What can I know in three weeks? I’ll need at least six months.”
“Blast six months to hell, I’ll wait one month.”
“I need at least three months.”
“What do you need three months for?”
“I’ve already told you.”
“Humph…”
“What will you do if I can’t share your bed?”
Marshall’s shoulders slumped in despair. “I’ll hire a Mistress, if I can find one. You’d think virginity and cleanliness weighed more than gold the way they hold out for the biggest catch. Apparently there’s no future in pleasuring a loud ugly brute. I’m tired of searching for someone, anyone. I just want a woman!”
“A harlot isn’t going to love you Marshall.”
“I know that, but I can’t get close enough to women to hear what they’re saying without injuring their finer sensibilities. I’m tired of rejection. It feels so good to hold you. Please come upstairs and be my wife.”
“I’d feel like a fallen woman. What’s the difference between hiring a Mistress and buying a wife to pleasure you?”
“There’s a world of difference. You’d be the mother of my children. You’d be kind to me because you’re kind. I wouldn’t have to give you gold and jewels every time I wanted a kiss or tumble.”
“A Mistress can give you children and she might even be kind. What’s the difference if there’s no love?”
“With you as my wife I won’t have to creep about after dark visiting a woman who privately wishes me to the devil. I’ll be watched across my table by smiling eyes. I’ll wake up with an intelligent companion who makes me laugh. I’ll be greeted at the end of a long day out with genuine warmth and concern. You offer more than any beautiful hired mistress.” His voice dropped to a hungry whisper, “A mistress would never shiver from my caress.” Morning light dried away pools of shadow as Marshall leaned forward and feathered her lips with hesitant admiration. Her almost imperceptible response lit a fire in his stomach urging him to explore the offered sweetness until there was no suspicion of self-delusion.
Mary wasn’t conscious of being pulled closer or her fingers slipping under wool to find a silk waistcoat. All she knew was warm moist air in between tender kisses causing delicious new sensations. The door burst open and a maid squeaked in shock, disappearing before the couple could detach. Mary blushed as blue sapphire’s smiled in triumph.
“You can’t kiss me like that Merry Wife and refuse to share my bed.”
Mary gulped down an irrational agreement, “I need time.”
“You don’t need time, you need to come upstairs and fall asleep in my arms.”
“If I fall in love with you I will, if not I’ll allow you the dignity of hope.”
Marshall was so stunned he forgot about carrying her upstairs to his bed. He impulsively pulled her closer and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Heaven smiled when you stepped into that dusty office. May I woo you with kisses, buy you presents and read you my favourite love poems?”
“If you wish…”
“I do…if you weren’t my wife I’d be gnashing my teeth in jealousy.”
Marshall scowled as his hired wife laughed in his ear. “You’re either mad or you’ve been recently blinded by sparks from a fire. I’ll instruct the maid to keep your armchair a safe distance from the grate.”
“If I say I’d be jealous I’d be jealous.”
“If you say so my Lord.”
“Impudent woman, you’d best go to bed before you say something…”
“Mad?”
“That’s enough impudence for one morning…what are my chances?”
“Chances for what?”
“Do you think you’ll fall in love with me or not?”
“Ask me again in three months and I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
“Can’t you give me a hint of what you think the final outcome is likely to be?”
“How can I hint at what I don’t know?”
“Well what can you tell me?”
“You’re almost handsome in early twilight…”
“So I’m handsome in the dark eh? Come back here you impudent woman I’m not done with you.” She was already out of the room and half way up the stairs. Marshall ignored the amused maids and followed. He reluctantly passed Mary’s closed door and retreated into his own room. Staring at his empty bed, he stood transfixed as heat coursed through his veins. He’d forgotten kisses could be so overwhelming, so sweet. He licked his lips and wondered what he’d do if she decided not to stay. The thought instantly chilled his blood making him shiver with horror. All he had to do was ensure she fell in love with him. How did one capture a woman’s heart? He had three months to answer a question that had remained unanswered through the ages.
Chapter 5
Marshall woke six hours later feeling disoriented and groggy. It took several minutes after sitting up to realise there was a bath of steaming water waiting for him. It was late afternoon by the time he sat down to eat his first meal of the day. He opened his mouth to shout for his breakfast, but closed it again when the footman hurried in with his usual plate. Nothing was undercooked or overcooked and his footman for once remained respectfully at his side. “Is my wife still asleep?”
The footman further astonished him by bending over and speaking into his ear, “Her Ladyship is arranging flowers in the parlour my Lord.”
“Humph…pour me another cup of chocolate. That will be all, thank you.” The footman escaped the room in shock at the polite dismissal.
Marshall ate slower than normal as he savoured the memory of his hired wife’s kisses. Would she remember their morning embrace? Would she kiss him again? His heart stamped his chest with an urgent need to know. There was only one way to find out.
He found the woman working magic on his home wearing a new pale yellow morning gown under a dark blue apron. Marshall’s stomach churned as he watched her head tip to the side as she stepped back to inspect her last vase of flowers. “I believe I’m qualified to say you have a magic touch.” She started and abruptly turned to face him. “Do your lips taste of heaven or did I dream up that kiss we shared this morning?” The words vibrated the window panes scorching her pale skin. She watched his studied approach until she had to tip back her head to look into his eyes. “When did you rise?”