A Bride for Lord Esher (8 page)

After that announcement the dinner party became very animated, it was clear both Lady Sudbrooke and Tom Warren relished being the center of attention, and though the cause of Lady Sudbrooke’s excitement was transparent, Robert wondered at the announcement, for he had always suspected Tom’s tastes ran an entirely different course. Still, they would both no doubt have their reasons, and after all, it was none of his business what they did.

“That was a fine dessert,” said Chastity. “Please send my compliments to cook, she outdid herself today.”

The servant bowed and then continued to remove the left over syllabub glasses from the tables.

“Gentlemen, cigars I think,” said Lord Ashworth.

“Here here,” said the other men.

Lord Esher rose and stepped over to the end of the table where his wife sat talking quietly with her female guests. He smiled, throughout the entire meal he had completely forgotten her origins, and had observe with pride her natural grace and charm. Perhaps fortune had not mistreated him after all. Chastity looked up, and seeing her husband before her, she rewarded him with the sweetest smile he had ever seen. At that moment he wished he could dismiss their guests to be alone with his wife. But it was not the thing to do, so he took her hand instead and smiled at the other ladies.

“My dear, would you show Lady Sudbrooke the house when you are finished with your gossip. I would do it myself but the men will have their one hour alone. Can’t be helped.”

“Of course, my Lord, I’d be delighted.”

“Very good.”

As the men left the dining room for the library, he thought how blessed he was, and wondered if Tom Warren would be as fortunate in his choice of wife. He doubted it, and smiled.

***

The Esher manor had a great oak stair case, built by John Mortimer, a noted architect of his day. Though Chastity did not know this herself, her sister-in-law, Lady Ashworth, was more than happy to point out the architectural attributes of the house, and both Chastity and Lady Sudbrooke listened intently. One to know her home better, the other determined to go one better and outshine them all.

At the top of the staircase was hung a great portrait, painted on a ten foot canvass, which seemed to peer down at the ladies as they climbed.

“Who is she?” asked Lady Sudbrooke.

“That was our great grandmother, the first Lady Esher. I recollect her poorly, for she died when I was very young, but by account she was a very formidable lady in her day and a great favorite with the queen.”

“That is a beautiful pearl necklace she is wearing, I wonder what became of it,” said Lady Sudbrooke.

“Oh, Robert has it in his keeping. It was part of the estate, so it came to him, along with other items of my grandmother’s jewelry. Not that it matters, for my dear sister-in-law doesn’t seem to care for such baubles, just look at how unadorned as she is.”

“Oh, I like jewels very much,” said Chastity. “But Robert hasn’t given me and I’ve never really thought to ask.”

“I intend to have the best jewelry money can buy. I’m sure my fiancé can afford it. One looks so cheap without it.” Feeling she had cut a blow, Lady Sudbrooke climbed to the top of the stairs and waited impatiently for the others to join her. Her hand rose to her breast. She had the cameo lodged at her bosom and was hoping for an opportunity to plant it somewhere in her hostess’s bedchamber.

She looked down over the banister to where the two women were whispering to each other. The one was no doubt consoling the other, but what did she care? She would not need to court the friendship of Lady Esher for much longer.

They passed through endless rooms in the upper chamber, but came at last to Lady Esher’s rooms. It was decorated simply and elegantly, not as showy as many great ladies rooms, but it exemplified the great taste of their host nonetheless.

“I believe Lord Robert redecorated these not too long ago. It’s a very charming room, Chastity, I can only imagine you are very comfortable here.”

“Yes, very much so, Eliza, it’s very different to what I’m used to.”

“No doubt,” said Lady Sudbrooke.

While the sister-in-laws admired the view from the windows, Lady Sudbrooke slipped quietly over to Chastity’s dressing room. Her heart pounding, she recovered the cameo from her bodice and slipped it inside the top drawer of the dressing table, then turned to rejoin the others before her absence was noted.

“Such a beautiful prospect,” said Lady Ashworth. “It’s almost the same as the view I had from my room when I lived here. Oh, happy days. We had such a happy childhood here, Robert and I.”

“What was he like as a boy?” asked Chastity.

“Oh as rough as any other boy, but underneath the Lord of the Manor bravado he’s quite an old softy really. He would chase me relentlessly around the estate, but the moment I fell or hurt myself, he would be so kind and considerate. A girl could not have asked for a better brother.”

Lady Sudbrooke frowned. This tale of happy childhood made her sick to the core. Her own upbringing had been harsh, duty and obedience had been whipped into her by a cold and unfeeling mother.

“I think I’ve seen enough of the house, can we go back down?” she said, abruptly interrupting the moment.

“Of course,” said Chastity. The young woman graciously swept from the room and led her companions back down the stairs to the dining room. They talked of minor things, waiting for the men to return.

Once all the guests had left for the evening, Chastity undressed, removed her wig and had her hair combed till it shone. The moment her servant left she rose from the dressing table and returned to the same window they had looked out earlier. It was still light outside, and she imagined her husband as a young boy at play in the gardens. She smiled, for despite their strange beginning she felt a deep affection for the man she had been bought for. How strange, she thought, if she could turn the clock back to the morning of that day, she would never have been able to predict her change in both circumstances and feelings. Yet the gods had smiled on her, and here she was, Lady Esher, in a beautiful home, married to a man she was beginning to adore.

Her thoughts were disturbed by a knock on her chamber door. Lord Robert opened it. He had stripped out of his jacket and now stood there in plain breeches and a shirt that draped loosely down. He carried an ornate wooden box in his hands. She could see the outline of his body through the flimsy material, and a small flame of desire was kindled in her belly. He had come for her, and she was thankful for it.

“Good evening, Lord Robert. I hope you enjoyed this evening.”

“Oh yes, though Lord Ashworth is a bit of a bore, and these days I treat everything Tom says with suspicion. I wonder at him proposing to Lady Sudbrooke, though. She has neither wealth nor features to recommend her.”

“Perhaps it’s their mutual disdain for everything he finds attractive.”

“Perhaps.” He poured himself a glass of wine from a decanter on a small table. “My sister likes you very much. We were just talking of you before she left.”

“I like her too. What did she say?”

“That you were a sweet, pretty little thing, and that you were as good for me as I am for you.”

“She really said that?”

“That, and she chastised me for not giving you any jewelry. I’m sorry, it just never occurred to me.” Lord Robert lay the box down upon the bed and patted the spot beside him. Chastity sat down, she wondered what jewels would be in the box and she held her breath in excitement.

“These are for me?”

“In your lifetime, yes. Do you want to look inside?”

“Very much.”

“Then open it.”

Chastity’s fingers curled in anticipation, and to delay the delicious moment for as long as possible, she opened the lid slowly.

“Oh Robert!” she gasped. Inside the box was an assembly of jewels including strings of natural pearls, and rings with gems that were deeply colored and transparent. Chastity picked up an emerald ring that caught her eye, and slipped it onto her finger. She also extracted a string of perfect pearls, which she unraveled and opened to admire them better.

“Are these the pearls from the portrait?”

“They are indeed,” said Robert. “They are exquisite and extremely valuable. I shall lock these away to keep them safe, but when you wish to wear them let me know and I shall have them brought to you.”

“You are very generous, my lord. May I wear the ring?”

“You may, and we shall travel to London shortly to buy another.”

He took her left hand and kissed it meaningfully.

Chastity returned the pearls to the box and her husband put the jewels on her bedside table. He turned back to her and kissed her softly on the lips. Robert put his hand onto her curls and let the soft tresses fall through his fingers. She did not object as he pulled off her night shirt and pressed her down so she lay naked on the bed. She felt her curls tumble about her face on the pillow.

“If I were a painter I would take your likeness now,” Robert said. He removed his shirt, revealing the taut muscles within. He then stood up to abandon his breeches, and then she watched as he crawled up from the bottom of the bed to plant himself directly on top of her.

Chastity loved the way he smelled, his very skin was attractive to her, and she breathed him in deeply while he nibbled at her neck and shoulders. She felt his manhood primed and ready, and she opened herself wide to receive him at his pleasure.

No words were spoken, but the heat between them was fuelled by their growing bond, and as her husband neared his climax, Chastity gasped as a wave of euphoria coursed through her veins culminating in her very finger tips. She cried out in delight and her husband was fueled on by her excitement and came quickly to release.

Both sated and exhausted, he withdrew slowly then flopped down beside her, his arm resting languidly over his head.

“Have you known many women?” Chastity asked.

“A fair few.”

“Is it always like this?”

Lord Robert never answered, but turned and kissed the tip of her shoulder. “Those jewels light you up like a diamond, and I fear I shall lose my fortune lighting you up with more in the years to come.”

The very thought of a lifetime with Robert made her happy, and Chastity stared mindlessly up at the ceiling, thinking blissfully of very little but basking in her contentment.

After a moment’s respite, Lord Robert climbed off the bed and retrieved the jewelry box from the bedside table.

“Will you not sleep with me tonight, my lord?”

“Yes, I think I shall, but I will feel better when I know these jewels are back under lock and key.” He put the box on the bed beside her. “Select a few baubles for everyday use and I will put the rest away for safekeeping.”

As Chastity sorted through the box, Lord Robert reached for his breeches and quickly dressed himself. She chose a few of the less expensive items, and he smiled at her selection, clearly approving of her choice.

“Very good.” He scooped up the loose jewels in his hand. “I shall put these in your dresser, and will head downstairs to put this away. Can I ask the servants to bring you anything up?”

“No my lord, I am fine.”

“Very well.”

She watched as Robert briefly disappeared behind the wall to her dressing room and then flopped down again on the cool pillow. She felt the proof of her husband’s affections between her legs, and wondered how long it would be before she could give him an heir. Her hand ran freely down her upper body, she could still smell him on her skin.

Just as the thought occurred to her that Lord Robert was taking a long time to put her jewels in the dresser, the man himself appeared carrying something small in his hand.

Chastity’s first thought was that he had some new treasure to share with her, but then she saw the anger and pain in his eyes, and she knew something was horribly wrong.

“What is it?”

Lord Robert said nothing. He looked like a man struggling to find the right words, for his jaws mulled over and over. Yet he remained silent, until at last, he sat with his back to her on the end of the bed, his head low as he stared at the object in his hand. She sat up, and though he could not see she reached out to him.

“Are you ill, my lord?”

More silence. Then at last, Chastity watched as he tossed a small object on the bed beside her. At first she had no clue what any of this meant. All she knew was that her husband’s silence scared her more deeply than his past harsh words or angry manner.

Chastity rolled onto her knees and grabbed the small object off the silken sheets.
What on earth could have affected him so
? She wondered if perhaps he had found something of his mother’s that had touched his heart. Then she turned the thing face forward, and recognized the cameo at once.

“I don’t understand, isn’t this Eliza’s brooch? I thought the thing was lost.”

“As did we all.” Lord Robert’s voice sounded strange and hollow, like a wild cat desperate to howl but holding back.

“Then what is it doing here?”

“I hoped you’d be able to answer that, Chastity.”

“I don’t understand…” and then it dawned on her what her husband might be thinking. “Hold on, wait a minute, do you think
I
took it?”

“What other possible explanation could there be?”

Chastity was speechless. She looked down at the small object in her hand. Its appearance was a total mystery, yet her husband needed an account she could not possibly give.

“I have been very patient with you Chastity. This whole marriage was a joke, but I had an attraction to you, and I thought that in time your humble origins could be overcome. I see now that I was mistaken. You are still the tavern girl you always were, and worse, a thief to boot. Warren will have a fine victory over me now, for when he learns of this he will be happy indeed.”

“But Robert, I swear to you on my honor! I never stole the cameo.”

“Oh please, spare me that at least. Bad enough that you’re a thief, don’t make yourself a liar too.”

Robert stood up from the bed, collected the jewelry box and then walked to the door. He walked like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. “Cover yourself up. I cannot bear to look at you right now. Go to sleep and we shall discuss what’s to be done in the morning.”