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Alice’s stomach filled with a fluttering sensation, a strange mixture of anxiety and excitement. Edmund summoned her maid, a dainty woman by the name of Primrose, who was tasked with escorting Alice to the master bedchamber.
The previous day, Alice’s wardrobe of clothes and other personal effects had been transported by wagon to Westfell. Primrose reassured her mistress that all had been stowed away safely.
The bedroom had at its epicentre a four-poster bed, the kind a king would sleep in and not a lowly engineer’s daughter. The golden drapes, embroidered with the finest silks, hung about the posts. Alice fingered the fabric, admiring the quality. She truly had become a lady of wealth and status.
Alice seated herself before the mirror of the dressing table and Primrose brushed the curls out of her dark hair until the ends licked about her shoulders. Staring at her reflection, Alice could see her nervous disposition clearly and wished she knew what to expect from her husband upon such a night. She had little understanding of the rudiments of sex only having witnessed a stallion mount a mare in a field. Beyond the crude couplings of nature, what happened betwixt man and wife in the bedroom remained somewhat of a mystery to Alice.
Primrose bobbed her curtsey and left Alice to wait for her husband. She wondered if she were to undress or lie on the bed, even take sanctuary under the covers. Perhaps he didn’t wish to see her body, merely feel his way about her form.
The door opened and Alice sprung up as if she were one of Edmund’s foot soldiers.
He stood by the door, shutting it behind him and looked Alice up and down. A small smile crept over his face making her blush. He remained in his uniform, as he had done throughout the day’s events. In the church with the sun shining through the stain glass windows, he had looked especially dashing.
With one hand, he undid his sword belt and tossed the weapon onto a nearby chair. Then he unbuttoned his collar, removed the ornate silver gorget, which protected his vulnerable breastbone, and loosened the white cravat about his neck with a sigh of a relief.
“What do I do?” whispered Alice, embarrassed by her ignorance.
“I shall undress you, my dear,” said Edmund. “That will be a good start.”
He approached and circled about her trembling form, a finger flicked her hair and another lifted her chin up so she could see his eyes. Exquisite grey eyes and a narrow nose adorned his handsome face. Everyday, Alice’s fascination with his appearance grew in appreciation and delight. He may be over a decade older than herself, but it didn’t show in his physique nor were there lines about his face.
Crouching down, he took hold of her ankle and lifted up her foot. Balanced precariously, her hand reached out to the bedpost to find support. Seeing him crouched below, his sturdy back and shoulders bent over, she re-directed her hand, bringing it down to lean on him. A strong man, she felt the firmness of his frame beneath her fingertips and even through the thick fabric of his jacket. The touch quickened her pulse.
He slipped her feet out of her flat shoes, which he placed under the bed. “There, such dainty feet,” he commented softly.
Her trembling hand slid off his back as he rose up. He seemed to tower over her. A whole head taller and as he gazed down, the heat emanating from his body induced even stronger palpitations. His hands brushed against her sides, climbing higher until they found her shoulders. The sensation sent a tingle of shivers down her spine.
With each passing caress of his hands, she had a crippling sense of losing control over her body. How did he do it? Barely touching and with only the penetrating greyness of his eyes, he rapidly sent her spiralling into an unknown place in her mind. He unlocked a secret haven of desire and she craved to have him closer, pressed against her body and something else. She couldn’t put her finger on what exactly her body needed from him only that her sex seemed to be the source of her yearning.
His poised hands unhooked the clasp of her gown, and with a gentle nudge, the short sleeves slithered down her arms. Another almost violent shiver cascaded across her skin. The rest of the gown floated down her body, gliding past her hips and on to the floor. Swiftly, he collected the garment and lay it neatly on a chair. Underneath her white wedding gown, she wore a sleeveless petticoat.
Her eyes tracked his face, not daring to leave it for fear the magical intimacy he had kindled might suddenly fade. With a faint expression of amusement creeping on to his features, he looped his fingers around the straps and drew them down her arms. She heard him sniff as he briefly buried his nose in her hair, kissing her neck lightly.
“Devine,” he murmured.
His fingers tickled as he continued to lower her undergarment. Alice squirmed, goose bumps rising higher on her exposed flesh. Each moment of such close proximity unravelled her ability to think straight. A newly found energy coursed through her blood, heating her bosom and loins.
His deft hands reached her cotton corset. He paused, fingers hovering, and emitted a low sigh and cocked his head to one side. A gentle sound—of appreciation? Her own arms lay rigid to her sides, unable to move, while her hands simply quivered with expectation of what was to come. He ran a lone finger up the straight busk of her corset towards her cleavage. She watched its progress hypnotised.
The busk parted her rounded breasts, forming distinct globes. They heaved as she panted with short breaths. He stopped short of touching her and instead, pinched the end of a lace between his finger and thumb. As he unlaced the corset, he freed her captured bosom and unleashed her erect nipples, which pushed through the fabric of her shift. Glancing up, she caught sight of Edmund tracing his tongue about his lips. She swayed, seeing his reaction, wondering if his mouth would taste every part of her. Was that part of the experience? To be explored in every possible way?
Only her shift and stockings remained.
Alice said nothing. She doubted she could string a sentence together. It took all of her concentration not to swoon on her feet. She could smell his scent. It was like nothing she had encountered before. Neither unpleasant nor fresh, a concoction of aromas that made her insides tighten.
With the corset gone, she had little protection from him. Lowering himself down again, he rolled down her silk stockings. She emitted a tiny murmur, a small gasp. The soft material tickled as it descended. When he had said he would undress her, she hadn’t envisioned it would be quite so torturous. A delightful kind of torture, building her anticipation to an unknown climax of lust.
He rose and his hand moved towards the linen chemise, laced about the neck, sleeveless and low to her calves. Edmund loosened the tie, allowing the neckline to drop to her bosom, exposing the upper portion of her breasts. Her heartbeats thundered against her breastbone. His eyes widened farther and his cheekbones flushed pink. With less grace, he reached down and grabbed the hem of her shift. He started to lift it.
A dreadful sense of alarm filled Alice. The realisation he intended to strip her completely naked trampled over her arousal, forcing her to step backwards away from him. She
always thought of herself as attractive, but now, facing a stunningly handsome man, she doubted her appeal. The idea of nudity truly worried her and she wondered if he would find her flesh adequate for his needs.
She blurted. “No! Please. I’ve never been naked before another person, not since I was a small child. It is too much. Please don’t undress me further.” Her hands wrapped about her body, as if to protect it.
“What silliness,” Edmund grinned—an expression that added to her sense of discomfort. He reached out with a hand, palm expectantly raised and Alice stepped back again, her heel knocking into the bedpost.
His lack of sensitivity fleetingly worried her. Tears welled in her eyes.
