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“We’ll miss having you in the house, Nell, but we’ll be close by. And I chose a good man for you. He’ll provide the kind of environment you need.”
“Yes Papa,” she said, a lump forming in her throat. “I’ll miss you too.”
“Just be a good, obedient wife to him,” her father said, grinning broadly. “He’ll take good care of you. “
“I’ll try, Papa,” she said, mentally forgiving herself the lie. She would be good and obedient as much as she could for as long as she could, but she didn’t consider this a real marriage anyway. Why, they hadn't even had a real wedding - she wasn't wearing a special dress, she didn't have a special bouquet and there hadn't been rows and rows of guests filling a church to see her in all her splendor. And despite the elegance of this wedding breakfast, it was far too small. This barely counted as a wedding at all!
"See that you do."
On the other side of the room, her brother Hugh and Edwin were having their own conversation about Miss Chandler.
“Quite the beauty,” Edwin said, although truthfully he preferred Eleanor’s fair looks and lush hair. Miss Chandler was certainly beautiful however; quite slim with a porcelain complexion pleasing features and young, high breasts, small but perfectly formed. Her hair was a light reddish color and she had stunning emerald eyes. Looking the perfect little queen, she sat and chatted with Lady Harrington, showing that her manners were as good as anyone else’s despite her father’s lower status and her family’s financial situation.
“Isn’t she?” Hugh said, looking rather starry eyed as he glanced over at the lady in question. “I wasn't sure I wanted to fall in line when my father told me about her, but if we can get that bit of land then we'll be able to expand the wool manufacturing, and as soon as I saw her I lost any objections. She’s sweet, demure, quiet… everything Nell isn’t.”
They both chuckled.
“I think she’ll be the perfect wife,” Hugh said with a definitive nod.
“Does she hold you in affection?”
“She seems to,” said Hugh, although there was a bit of doubt in his voice. He shrugged. “At least, she seems to have no objections to the marriage and she certainly appreciates my attentions. There’s no reason we won’t fall in love, I’m certainly more than halfway there.” He grinned suddenly. “I always did want a marriage like my parents’.”
"When will you propose?" Edwin asked.
"Probably soon," Hugh said amiably. "I'd rather get this wedding business over with as soon as possible. Mother wasn't pleased that Father insisted on such a quick, quiet wedding for Eleanor. Means she'll probably go overboard to make up for it planning mine."
"Do you think Wesley might be home in time?"
"I hope so, although he’ll still be in mourning." They looked at each other, the thought of the third member of their trio dimming their happiness slightly. Wesley's adventurous feet had taken him to India soon after they’d watched Eleanor’s birching. Unfortunately six months ago his father had been killed in a carriage accident and Wesley had been called home to do his duties. No one was quite sure when he would finally arrive, but they knew that he was on his way. It had taken awhile to locate him with the news and then he'd had to wrap up whatever he was doing in India - some kind of business venture although that wasn't common knowledge. Gentlemen weren't supposed to sully their hands with business, but Wesley had been making a fortune and most of the ton wouldn't care too much where the money came from as long as he had it.
"Well at least wait until Eleanor and I return home from our honeymoon."
Hugh chuckled. "You think I'd allow you to miss it? Besides, my mother will want at least three months to get everything together, there's no chance of it going off before you come home."
Nodding, Edwin’s gaze returned to his bride. Eleanor was looking quite lovely in a silver and gold wedding dress that was quite modest. It wasn't quite the wedding he'd pictured either, but the important thing was that he was married, to the only women he'd ever thought about marrying. He wondered if she still wore the old fashioned kind of drawers that had no seam, making for easy access to a woman’s body. The thought stirred him in a way that he needed to avoid while still in company.
“Alright chap, I think it’s time for me to focus my attentions on my bride.”
“Careful there, that’s my sister,” Hugh said.
“I’ll take care of her.”
“I know. Just don’t let her get too out of hand. It’s easier to curb her behavior right away, if you let her get away with even a little thing, she’ll run with it.” Hugh sighed and then send a wistful and approving glance at Miss Chandler. Chuckling, Edwin shook his head. He’d much rather have a spirited and passionate bride than the quiet dutiful type, but he supposed that after living with Eleanor, Miss Chandler must seem rather restful to Hugh.
The men shook hands and Edwin returned to his bride so that they could take their leave of the company and return to his house. His parents rode in the carriage with them, making light conversation before dropping them at his town home where Edwin promptly introduced her to the household staff before she pleaded her tiredness and was allowed to retreat upstairs to her chamber for a refreshing nap.
*********
Dinner was an uncomfortable affair for Eleanor. Her husband’s hungry gaze made her quite nervous, despite the fact that she was wearing one of the demure gowns her father approved of. She was quite sure that she could feel Edwin’s eyes lingering on the swell of her bosom. And he spent most of dinner explaining what he expected from her in terms of running the household. There was quite a bit of it and while Eleanor knew that her mother took care of many of the small details of their household, it wasn't something she'd ever had to personally do and she knew very well that Edwin had a housekeeper that had been taking care of it before he had a bride. Why could that not continue? But she didn't want to argue with him. At least not yet; she was quite sure the argument would come later when he wanted to bed her.
To begin her excuses, as soon as dinner was over she pleaded exhaustion and said she needed more rest. Fortunately Edwin didn't seem at all suspicious, he even offered to walk her to her chambers. Relieved at his agreeableness Eleanor smiled and accepted. She was rather torn between the suspicion that Edwin was much more dictatorial then he was currently showing and this new charming affability of her husband. Perhaps this wasn't such a bad arrangement after all, but she'd rather wait a few days and see. After all, Edwin had been chosen by her father and she'd wanted to be married in order to get away from her father's strictures.
Walking to her room they chatted amiably and Eleanor found herself wondering if she was bucking the idea of marriage to him because she was so used to wanting to defy her father. So far Edwin didn't seem a bad sort of husband at all.
Pushing open the door to her room she turned to wish him a good night, and then he was on her, just as when he'd proposed. Eleanor found herself stumbling back into her room, Edwin's strong arms supporting her body and the door closing behind them. His lips were demanding, seductive, and she opened her mouth without thinking to accept his tongue. While her body reacted to his touch, his heat, her mind hastened to catch up. But it was so hard to think! He was so large and overwhelming, his hands hot on her neck as he pulled pins from her hair.
When he pulled his mouth from hers she was left gasping, her lips swollen from his kisses, as he began to lick and nibble his way down her sensitive neck. Dear God! The small touches made the insides of her body tighten.
