Young ladies, he supposed, were all of that sentimental, romantic inclination. He could see no reason why Eleanor would be very different. Yet something in her demeanor made him wonder if she would be this submissive to him; if she would see bedsport with him as a duty to be fulfilled, or if she would take as much pleasure from it as he might. After all, their shared kiss had taught him that she was responsive, and he was quite certain that if he were to make advances, she would enjoy them. Perhaps, even, she would enjoy them the same way he did.
He found himself hardening at the thought, and shut down any further considerations on the matter. Consummation wasout of the question.
She kept her hands clasped before her as she accompanied him to the carriage, and good breeding intervened enough for him to help her inside before following. A footman closed the door, and they set off, rocking slightly as the carriage took them across the cobblestones and out of the city.
He had imagined his new wife would pepper him with questions, now that they were alone at last and for more than a fleeting moment. But she merely sat with her hands folded in her lap, her gaze fixed on the passing countryside, as distant as the fields beyond the window. It was only an hour into their journey, as they approached his estate, that she raised her gaze to his and said, in a remarkably forthright way, “You know, this is the first time I have been outside London.”
He blinked. “Your father had no country estate?”
“Oh, he did, but he preferred to keep us girls, and first my mother, then Margaret—that is, the current Mrs. Bennett—elsewhere. We remained in London when he went into the country. I think my stepmother preferred it.”
Sebastian chose to give no answer, not wanting to encounter her talkativeness, even though he felt oddly surprised by the confession. Though, he supposed after meeting Mrs. Bennett, he could hardly be surprised at her preferring London, if indeed she did. He wondered if she still had access to the country estate, then banished the thought before it could take hold.
It did not matter what her life had been, or what experiences she had access to.
He maintained his silence until they finally reached Ravenscroft Manor, situated on the very outskirts of London. Close enough that from his home, he could travel easily into the capital for business. Although he had a townhouse, far more easily accessible for the Season, he preferred it at the manor house, where he felt the semblance of peace.
Or at least he had, until Eleanor had come along.
He helped her from the carriage and dropped her hand. “See to it the luggage is taken in,” he said, keeping his voice and words crisp as he strode to the house. The servants gathered outside, as was usual to greet a new lady of the house, but he waved them away. “Go back to your duties. There is no need for you to be here.”
The butler frowned. “But, Your Grace, is that not—”
“My wife? Certainly. But she does not need you to dance attendance on her.” He turned to glance at her, momentarily taken aback to find she was attempting to help the footmen with their luggage, only for them to wave her off with increasing desperation. He pinched his nose, irritated by the fact that he had not considered the response of his servants when devising his plan.
“Never mind that, Eleanor,” he called out to her, and she started, glancing at him with wide eyes as though the use of her Christian name was something to be shocked by. “Come inside now.”
She hurried to his side. “The footmen wouldn’t allow me to help.”
No, and he could hardly tell them not to bother when they had gathered outside with the singular intention of assisting him and welcoming both him and his new bride to the house. Yes, these particular footmen would be gone in a week, but if his eccentricities became too well known, he would have more difficulty hiring replacements.
“What a lovely home you have,” she said as they entered through the front door and into the large hallway. “How old is it? I feel as though there must be a wealth of history here.”
He glanced down at her head. Already, he had been far more dismissive of her than any new husband ought to be of his newwife, and she treated him as though all she wanted was to get to know him better.
Evidently, he would have to gofurther.
Firmly, he took her arm and brought her into the drawing room, shutting the door behind them and pressing her up against the wall. Her gaze briefly traveled about the room before returning to his face.
“Now that we’re here, I should lay down the ground rules,” he muttered, not allowing his eyes to drop to her mouth, which parted in surprise. “You may not be altogether astonished to hear that I had no desire to marry, and I have no intention of allowing a wife to interfere with my routine life.”
“How so?” she whispered.
“I prefer a wife who will beseenand notheard,” he said, doing his best to inject a cold, cruel edge into his voice. This was not his usual mode of operation, but better he established the situation now, even if the soft press of her body against his was bringing all sorts of other thoughts to the fore.
Thatnight, the one he had no intention of bringing up again, and the way her inexperienced, eager mouth had felt against his. Though he had tried, he had not succeeded in quite dismissing the memory of it all.
“You must not talk during dinner,” he ordered, trying to find rules that might most provoke her to rebel against him. “You will not enter the library or the study and disturb me when I am working. And you are to havenoguests. Do you understand me?”
She looked up at him, her breathing elevated and her eyes shining. He felt the warmth of her breath against his skin, but he did not pull back. If he did, she might not believe him to be cruel—and it was imperative that she believed it beyond anything. The faster she believed the worst about him, the more likely it was that she would agree to a separation and annulment.
“These are my terms,” he said, taking her chin and tilting her face to his. “And youwillobey me.”
Her tongue darted out across her bottom lip—and Christ, he was looking at her mouth. His fingers tightened on her chin, and her nostrils flared. “And if I do not, Your Grace?”
“Then I will make sure to punish you,” he growled. Her eyes widened.Finally. Believe that I am a brute. Hate me. Despise me. Yearn to live a life apart from me. “You will wish every day that you had not married me.”
“I—” She frowned. “You wish to spend no time with me?”
