“Charlie needed a song or two to go to sleep.”
He nodded. “I stopped in to check on them on my way here. They were all sleeping. Including Mrs. Green. Did you know she snores?”
Annis chuckled. “Yes, I did.”
“Should I be worried about Charlie?” he asked.
“I should think she’ll grow out of it,” Annis reassured him.
“Silly question, really. I’ll worry anyway. Which reminds me—got some news!”
His grin, visible in the candlelight, told her it was good news. “Yes?”
“Sarah’s pregnant.”
“Oh, how marvelous. I did wonder the other day; she seemed a bit pale and tired.”
“Rob’s over the moon. He is completely soft under all that starch, you know.”
“Yes, I do know. He was a very kind and considerate employer.”
His hands were still stroking her. They now squeezed, one on her rump the other on her breast. “Feels like forever since this morning,” he murmured, pushing her back into the pillows and moving a hand between her legs.
She sighed. He may have left her for the evening, but he was home now and wanting to make up for his absence. She wasn’t inclined to stop him.
Only a few evenings later, Annis joined Emrys out in society among their friends. Her first appearance in society as Viscountess Ashford was a night at the theatre. The duke had a box in Drury Lane, and she and Emrys were to join the duke, Sarah, Sarah’s sister Deborah, the dowager, Lady Ava, and the elder of the duke’s two brothers, Lord Hereward, for a performance of the operaThe Fairy Queen.
Her dress was a cream silk with blue piping and embroidery, finished with lace on the bosom, sleeves, and hem. The bodice was not cut so low as the gown she wore for the wedding, but it was still low enough for Annis to feel uncomfortable and for Emrys to eye it in a way that told her precisely what he would be doing when they got home. If he didn’t whip her off into a secluded corner and do obscene things to her before then...
Since she was afraid he would wish to do precisely that, for Emrys seemed remarkably impervious to what other people might think of his behavior, she was only thankful that he didn’t get the opportunity to try. They were never left alone long enough, which was a good thing, for Annis’s nerves were stretched to breaking point as it was. Being presented as Viscountess Ashford couldn’t help but make her feel like a fraud. She was terrified someone would step out of the shadows, point at her, and denounce her as a bastard. A lesser fear was that someone would recognize her as the duke’s former governess, which would be bad enough. Quite humiliating in fact. But not as bad as the other.
She tried her very best to cover her fear and smile and nod and appear relaxed, and she thought she was doing quite well until Emrys murmured in her ear, “Relax. No one is going to bite you. You’re among friends.”
She flushed. “Is it so obvious?”
“Only to me,” he said with an encouraging smile.
“I am so afraid someone will recognize me. You know, from before, when I was a governess.”
“Even if they do, they won’t say so. If you think anyone has more social credit than the duke, you would be highly mistaken. You’re my wife and a friend of the Duchess of Troubridge. Robert is known to be a high stickler. If he approves of you, no one is going to gainsay him.”
“Even the patronesses of Almack’s?”
“Well, the dowager is bosom bows with Maria Sefton, so I wouldn’t think so.”
“Oh.”
He kissed her hand and placed it on his arm. He was wearing a new suit, and this one seemed a better fit than the usual. Combined with his new hairstyle, he almost cut a fashionable figure. His hair was still a trifle long, but more fashionably so, with a rather romantic fall across his brow. And for once his neckcloth was tied properly. “Come and sit down and enjoy the performance. I guarantee you’ll like it.”
“Oh, yes. I lovedA Midsummer Night’s Dreamand this is based on it, isn’t it? We took the girls to a performance in Bath once. I was entranced.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Annis’s next testwas a ball held by the duchess to present her sister, Miss Deborah Watson, to theton. Emrys knew this was going to be difficult for her, and he went to some lengths to make sure his own appearance did her credit. For the first time in his life, he was paying attention to how he looked. Not because he cared for himself, but because he wanted her to feel as confident as possible in her new role, and having him look a shabrag wouldn’t help.
He’d taken to sparring with the duke at Gentleman Jackson’s, too. He’d decided he preferred to keep off the extra pounds he had shed in the wake of Caro’s perfidy and death. He knew he had a disastrous tendency to gain weight—he liked his food—so it behooved him to do some more exercise to keep it off.
Technically, he should still be in mourning and not attending balls at all, let alone with a new wife on his arm. He was a walking scandal after Caro’s disaster, but the weight of public opinion was on his side, and he hoped that would be extended to Annis. He wouldn’t dance, which was a shame, because he liked dancing, and he’d very much like to dance with Annis. He’d been giving her lessons round the drawing room at home, for she’d never danced in her life in public, although she knew the rudiments of the steps.
