She would doubtless be too shy to pose nude for him, but Dorian could imagine her hiding behind sheer silk, peering curiously towards him with her large blue eyes and slightly open lips…
Rose had been too shy to even mention their encounter in the library a week earlier although Dorian could tell from the arrangement of the books that she had returned at least once.Good. The more Rose understood of sexual relations between men and women, the more likely they were to reach a satisfactory marital understanding.
One day soon, Rose would understand her own desires and ask him to fulfill them. Dorian would doubtless enjoy that day verymuch when it came, but there was no cause to hurry. He had already given Rose a taste of the pleasure he could bestow and trusted that memory and imagination would now play their part in recalling their embraces and readying her for fuller congress.
“We are almost there,” Rose said at the next crossroads, although more to herself than to Dorian. “I do hope Father is well enough today to sit up with us a while. You will be careful with him, won’t you?”
The duke nodded, his mildly erotic daydreaming put to one side as he perceived the genuine worry still creasing Rose’s brow. Her father’s health naturally preyed on her mind as much as her brother’s judgement.
“Your mother’s letter said that he particularly wished to see me and here I am,” he assured her. “I will say and do nothing that might alarm an invalid. You must admit, I am a civilized man in company.”
Rose nodded gravely.
“Yes, you are the best of company to all, man and woman,” she told him, her tone managing to be both innocent and cryptic. “Thank you for making this journey. I know you might easily have declined my mother’s invitation.”
“We are married,” said Dorian with a shrug. “I believe in doing my duty. You can trust that I always will.”
It appeared that he had not said the right thing. For a moment, Rose looked so forlorn that he was tempted to reach out and squeeze her small hand in its fawn-color glove, but then she brightened as she caught sight of something outside the window.
“Look, there is the great oak! We are almost home,” she said eagerly and Dorian nodded back, smiling at how completely her worries were eclipsed by that first sight of Westvale Manor after almost three weeks away from it.
He did not have the heart to remind her that her home was now with him at Ravenhill House.
“Your Grace,” said Edwin with a stiff bow, pausing with his mother at the dining room door to allow the higher-ranking Duke of Ravenhill to precede him into luncheon.
Dorian shook his head and stopped there too on the other side of the door, an easy smile playing on his face. He could feel Rose’s hand tightening on his arm and sensed her anxiety. He could not blame her. Edwin had been cold and formal with Dorian since they arrived and Magnus had taken his older brother’s lead.
Despite the wedding, Dorian was clearly not quite forgiven by Rose’s brothers for his perceived smirching of the family honor. He was at least glad to see that this coolness extended less to Rose than to him although conversation was stilted on all fronts.
The Duchess of Westvale had faultlessly observed all the forms of hospitality but seemed distracted. Dorian guessed that her mind was really with the invalid upstairs.
“We are in your father’s house, Lord Carradon and you stand in his stead,” Dorian said evenly now to Edwin as they stood together in competitive courtesy. “You must take precedence here. I insist upon it.”
When Edwin’s mother nodded graceful acceptance and moved forward, her son had no choice but to follow, with the rest of the party coming after.
The attitude of Rose’s brothers did not particularly bother Dorian on a personal level but he perceived the discomfort it caused Rose and determined to win them over, one way or another. He had taken on responsibility for this young woman’s happiness and wellbeing and would not shirk his duty to his own honor.
“I should talk with Sir Edmund Ross about that, if I were you,” the Duke of Ravenhill observed mildly to Lord Carradon as a dessert of stewed spiced apple and custard was served.
“Would you?” remarked Rose’s elder brother coldly, although he was the one who had suggested aloud to his his mother that the family might invest in Swedish bonds. “I had no idea you were an expert in this field.”
Likely, Edwin had assumed that Dorian was too occupied in talking to Magnus of London’s art collections to be following his conversation too. In fact, the duke was carefully listening to everyone at the table even while he and Magnus chatted.
Magnus was of a naturally amiable nature and Dorian suspected he did not really want to be at odds with his sister’s husband now that matters of honor were resolved. His older brother would be the tougher nut to crack. Now, Dorian thought he saw a way in.
“Indeed I would,” the Duke of Ravenhill stated very certainly with a smile to Rose’s eldest brother. “Sir Edmund’s bank has had business with the Nordic and Baltic states for three generations, in both war and peace. I claim no expertise for myself, only the limited wisdom to always consult those who possess the knowledge I lack before making important decisions.”
Edwin thought about this and his expression softened.
“There is something in what you say, Your Grace. I am not so much a fool as to turn down good advice when it is available. I do not know Sir Edmund personally, but I have heard of him, of course.”
“He and my father were old school-friends. I would be happy to introduce you, at your convenience,” offered Dorian.
Lord Carradon hesitated before answering, likely unsure whether to accept this small favor, given that it must meangiving up some of his indignant attitude towards his brother-in-law.
“It is no trouble to me,” the Duke of Ravenhill assured him self-deprecatingly. “Our houses are linked now, after all. It is in my interest that the duchy of Westvale should prosper, as well as yours.”
“Yes,” agreed Edwin, finally allowing himself a small smile. “It is, isn’t it? In fact, given that Magnus and I are both unmarried, it may well be your son and Rose’s who becomes heir to this estate after me.”
