He had the audacity to sigh. Audibly sigh. “There are several things about our marriage that are not traditional.”
Her hands had curled into fists at her sides. Not traditional? What did that mean? “Such as?” She angrily blinked at him. Oh, do tell,Your Grace.
“Such as the manner in which we married,” he offered.
She took a deep breath. Oh, yes. There was that. That needed to be discussed. She was nothing but pleased that he’d brought it up. “Yes, that’s something I would like to discuss with you. I never meant to?—”
“Never meant to what?” His voice rose and dripped with anger-edged skepticism, sounding so harsh that it made her take a step back. “Never meant to trap me into marriage? Save your breath, Gemma. I know you and your friend were scheming that night in your brother’s study. I heard what you said to her.”
Gemma’s eyes flew open wide. Hewasangry. Angry and holding the way they’d married against her. Fine. That stood to reason, but why hadn’t he given her the courtesy of asking her about it first? She would just have to set him straight. “First, Lady Mary Costner isnotmy friend and second, it wasn’t?—”
“The only thing that will make this worse is if you continue to lie to me.” His voice was calm but hard.
Her brows snapped together. “Lie to you? I never?—”
“Iabhorliars.”
“So do I.” She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and glared at him. She might not be able to see him, but she hoped he could see the anger on her face in the light from her room.
A flint struck and the lamp on the table next to his bed flared to life. In an instant, he pushed the covers off and stood. He was wearing only a loose pair of linen trousers obviously meant for sleeping. His chest was entirely bare, and Gemma couldn’t help but notice the muscles that stood out in stark relief along his abdomen and the light dusting of blond hair that formed a V and disappeared in an intriguing line down his trousers. She stared. She couldn’t help herself. She’d never seen a man’s bare chest before. And this one…well, it looked particularly fine. Her mouth went dry, and she completely forgot what she’d been saying.
His dark-blue eyes flashed like sapphires in the dimness and his voice was a low growl. “Allow me to make this clear. Ourmarriage will in no way be conventional. I have kept you here in town to keep up appearances. I will not have thetongossiping about me or my wife. But make no mistake, you may have taken away my choice of whom to marry, butIwill be making all the decisions from now on. Including where you live, where we go, and when, where, andifI bed you.Do you understand?”
White-hot anger exploded behind Gemma’s eyes. Then it spread quickly through her body until she felt as if she might burst into flames right in front of him.Do you understand? The pompous, demeaning words played themselves over and over in her head. Oh, she understood all right. She understood that her husband was under the mistaken impression that she would be the sort of wife who would allow him to treat her like an inconsequential piece of property. She understood that he was a haughty, condescending, pompous horse’s ass!
Thisduchess, regal or no, was not about to accept such treatment.
“Do you understand, Gemma?” he repeated. His jaw was clenched, and his voice remained low.
“Perfectly,” she shot out before turning sharply on her heel. She stomped back through the doorway and ripped the door shut behind her. The slam of it reverberated through both rooms. No doubt the servants had even heard it. Good.
Clearly, regal was not the sort of duchess she would be. Angry. Angry was more like it. At least at the moment. She paced in front of the large fireplace in her bedchamber.That man! She’d given him every benefit of the doubt up ’til now, but the truth was glaring. Her new husband didn’t want to be married to her. He blamed her for ruining his life, and he intended to make her pay without so much as bothering to listen to her explanation of what had happened that night in Griffin’s study, or the apology she’d fully intended to provide.
Lucian Banks was the worst kind of man. And she was married to him.Forever.
O
CHAPTER TWELVE
When Lucian arrived in the breakfast room the next morning, his wife wasn’t there. Was she still abed? Or was she purposely staying away? He guessed the latter. Clearly, she’d been angry last night after their encounter. She’d slammed the door hard enough to wake the dead. He’d ignored that. He had no intention of entertaining her moods. She would just have to learn that what he said was final.
But he couldn’t concentrate on reading the paper. A memory kept nagging at his mind. Her eyes in the candlelight last night. Those dark, expressive eyes had been easy to read. First, they’d been filled with worry, anxiety. Then annoyance. And then, for just a few fleeting moments, sadness. And finally anger.
But it was the sadness that stuck in his mind. She’d come to ask him why he hadn’t bedded her. A normal query for a new bride, perhaps. But they were anything but a normal couple.
Those few moments of sadness he’d seen haunted him. He shook his head to dispel the memory. He’d do well to remember that she was a good actress. Perhaps an excellent one. Hadn’t she acted the part of the innocent debutante the night she’d found him in her brother’s study?
She’d pretended as if encountering him had been nothing more than a lark, but her words had reverberated in his head every damn day since then. “You heard him, Mary. Remember your promise.” She and her friend had planned the entire thing. He could only guess what Mary’s “promise” had been. No doubt to bring her mother and the other matrons running in order to cause the exact scene that had ensued.
Yes. His wife was an actress. He wouldn’t be fooled. He needed to stay on his guard in her presence. He couldn’t trust anything she said or did. She simply hadn’t liked being dismissed last night. Frankly, he’d been surprised she’d had the temerity to come knocking on his door. But just because she didn’t like his answers didn’t mean he would change his mind. Gemma needed to learn that she would not be getting what she wanted out of this marriage. And the sooner she realized it, the better.
There was only one thing she’d said last night that gave him pause. The part about them not spending the night together for four nights. At first, he’d avoided her bed to make his point clear. But the more he thought on it, the more he realized he probably should bed her before sending her away to the countryside. After all, their marriage wouldn’t be legal until that deed was done. Unpleasant or no.
Of course, that might result in a child. The thought of using a French letter or pulling out occurred to him. But he found those choices distasteful. She was his wife, and if ever he declined to use protection, it should be with her. Perhaps he’d been wrong about it at first. Perhaps heshouldtry to get her with child before sending her off. God knew he wouldn’t relish doing it again anytime soon.
Very well. He would get it over with. He would bed his wife. But he would also set the boundaries. Very clear ones. It wouldbe a perfunctory act. Nothing more. With a woman as scheming as Gemma, he had to remain in control.
O
