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"Hullo mother," Matthew said dutifully, leaning down to buss her cheek. "We arrived a bit too late for that, so we just sat in the back and watched." He grinned at Wesley. "Congratulations brother, or should I say good luck, because you're going to need it with this little devil?" He opened his arms and Cynthia immediately squealed and jumped into them, squeezing him about the waist.
Wesley plastered a smile on his own face, even though right now he felt a bit like growling. He and Cynthia were going to have to have a talk about the proper way to interact with other men. Even his brothers. His smile became a bit more relaxed as he remembered their "talk" last night. From the way his bride had been fidgeting all morning, he knew she was still feeling the marks from her birching. His marks, on her skin, reminding her of whose she was. That salved some of the possessive aggression that had boiled up inside of him.
Strangely, being wedded to her didn't make him feel more secure. If anything, he felt more possessively guarded than ever. As a wife, she was even riper for seduction by the rakes of the ton. Not that he thought she would fall to their blandishments, she'd kept them off before he'd ever met her, but that didn't mean he liked them looking or thinking. It almost made him feel sorry for all the husbands that he'd cuckolded over the years. Except that they'd been stupid enough to neglect their wives, leaving them unprotected and needy.
Not a mistake that Wesley would make.
Pulling his wife back to him and tucking her in neatly at his side, he grinned at his brothers. With Cynthia properly secured, it was easier to enjoy seeing them. "I didn't know you were going to be here, but I'm glad that you are."
His younger brothers both clapped his shoulder, expressing their congratulations on his wedding. "Not something I thought I'd ever be able to say to you," teased Matthew. "But I'm glad Mother was right."
"What do you mean?" Wesley asked, frowning as he turned his head slightly. The Dowager was surrounded by her friends, all gleefully congratulating her on getting her rakish son settled.
"As soon as Cyn came to live with us, Mother said she'd be perfect for you, once she was trained up a bit," Vincent said. The sparkling of his mischievous hazel eyes were filled with laughter; it was obvious he knew that his elder brother had had no idea.
"She did?" Wesley and Cynthia chorused the words, in the same surprised tones, which made him feel slightly better. Slightly less trapped as well. For a moment his temper rose, but it quickly slid into amusement as he looked down at his wife, who was glaring from across the room at her new mother-in-law. "Well, she was right, much as I hate to say it."
Cynthia muttered something under her breath, and he gave her a warning squeeze. Even though he couldn't hear the words, he was fairly sure that she'd just cursed.
Looking up at him, her expression was puzzled. "Aren't you mad?"
"At my mother's machinations?" He sighed and shook his head, his smile slightly crooked with resignation. "You'll get used to them. Besides, how can I be mad at her when she brought me you?"
Both of his brothers made gagging noises as Cynthia's cheeks blushed a sweet pink. She looked so charmingly innocent at that moment, despite Wesley's firsthand knowledge that she certainly wasn't. It took quite a bit of willpower not to drag her off to divest her of the last of her innocence this very moment.
******
Standing with Hugh and his parents, Alex kept one eye on Grace, who was talking with Eleanor and Irene. Edwin hovered behind the chair that he'd seated Eleanor in, which had already sparked quite a bit of speculation among the guests that she might be in an interesting condition. Many of them had tried to surreptitiously coax one of the Hydes’ friends into confirming, so far without success. It helped that Eleanor's parents weren't hovering as well, most of the gossips were sure that Lord and Lady Harrington would be watching over her as well if she were enceinte.
Alex only had eyes for Grace.
Last night she slept in his arms without protest, warm and soft, and he'd fallen asleep filled with hope. This morning she'd pulled away immediately, a wary expression back on her face. Studying him. Judging him. If only he knew for what.
Unfortunately, they hadn't had any time to talk as they'd had to prepare for the wedding. Cynthia had asked Irene, Eleanor and Grace to stand on her side, so Grace had disappeared to join the women as soon as she'd dressed. At least Alex had had the pleasure of looking at her barely pink bottom before she'd gotten dressed. The spanking she'd received the night before hadn't left much visible evidence behind, but he could tell that she was still sore from the way she'd winced when she'd sat down for her maid to do her hair.
They needed to talk.
It was a thought he'd had before, especially when she'd said things that confused him, but he'd always allowed himself to be distracted by other means of communication. Alex always felt that actions spoke more than words. It was why he'd waited until after Grace had taken her first lover to take a mistress to his bed. Now that had translated into spanking her when she was naughty and holding her for comfort afterwards. Actions were easier than words.
But it was looking as though words were going to become necessary, because every time he spoke, he felt as though Grace was weighing what he said. And when she spoke, half the time he wasn't sure what she was talking about. There seemed to be some third part of the conversation that he wasn't aware of. It would be so much easier if she would just trust in him, in his return, his worship of her body, his discipline... after all, he was taking the time to correct her behavior and c
ontinue to try and reconcile, rather than giving up on their relationship. Shouldn't that speak volumes?
Well, perhaps he was just being impatient, because it did seem like things had changed between them - for the better. But he didn't think they could go much further without him knowing what was going through her pretty little head, and she seemed to feel the same. Because every time he told her, she didn't act as though she trusted what he said.
"Why don't you just go over to her?"
Alex came back to himself with a start, guiltily turning to look at Hugh. Lord and Lady Harrington had already moved away, leaving the two men alone. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you."
"No apology necessary," Hugh said, shooting him an amused look. "I just don't understand why you're standing here with me, when it's obvious you want to be over there with her."
"I just thought I'd give her some space," he muttered, looking back at her. She was laughing at something Eleanor had said, looking gorgeously happy and making his chest ache. "She never smiles like that when I'm nearby."
Hugh studied her for a moment, his own expression softening when his gaze lit upon his own wife. "Give it time. You've already made a great deal of progress from when you first arrived in Bath."
"Yes, but she's keeping something from me... and I'm sure that whatever it is makes up part of the reason why she's so determined to remain estranged." His jaw clenched. "Or become divorced."
"Have you asked her?"
