by Golden Angel
His father nodded thoughtfully.
Stared off into space.
Making for another long, anxious moment for Thomas.
“I trust in the future you will make your expectations known to her before she has a chance to go against them?”
Thomas winced. “Definitely.”
“You know,” his father said, reaching for his paper again. “The key to a happy marriage is communication and compromise. You will not always get your way. Neither will she. But you must both get your way often enough to rub along with each other. Two strong personalities will always clash somewhat.”
A brief smile flashed across the viscount’s face as Thomas considered his words.
“Don’t ever tell your mother I said this, but it’s very much like breaking a horse to bridle. You want to tame her enough to ride in the harness, but you don’t ever want to break her spirit.”
It was a rather crude comparison, making Thomas choke slightly on the mouthful of bacon he’d just taken because it was so unexpected coming from his father.
Shaking out his paper, the viscount flashed Thomas a smile before lifting it back up.
“I’ll deny I said anything like that to my last breath.”
******
Escorted by her maid, in keeping with the proprieties until she could figure out exactly how she was going to torment her husband, Arabella hurried out of the house and down the street. She was absolutely not going to sit at a breakfast table with her husband and pretend everything was just fine. That was if she even managed to look at him after… well, after she’d just done what she had.
Once the needy ache inside of her had been appeased, her sense of shame had welled up to take its place.
How could she have found enjoyment after such an ordeal? How could she have been so heavily aroused that she’d actually touched herself when she had never enjoyed doing so before?
How could she maintain her anger at her husband if she felt too embarrassed to even look at him?
Although as long as she wasn’t face to face with him she had no problem keeping her temper stoked.
How dare he spank her?
How dare he make her feel the way he had?
In a twisted way, just like her decision to trap him into marriage, this was all his fault again. If he hadn’t spanked her, taken control of her so thoroughly, she would never have known what her reaction to it was. She would never have felt the way she did right now.
So it was very easy to blame him and remain irate as she stalked down the street to the house Felix and Gabrielle had rented, far too aware of how sore her bottom was beneath her swishing skirts. The streets weren’t as empty as they had been, although this area was still quite quiet. Arabella wasn’t at all worried about running into anyone who would require polite conversation.
Those members of the ton who weren’t abed or taking breakfast were most likely returning after a night of something illicit. They wouldn’t have any more desire to speak with her than she did with them.
No, the only person she wanted to speak to was her best friend.
When Felix’s man (their household was too small to require a butler), Sheldon, answered the door, he blinked in surprise when he saw her. Still, he was made of stern enough stuff to have been a butler if he wanted. Other than that quick blink, he didn’t react at all.
“Lady Arabella,” he said, bowing slightly.
“I’d like to see Gabrielle,” she said, keeping hold of her emotions with an iron grip and just barely managing to make her words sound more like a request than an order.
A few minutes later, Arabella had been shown into the morning room where Gabrielle was having tea, but no breakfast. Felix, thankfully, was nowhere to be seen. Dressed in a soft, loose, dove grey morning gown, Gabrielle was caressing her stomach and staring off into nothing when Sheldon announced Arabella.
"Arabella!" Gabrielle's expression was more than a little startled as she stood. "What on earth are you doing here?" A sudden look crossed her face, almost of amusement. Her lips quirked into almost a smile. "Don't tell me you and Thomas have found marriage so disagreeable already..."
Arabella gave her friend a dark look as Sheldon closed the door firmly behind him.
"Where's Felix?" she asked, rather than answering Gabrielle's question. Knowing Arabella as well as she did, Gabrielle's hazel eyes danced with mirth as she sat down, gesturing for Arabella to join her.
Sulkily, Arabella plopped down on the couch next to her friend. Then hissed as she realized she'd actually managed to forget about her sore bottom and had sat down as she usually would, reigniting the stinging.
"Felix is meeting a man about a horse he's interested in," Gabrielle said, that small, superior little smile still hovering about her lips, although she didn't comment on the odd noise her friend had just made. She had likely guessed what had caused it and was highly entertained. Arabella was honest enough with herself to know she would have reacted the same way as her friend was, but that still didn't mean she appreciated it. "Where's Thomas?"
"Back at Hood House, I would imagine," Arabella said, taking the cup of tea Gabrielle offered her. They'd been friends long enough for Gabrielle to know Arabella preferred her tea with what some considered an excessive four sugars. Arabella was sure her husband would be among that number.
Feeling rebellious, she sipped her heavily sweetened tea.
She was going to drink her tea however she liked it, no matter what anyone thought.
The act was almost calming, no matter that she was acutely aware of her bottom throbbing slightly beneath her. There was just something soothing about drinking tea, no matter how upset or angry she was.
After her first sip, she sighed, slumping slightly.
She looked at Gabrielle, who had an expression of exaggerated patience on her face. As soon as their gazes met, Gabrielle's eyes dropped to Arabella's seat, her lips quirking.
"All right, yes, he spanked me this morning," Arabella snapped out. The extreme lack of surprise on Gabrielle's face was nearly as annoying as her amusement. Still, Arabella was not about to deny herself the pleasure of being able to vent her feelings to a sympathetic ear. Since Gabrielle had gone through very similar ordeals with Thomas' brother, and Arabella had listened sympathetically (and occasionally a bit aghast), that was the least her friend could do.
She poured the whole tale out, along with her aggravation and went into explicit detail about her spanking. After all, she could hardly encourage Gabrielle to finally share everything with her unless she was willing to do the same. And it was very nice to be able to share everything which had happened to someone she knew would empathize.
She also had a better understanding of why it had been difficult for Gabrielle to talk about it with her.
Trying to describe how it made her feel... well, it was not easy and it certainly helped that Gabrielle had her own experience to draw on. Arabella now felt a tiny pang of remorse for so relentlessly hounding Gabrielle to be more detailed. She hadn't realized what a difference it made to hear versus to know.
By the time she finished they were both on their second cup of tea and Gabrielle was looking much more sympathetic than amused.
"Oh dear..." Gabrielle said when Arabella had wound up her sad tale. "That was not well done of you, to not think of Mary, but to spank you on the morning of your first day as a married couple!"
"Especially since he hadn't spoken to me about riding at all," Arabella said crossly. "Even though he admitted he had done wrong, he still spanked me!"
"Well, you should not have gone out riding astride—don't look at me like that, you know it as well as I do," Gabrielle said, giving Arabella a look of her own. Arabella made a face. She was well aware of her own mistake and had already paid for it. Gabrielle tilted her head thoughtfully. "Mary is very forgettable though, do you think she does it deliberately?"
"What?" Arabella asked, distracted from her own circumstances by the very odd question.
"Ma
kes herself so very unobtrusive," Gabrielle said. "She's so beautiful and really very sweet and witty when she does speak, but when she wants to she just fades into the background. I swear, I've had entire conversations without realizing she was standing right next to me."
"I don't know," Arabella said, much struck by the idea.
As a duke's daughter and then sister, Arabella had always drawn attention and had rather enjoyed it. She'd certainly never attempted to avoid it. Although, it could be very useful not to be noticed, then she wouldn't have to eavesdrop at keyholes. She wondered how much Mary overheard that no one realized.
Unfortunately, that was unlikely to be a tactic she could ever use. Arabella was far more used to garnering attention than avoiding it.
However, she was more than happy not to be completely blamed for neglecting to consider Mary's prospects this morning.
"Maybe she doesn't want to marry..." Gabrielle mused, distracted.
Arabella shrugged, dismissing Mary's preferences from her mind. They didn't fall under her purview at the moment, although they might next year if Mary didn't receive an offer before next Season and the viscountess decided to stay in the country rather than come to town. At the moment, Mary didn't rate as a priority.
Deciding how she was going to handle her new husband was her next step. She could get to know Mary better during the rest of the year and discover her motivations then.
"We can handle Mary later," she reminded Gabrielle. "What I need to focus on now is what to do about Thomas. I cannot bear to let him dictate my behavior, but I prefer to avoid his idea of discipline as well."
Gabrielle gave her a sly look. "Is this your roundabout manner of saying you're planning on taking Cynthia's route and provoking your husband into spanking you, but unlike her you'll pretend to hate it?"
"Absolutely not!" Arabella retorted. "That's not at all what I'm doing. Unlike Cynthia, I actually am going to avoid giving him an excuse to spank me."
"Even though you enjoyed it?" The sly expression hadn't left Gabrielle's eyes. She was obviously enjoying Arabella's discomfort, as Arabella had always insisted she would not only not be spanked by her husband, but that she certainly wouldn't have the same reaction her friends did.
Especially because she had enjoyed it. Well, part of her had apparently. Her body had. Her mind hadn't enjoyed it at all, if anything it had made her more determined to fight him... just in a more underhanded manner than she had this morning. A manner which would make him look like a brute if he attempted to punish her.
Which meant small annoyances, things she could claim to have done out of actual ignorance or innocence. It would be tricky, but it would be worth it.
"I enjoyed last night's spanking," she said, almost primly. "I didn't enjoy today's one bit."
"But your body still reacted the same."
"Fine," Arabella snapped, making Gabrielle grin. She rolled her eyes, unable to stay angry with her friend for long, especially because she knew this was Gabrielle's revenge for Arabella's constant harping on wondering how Gabrielle could enjoy being spanked by her husband. Gabrielle deserved to get a little of her own back. "After it was over, I had an adverse reaction. But that doesn't mean I enjoyed the actual spanking."
"None of us do," Gabrielle said cheerfully. Then she frowned. "Well, other than Cynthia. She's the exception that proves the rule."
Arabella waved her hand dismissively. They all knew Cynthia was a little odd that way. "The point is, I cannot allow us to continue in this manner. I need a plan of attack."
"Attack?" Gabrielle looked a little alarmed. "I thought you were going to try and avoid more discipline."
"I don't mean to actually attack him, but I must decide how to go forward. Obviously I can't let this stand." Arabella let out a little sound of frustration. She'd be damned if she let her new husband think this was how their marriage was going to be.
Thoughtfully, Gabrielle tapped her lips. "Eleanor told me she once hosted a dinner party where every dish was something Edwin wouldn't enjoy. Of course, she overplayed her hand a bit by making it every dish, but perhaps you could do something similar with a few adjustments."
The idea appealed, but Arabella shook her head. "I might try something similar once we're alone, but for the remainder of the Season, while we're in Hood House, his mother arranges the menus. She may ask for my assistance, but she'll know his preferences."
"Oh!" Gabrielle perked up. "Felix once told me that the scent of roses makes Thomas have sneezing fits. It doesn't matter if it's in a garden or a perfume, it sets him off horribly."
Arabella sat up. "That sounds perfect!" She smiled cheerily at Gabrielle. "Would you like to visit Bond Street with me? I have a sudden hankering for a new perfume."
******
Searching through the house, room by room, his mood growing ever darker, Thomas eventually crossed paths with his mother in the hallway.
"Good morning dear," she said cheerfully. "What has you looking like such a thundercloud today?"
"Nothing," Thomas replied automatically, even though his next question would probably reveal to his mother the source of his current mood. "Have you seen my wife, by chance?"
Even though it was new, and even though he was currently put out with her, Thomas had realized he got a certain thrill from calling Arabella his wife. It also sounded more ominous than calling her by her name would be, and right now he appreciated that as well.
"Oh yes, she and I spoke briefly before she went out this morning," his mother said, already moving off down the hall.
Doing an abrupt about-face, Thomas hurried along behind her. "Before she went out? What time? Where?"
He couldn't imagine his mother being up early enough to have seen Arabella leaving for her early morning ride, but if Arabella had left the house again... Well, that didn't bode well either. Where would she have gone? Why? Had he frightened her?
No, that didn't seem right.
Would he soon be receiving a visit from angry brothers?
Somehow that didn't fit either. As lenient as her brothers had been with her, they would never countenance her behavior this morning and they would have been on his side the moment he explained everything. Arabella would have realized they'd be more likely to be his allies than hers.
"Oh, a little over an hour ago," his mother said airily, waiving her hand, continuing on her way. Thomas bit back the snappish demand that she stop and tell him everything he wanted to know. That would do nothing but put him on the receiving end of a lecture about manners and he still wouldn't know where Arabella had gone. Instead, he obediently trotted along beside his mother, waiting for her to divulge the pertinent information. "She was going to visit Gabrielle."
"Gabrielle?" he asked, grinding to a halt. Felix and his sister-in-law resided just down the street. He could easily rush over there and—
"Thomas, don't you dare," his mother said, rounding on him as if she could hear his thoughts. "A young woman sometimes needs her friends after her wedding night, it's only natural to want to talk some things through. Such an event can be... well, a revelation."
Heat suffused his face as he realized what his mother was referencing. "Mother!"
"Oh please," she said, sniffing derisively as she turned away from him again. "Your father and I aren't dead you know."
Thomas groaned, covering his face with his palms. Of all the things he didn't need to think about right now, his parents' marital relations had just shot to the top of the list.
The first day of his married life was not going well at all.
Chapter 11
Her husband practically pounced on her the moment she walked through the door, making Arabella come up short as she skidded to a halt and her poor maid nearly ran into her from behind. Lifting her chin, she wound her fingers in front of her, regarding him as coolly as she could. Even so, she could feel the two high spots of color blooming on her cheeks and she swore she could feel her bottom tingling beneath her skirts.
Obviousl
y he’d had a bath in her absence and his dark hair was waving back from his forehead. Unlike when they’d come in from riding, he was now impeccably dressed, not a spot of dust on him, and looked every inch the fashionable lord with his stiff cravat and combined with a stormy expression on his face, just looking at him made her heart beat faster. She told herself it was entirely due to her temper, but she knew that wasn’t true. The very sight of him made her stomach—and other things—tighten.
"Thomas," she said coolly, ignoring the maid brushing past her to take the flagon of perfume—and a few other small items Arabella had purchased—to her room. Fortunately Thomas ignored the maid, obviously uninterested.
"Arabella," he replied, his voice deep and almost menacing. She barely managed to keep from rolling her eyes at him. That tone wasn't going to work on her; between Isaac and Benedict she'd become immune. "Where have you been?"
Turning her gaze downward, she began tugging off her gloves as she answered him. She'd never been a particularly apt liar, not that she was exactly going to be untruthful, but hiding her expression helped keep others from reading her emotions. As Thomas was particularly insightful, it was a just precaution.
"I went to visit Gabrielle. Felix was at Tattersall's, so she and I went to Bond Street for some early morning shopping. However, she tired easily so we did not linger." Arabella pulled her second glove from her hand and laid it across the first in her palm, glancing back up at him with a touch of challenge. "I took my maid with me and, as far as I know, did nothing which would incite even the slightest amount of gossip."
Her husband's mouth opened—as if to defend himself—and then closed, as he realized that protesting he hadn't meant to insinuate any such thing would only make him sound guilty. It was a conundrum how that worked. The thing was, Arabella was quite sure he hadn't actually thought she might have done any such thing, she'd just said it to discombobulate him.
It had worked.
Hiding her smirk was difficult, but she just reminded herself that she was still angry with him and that helped. Showing her amusement at his expense would net her nothing right now.