Page 20 of Married to the Duke By Midnight

It surprised him that she played so well. She was so much in her mind, it seemed, with her lists and her books. But there was something sensual about her too, that aligned with being skilled at the piano. A sensuality he did not need to remind himself of at the moment.

Earlier in the driveway, he had felt the air crackling between them. The way they both wanted to linger even though neither he nor she could come up with a reason to do so. And might as well. He was aware that he had broken her rules about touching her the first week of their marriage, yet each time it had felt paramount that he should offer his support and comfort. When she met his family, when she was nervous over their questions, when they had faced her odious cousin.

Robert clenched his fists by his sides as he lingered in the doorway, looking at the graceful curve of Jo’s neck and the way her light green dress subtly enhanced her bosom. He could not believe anyone could find her unwomanly. She was the very image of womanly to him.

Although he could not show her yet. At least only very discreetly. He did not want to frighten her – nor give her the wrong impression about their marriage. Women often confused desire and emotion, he knew from Thornston. Which was why Robert needed to be careful with how he treated Jo these first months of their marriage. Eventually, they would find a balance that suited them both, he assumed.

This constant concern was the reason he had refrained from commenting on her appearance both this morning and when she came down for dinner, even though he had wanted to.

When the month was up and he could take her to bed, he knew he would want to do so as often as she was willing. Thornston might have been right that lying with a new woman would be what finally pushed Lucretia from Robert’s mind, even though Robert knew his friend had not meant for that woman to be his wife.

The song came to an end, and Jo opened her eyes as if waking from a dream, then startled when she saw him.

“I had no idea you were there,” she said in a breathy voice that did not help the path his thoughts had just taken.

Robert gritted his teeth as he entered the room and forced his mind away from her body and focused on her face.

“I did not want to disturb you. I had no idea you played,” he told her as casually as he was able to and walked over to the side table where he kept his decanters of spirits. It was mostly to busy himself and take his eyes off her for a moment. He had already had a couple of glasses of wine for dinner and did not want to be inebriated tonight.

“I play a few songs reasonably well. It seemed the smartest choice, since I do not have any particular gift for music. I thought if I practiced a few songs relentlessly, I would be able to perform them well. And I do.”

Robert liked how she stated this as a fact. Other women might play coy to make him compliment them, but Jo knew her own abilities and did not need him to bolster her confidence, which was surprisingly attractive.

He was losing his mind, Robert thought, when he found a woman’s ability to know her worth attractive.

He accidentally poured too much whisky into a glass and cursed under his breath. He would be close to drunk if he drank all of it. Which he did not need. He needed all his wit about him when he faced Jo.

It was going to be a very long month.

“Do you want anything?” he asked a little too loudly.

“Madeira, please,” she answered. Her voice sounded a bit distracted and when he reached her, she was rifling through one of the books he had left on the side table by the sofa. His servants knew that they were not to remove them when they were lying there.

Jo placed the book back on the table and took a large gulp from her glass. Was she nervous? Had she felt him ogling her before? He hated that he might make her feel uncomfortable. The whole point of her list was to make her feel at ease with him. Enough for her to sleep with him.

Robert took a large swig of whisky.

“What he said earlier, my cousin,” Jo began hesitantly, while looking at her hands.

Robert was relieved to find that he was not the source of her discomfort but would have preferred that they did not have to discuss Ambrose Hawkins further tonight.

“Which part?” he asked as he tried to keep his voice steady. He already loathed the man and was glad that Jo would never have to be beholden to him again.

“The… the one about our children… my children being morally corrupted.” Jo looked up and licked her lips before she continued. Robert did not like what the sight of her pink tongue did to him. “He is wrong, you know?”

“Jo,” Robert said patiently as he leaned forward. He was unable to reach her, the distance between the chair he was sitting in and the sofa she was on was too great, but it was probably for the best. “I did not believe a word of what he said. He evidently sees the world through a very contorted lens.”

Jo nodded as she still looked at her hands.

“I just… I wanted to be certain that you did not think so. I know my most important role in this marriage is to birth your children and make certain that they are aptly equipped to face this world.”

Robert wanted to protest to this but did not know why. It was every wife’s role, was it not?

“And I know we do not know each other well, so I wanted to make certain that…”

“Jo,” Robert interrupted her gently. “If I had any doubt that your moral compass was wrong, that my children would be morally corrupted as your cousin said, I would never have agreed to marry you. But even knowing you for an hour and knowing him for five minutes it is evident that his moral compass is askew and not yours.”

Jo offered him a brief smile, before taking another sip of her madeira. Smaller this time, but the glass was almost empty.