Dealing With Discipline (17 page)

"It's not the same," Irene surprised
herself by grumbling.  Something about being married to Hugh
must be stiffening her spine, because a month ago she never would
have thought to argue with anyone, much less him.  Then again
she'd always been more bold in the country than she had ever felt
in London, and she'd become comfortable with the fact that Hugh
enjoyed hearing her thoughts even when they were contrary to what
he wanted.  It was a relief to be able to let them out, rather
than keeping them bottled up like she'd always had to do at
home.

Indeed, he just laughed and squeezed
her hand, not at all distressed by her
impertinence. 

"No it's not, but it's the
only way you will be allowed on Rex's back," he said firmly. Just
the idea of her trying to ride the horse made his chest tighten in
fear. 

As he led the way to the creek, Irene
watched his posture and the movement of his body as he rode the
stallion.  Although Rex was spirited and much heavier than
Liberty, she was still convinced that she could ride him given the
chance.  

She thought of Eleanor and wondered if Hugh's
bold sister had ever ridden the stallion.  Somehow she
couldn't see the other woman being stymied by her brother's
orders.

Chapter 8

In the afternoon, the tables at Whites
were half-filled with various gentlemen, some talking, drinking,
smoking or some combination of the three, others reading
newspapers, a few indulging in a late lunch.  It was a
gentleman's retreat, a haven away from the burdens of the world,
and Edwin appreciated it as such.  This particular afternoon
he'd decided to reward himself for the hard work he'd been putting
in on behalf of his father in London.  Not just matters of the
estates, but also the various political issues that his father was
interested in despite his abhorrence for actually coming to London
and becoming involved in them.  Instead he did this
vicariously through Edwin, who appreciated the experience he was
gaining even as he occasionally wished he didn't have the burden on
his shoulders.  

Since Eleanor was out at some
afternoon tea, doing the social rounds and being his eyes and ears
when it came to the latest reform bill (it was amazing how much
information she was able to pick up through the wives and daughters
of his peers once she knew what interested him), there had been
nothing to entertain himself with at home.  So he'd headed off
to Whites, knowing that Wesley and Alex were there almost every
afternoon of the week. If Wesley was awake that is.  Despite
Wesley's own responsibilities as Earl, somehow he managed to
continue to live the life of a dissolute rake. 

Edwin didn't begrudge him the
pleasures, seeing as Wesley had spent so much time abroad.  It
was only natural that he would revel in the freedom to enjoy London
as Edwin and Hugh had for the past several years.  He knew
that Wesley and Alex were becoming quite close; he rather enjoyed
Lord Brooke's company himself and had passed more than one
afternoon with the two over the past weeks.  Especially since
Hugh was away on his honeymoon, it was nice to have another man
that he could consider a closer friend at the endless round of
evening social events.

The three of them together was more
than enough to make the ladies swoon, even without Hugh's angelic
looks to complement them.  Lord Brooke cut as dashing a figure
as Hugh did, even if he rarely smiled and often looked quite
forbidding, Wesley still had the look of a pirate but the ladies
seemed to find his tanned skin and lack of fashion to be just as
intriguing as Alex's well-tailored clothes, and Edwin's dark good
looks were always well presented by the clothing his valet dressed
him in.  Still, he had no interest in the fluttering sea of
females that they were often surrounded by in the evening and was
grateful that he had Eleanor constantly on his arm.  He'd
gotten into the habit of glaring at the men who asked her to dance,
not because he thought they might have a chance at flirting with
his wife - he knew he kept her well satisfied - but because it
invariably left him without her as a shield from those amorous
ladies of the ton that were not being attended to by Wesley and
Alex.  

But there was no point in dwelling on
the stresses of the evening when he was at White's, that was the
point of the club - a bastion against the women's social whirl.
 Currently he was enjoying listening to Wesley read aloud the
latest letter from his mother, outlining the various antics of his
ward which were giving her much grief. 

"Therefore," Wesley rounded up, his
hazel eyes sparkling with good humor, "I despair of ever marrying
the wretched girl off.  If you know of any gentleman who is
willing to take a wife unseen, I beg of you to increase her dowry
to whatever amount will incite him to take her off my
hands."

The trio of men howled with laughter.
 Although Lord Brooke was only socially acquainted with the
Dowager Countess of Spencer, even he knew what ends she must be
driven to in order to make such a bald and rude statement.
 Edwin was beside himself at hearing of her troubles; she'd
managed Wesley and his brothers with an iron fist - albeit a rather
kindly one, especially when compared to their father - but this one
slip of a miss barely out of the school room had her writing to
Wesley twice a week now with complete exasperation and frustration.
 The young woman sounded like an unmanageable
hoyden. 

"Perhaps you should get yourself to
Bath and take the chit in hand," Edwin said grinning.  "But
whatever you do, don't bring her back to London.  I've had to
blister Eleanor's bottom on a regular enough basis as is, there's
no need to introduce her to any more bad influences."

Wesley laughed, but Alex gave a start
and looked at him in surprise, the expression looking rather
unusual on his stony face.  "Blister her bottom..." he echoed,
saying the words as if he was tasting them and was unsure of the
flavor.

"My wife has a sad tendency to need...
corrective treatment on a regular basis," Edwin said, not at all
ashamed to admit it.  Wesley already knew and there weren't
any other gentleman close by enough to hear him speak of his wife
in such indelicate terms.  "Part of her father's understanding
with me when I married her was that I would provide it."

Looking like he was torn between being
appalled and intrigued, Alex leaned forward.  "Are you... are
you speaking of..."

Remembering his own amazement when
he'd discovered that Eleanor received the same kind of discipline
from her father that he had from his own, Edwin grinned.
 "Spanking.  Occasionally something harsher if she truly
deserves it; I've only birched her once but I know that her father
did so on multiple occasions before she was presented."

"We witnessed it," Wesley said with a
grin as Alex looked to him confirmation.  There was a bit of
shock in the lord's eyes.  "Believe me, Nell richly deserves
any discipline that Edwin hands out to her."

"I have spanked her just for the
pleasure of it on several occasions," Edwin confessed.  "She
enjoys that as much as I do.  Of course she doesn't enjoy the
punishments at all, but she's just as eager for conjugal bliss
following them as I am."

"Truly?"

The expression on Alex's
face was one that Edwin had never seen before; indeed, Alex rarely
showed very much emotion at all.  Now he looked almost dazed,
as if the world had tilted on its axis and he was seeing everything
in a new light. Then again, this was not a conversation most
gentleman would have except in the closest of company if then. The
way spouses in the
ton
lived their lives was always behind closed doors and rarely
discussed, because of the gossip it would create.

"Don't tell me you've never
thought of turning
your
wife over your knee," Wesley said, his voice
filled with amusement.  Immediately Alex's face hardened, and
Edwin shot his friend a glance.  As far as he knew Wesley was
the only one who dared bring up Lady Brooke to Alex. Not since Alex
had liberally applied his fists to some wag who’d dared make a joke
of roaming wives to the man a few months after he and Lady Grace
had started living apart.  As ever, Wesley ignored the warning
looks he was receiving from his two friends.  "She certainly
deserves it."

Surprisingly, Alex didn't rebuke
Wesley.  Instead he looked almost thoughtful, although there
was no definite change in his expression.  Just a slight
softening around the eyes as he sat quietly.  Edwin could
almost hear the gears turning and he wondered if Alex was giving
the suggestion serious consideration.  He almost asked what
exactly had happened to estrange the couple, but he wasn't as
daring as Wesley and he certainly didn’t think he was close enough
to Alex to merit the question.   

"Perhaps," Alex said eventually.
 "I shall take it under consideration."  Downing the last
of the brandy he'd been drinking, he set the glass down on the
table and gave his friends a slight smile. From Alex that really
just meant a slight upturn of the edges of his lips.  "I must
be off.  I shall see you gentleman later."

After Edwin and Wesley had tendered
their goodbyes and Alex had left, Edwin turned to his rakish
friend. "Do you know what happened between him and Lady Grace?
 I've asked Nell but she doesn't seem to know any of the
specifics."

Wesley shrugged, tipping his glass
back and forth as he studied the amber colored liquor that was left
in it.  "Not much, just that after they returned from their
honeymoon she kicked him out of her bedroom and wouldn't let him
back in. Wouldn’t even speak to him about it."

About a half hour later Edwin and
Wesley parted ways, Edwin pondering Wesley's words.  He could
certainly imagine Eleanor trying to bar him from her bedroom out of
pique; not that he'd ever tolerate that.  But then he and Nell
had a rather different relationship from many marriages within the
ton, having knowing each other for so long.  There was
affection and understanding on both sides.

He grinned.  Also his wife
desired him just as much as he desired her.  All he had to do
was take Nell in his arms and kiss her for her to go up in flames,
her soft body eagerly submitting to his.  She might be furious
with him afterwards, if they had been fighting beforehand or if he
made them more than fashionably late for an event, but that didn't
stop them from enjoying each other to the fullest.  Just
thinking about her made him feel full of masculine
smugness.

Nell might run hot and cold on a daily basis
with him, driving him to confusion, but one place she was always
hot was in their bedchamber.  Too bad he couldn't just keep
both of them locked up in there.

******

The ball was a complete crush, Eleanor thought
with a tinge of annoyance as she was jostled yet again.  She
remembered at the beginning of the Season when she'd dreamed of
being at a ball that could be described that way, sure that it was
the epitome of romance and that she would be swept off her feet by
multiple suitors.  Instead she found it to be an
annoyance. 

A
hot
 annoyance.
 

Snapping open her fan, she created
a breeze for herself, flicking her eyes upwards at Edwin who was
speaking at length about his father's interests out in the country.
 She was bored by the conversation, bored by the ball, and
overheated on top of all that boredom.  Was this really what
she had been dreaming about? 

Perhaps it would have been
more exciting if she had those swarms of suitors - certainly she
had found her come-out ball to be rather enchanting - but now the
only man she wanted to be swept away by was her husband.  The
thought was bringing less and less panic every day.  While he
certainly didn't go as far as to reveal any of his inner thoughts
or feelings to her, she was able to watch him interact with the
various ladies of the
ton
 and even an inexperienced
eye like hers could tell that he had no lascivious interest in
them.  Certainly nothing that she should get herself worked up
over.

She'd become quite adept at people
watching; not just noticing who was flirting, but also deciphering
who meant it and who didn't.  Some only flirted for show.
 Some in order to make someone else jealous.  Some
because it was second nature.  Wesley seemed to be in that
last grouping, although of course he also occasionally meant it
when he flirted. 

As if summoned by her
thoughts, the man himself appeared at her side, looking decidedly
roguish.  Even in formal clothing he couldn't quite shake the
look of a slightly dangerous savage; perhaps it was the residue of
scruffy hair on his cheeks or the disheveled state of his cravat,
although she privately thought it had more to do with the way he
held himself.  Wesley looked like a jungle cat, prowling the
drawing rooms and balls of the
ton
. She’d actually overheard some
of the dandies discussing the possibility of sunning themselves to
attain the dark complexion he’d returned from India with, as if it
was a new fashion fad.

"Good evening sweetheart, don't tell me Edwin
here is neglecting you again," he said, bowing low as he took her
hand for a kiss.  Now this was flirting for show and Eleanor
grinned at him, fluttering her eyelashes at him for good
measure.