Page 1 of Desire and Discipline
A Season for Bliss
For the Ladies who like to give the D.
1
Priscilla
Her husband was lying to her.
Not that she could prove such a thing. She could not say why she thought so or describe what lies she thought he might be telling her, but Lady Priscilla Stuart, formerly Miss Priscilla Bliss, was utterly sure of one thing—Joseph had a secret.
Which, since they were living in his father’s house with both of his brothers and his elder brother’s wife, was quite an achievement. Secrets were hard to keep within these walls. Joseph’s father was the Spymaster to the Crown of England, after all.
“That was a pleasant evening,” she remarked as Joseph led her up the stairs to their wing of the house. Each son had their own. His father, the Marquess of Camden, had been violently injured not so long ago, and his sons had been loath to be too far from him ever since. Priscilla understood perfectly as she was rather fond of her father-in-law as well, and she and Joseph had been away on their honeymoon when he’d been shot.
There had been quite a few secrets revealed in the wake of that injury, including that the Marquess worked directly for the Crown. At the time, she’d thought everything had been revealed, but now, weeks later, she was sure she was still missing something.
Something to do with her husband.
“It was a very nice evening,” Joseph replied amiably. Joseph was always amiable. It was one of the things she loved about him. He was calm, cheerful, and soothing company for her, exactly as a husband should be. “I always enjoy a rousing game of charades, especially when Evie and Anthony visit.”
Evie was his cousin, though she was more like a sister to him. Recently married to Captain Anthony Browne, she no longer lived in Camden House but visited regularly. Priscilla was happy to call her a friend, though Evie was not at all amiable, calm, or cheerful. Tonight was their first visit since returning fromtheirhoneymoon, and it had been good to see them both again.
“Even though your team did not win?” Priscilla teased. The teams had been a little lopsided when they’d separated into the men versus the women. The Marquess, Joseph, his brothers Elijah and Adam, and Anthony had made up one team. Priscilla and Evie had been joined by Josie, Elijah’s wife, and Diana, the Marquess’ nurse. Despite having one less player, the ladies dominated the evening.
Joseph made a little growling noise she found utterly endearing, and she giggled, looking fondly over at her husband. His dark brown hair and eyes were a perfect foil to her lighter coloring, and she knew they made a fetching pair in the ballroom. That had been very important to her mother, though how sweetly Joseph had courted her had been what made Priscilla fall head over heels for him.
Though he was not the first to court her, he was the only one she’d felt anything for. When he’d proposed, it had felt like all her dreams had come true. This was what she’d been trained her entire life for, after all, and even though he wasn’t the heir to the Marquisette, he was still a second son.
After several years on the marriage mart without a proposal, despite the previous courtships, her parents had been happy to make her a respectable match, even if it didn’t come with a title. For herself, she would have taken Joseph with no connections at all. That was how much she loved him.
They paused in front of her bedroom door, and Joseph turned to look down at her, his eyes filled with desire.
“Would you care for a visitor this evening, my Lady?” he asked, his voice husky with desire.
“Yes, please, my lord,” she replied flirtatiously. Ever since their wedding night, this had become an almost nightly ritual. There were times when she had to regretfully decline, of course, when she was on her menses, but every night he asked that she could say yes, she did.
It was only recently she became aware that separate bedrooms were notalwaysthe way things were done. His brother and sister-in-lawsharedtheir bedroom. Something Josie had only recently spoken of in Priscilla’s presence. Until then, she had not known.
Come to find out, all of Josie’s friends—who had welcomed Priscilla into their circle—shared a bedroom with their husbands as well.
Priscilla and Joseph were the only ones who didn’t… yet her parents had never shared one, either. She had thought that was the way. So far, she had not found the courage to broach the subject with Joseph, and she did enjoy their little ritual. Many nights, he stayed in her bed until she fell asleep.
Did it really need to change?
“Then I will see you shortly.” Lowering his mouth to hers, he gave her a brief but clinging kiss, his hands sliding over her hips before he pulled away.
Sighing happily, Priscilla went into her room, where her maid was waiting. Jane hopped up from her seat by the window as soon as Priscilla entered.
“Ma’am.” Jane smiled brightly at her, gesturing at the bed where two of Priscilla’s nightrails were resting. “I readied these two for you.”
“The blue one, please,” Priscilla said, moving toward the bed. It would match her eyes. “And we’ll take my hair down and braid it for the evening.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Jane hurried to get to work, helping Priscilla out of her clothing and into the nightrail before Priscilla sat down at the vanity. It took much less time for Jane to undo the stylish hairstyle than it had for her to put it up. The weight of it coming down felt good, as did the brush going through it as Jane gently unknotted the tangles that had worked their way in during the day.
Despite the soothing sensations, Priscilla couldn’t help but squirm in anticipation, knowing what was to come. Her wedding night had been a revelation, and every night that followed thereafter continued her education. The marriage bed was far more than her mother had led her to believe.
In fact, it was Evie, Josie, and her other new friends who had informed her that she was far from alone when it came to enjoying a wife’s duty. Now that she’d begun circulating with the other married ladies of theton, she knew her group of friends was the anomaly, and she considered herself very lucky. Joseph visited her bed regularly, bringing both of them to pleasure, and they were happy.
