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It wasn’t until they arrived at the Lushington’s London house that he realised he’d not yet kissed his bride—furthermore, he’d no wish to. His servants divested them of their outer clothing, and he turned, surprised to see his new wife wearing a rather romantic and fetching gown. With the enveloping lace removed, he saw the dress hugged her upper body, flaring out widely from the waist; his gaze was instantly drawn to her low décolleté, revealing the pale lush hillocks of her breasts. Immediately, his manhood sprang to life. He cursed his shaft which seemed to have developed a mind of its own; did the damned thing have no sense of loyalty? He’d enjoyed a very carnal marriage with Bunty and he found the idea of bedding another woman repellent. It seemed his cock had no such sentiment. Shame on his fickle member.
His bride blushed. Standing still, he stared at her in a gauche way that was quite unlike him.
“My dear, that gown is most becoming,” he said, managing to gather his wits. Gregory threaded her hand through his elbow and led her forward into the hallway where guests were lined up ready to greet them.
Dancing followed the wedding breakfast. Tradition demanded that he opened the dance; he led his bride onto the floor for the first waltz.
“What are our arrangements, my lord?” she asked after their first turn about the floor.
“You have me at a loss. What arrangements are you alluding to?”
She frowned. “Since you insisted that we marry in haste, I assumed that you had made plans. Are we to travel abroad, to Paris maybe?” She sounded hopeful.
“No, there will be no travel, other than to Lamberhurst, my country seat. I have pressing reasons to return to Hertfordshire as soon as possible.”
“Oh. So we are to have no honeymoon.” The statement was said with obvious disappointment.
“No, no honeymoon. Annabelle…”
“Holly, if you please,” she interrupted.
He tensed. “Very well, Holly, there shall be no honeymoon. We will stay at my London house tonight and repair to Hertfordshire on the morrow.”
“Why the haste, my lord. Surely, we have time to take a short honeymoon? I suggest we stay on in London for a while. We can join my family on Christmas Day and…”
“Confound it! You have my answer, and that should be an end to it.” The dance concluded, and he led her from the floor with a stiffness that should have repelled further argument. He had not reckoned upon his new wife’s tenaciousness.
“Mama, you will side with me. My bridegroom tells me we are to have no honeymoon. None whatsoever. I have suggested that we stay on in London and join you and Papa for Christmas. What say you?”
Gregory was dumfounded. Bunty would never have dared to undermine him in such a public manner. How dare his new bride show him up in this light? Lady Lushington was enthusing happily on her daughter’s plan.
He interrupted them. “I am sorry to disappoint you both. I have already explained to your daughter that will not be possible. I have commitments in Hertfordshire that require my urgent attention, and so we leave on the morrow for Lamberhurst House.”
To his astonishment, Holly continued to press for her own way, imploring her father to intervene. It would be badtonto leave this early in the proceedings, but he had to put a stop to his bride’s machinations.
“Excuse us for a moment.” He managed a tight smile and small inclination of his head to his new parents-in-law. Taking hold of Holly’s arm, he towed her through the throng and across the hallway into his new father-in-law’s study, whereupon he closed the door firmly behind them.
“What do you think you are doing?” he asked immediately.
She shrugged.
“Holly,” he warned.
“Oh, stop being such a killjoy! I cannot see the harm in indulging me over this; after all, you have ruined my wedding day and taken no time to court or woo me before dragging me off to the altar. Why can’t we simply stay on in London for a little while; what difference will it make? Besides which, it is snowing and not conducive to travel.”
Logic was there, somewhere amongst the emotion, he gave her that, but he could not let her win this particular argument or she might seek to undermine him regularly.
“You have to accept that I have my reasons which shall become apparent to you in due course. In the meantime, I want you to remember this: you will never again contradict me in public. Any discussion about my decisions will be made in private. Do you understand, madam?”
“Madam, how novel that sounds. I suppose I shall soon get used to that!”
Gregory ground his teeth. Have I married an imbecile?
“Holly?” He was slowly losing patience.
“Yes, Greg-gor-y.” She drawled his name with shameful mockery combined with an overtly coquettish glance through fluttering eyelashes.
He closed the distance between them, so vexed that he gave no thought to his intentions. Grabbing her by her upper arms, he yanked her to him and glared down into the widened pools of blue that reflected her shock. He brought his mouth to bear over hers, thrusting his tongue deep between her plump lips.
