Page 8 of Desire and Discipline
Anthony’s lips quirked, almost as though he was about to smile at his wife. His expression was rarely friendly, but Evie did bring out a different side of him.
“Ladies.” He offered an arm to each of them. Evie took it with alacrity, Priscilla with more hesitation. She almost felt as she had the first day of her debut, stepping into the unknown. It was both exciting and frightening. She wished Joseph was there with her, but at the same time, she knew his presence would have made her anxious in a different way.
At least now, she would have a glimpse of what the Society had to offer without feeling the pressure of reacting one way or another. None of her friends would care what she was and was not interested in the way her husband would.
Elijah was stepping out of the other carriage, turning to help Josie down, as he flashed a frown at Evie. Putting her nose in the air, she pretended to ignore him, which was quite a feat as Anthony was not moving forward, clearly waiting for the others to join their party.
Nathan and Lily followed Josie out of the carriage, and both ladies took their husbands’ arms. At the front of the house, the front door had already closed behind the previous party.
“Are you ready?” Josie asked Priscilla as she and Elijah approached ahead of Lily and Nathan. Her blonde curls covered by a deep hood, it was difficult to see her expression in the shadows within, but she sounded excited. Priscilla squared her shoulders.
She’d said she was going to do this, and she was. She wanted to see this side of her friends’ lives. Wanted to see this side of Joseph’s past. Wanted to know if it was for her as well.
Even if it was not, at least she would have a better understanding of it.
It could not possibly be any more frightening than being presented to the Queen of England, and she’d already done that.
“Yes,” she said firmly. “Let’s go in.”
That was what the rest of them were waiting for. Evie began tugging on Anthony’s arm to get him moving while he admonished her. They went up to the front door amid giggles from the ladies and sounds of affectionate exasperation from the gentlemen as they responded to their wives’ teasing.
“Just remember,” Elijah growled at Evie right before they reached the door. “You and Anthony are showing Priscilla around tonight. Nothing else.”
Priscilla did not need to see Evie’s face to know her cousin-in-law had rolled her eyes in response to the admonishment.
“We are hardly going to abandon her to seek our own pleasures. Really, Elijah.” Evie sniffed. “The fact that such a thought would even cross your mind is telling. Is that what you would do?”
“Of course not!” The dig had gotten under Elijah’s skin just as Evie intended, and he practically roared the denial, which sent all the ladies except Evie into another fit of giggles. Anthony sighed, shaking his head at his wife’s antics.
“Well, the thought had to spring from somewhere.” Evie sniffed again and smiled as the door opened. A rather stern looking man with brown hair streaked with some grey stood there, looking them over. His expression did not change as Evie greeted him. “Hello Cormack.”
“My Lady.” He stepped back out of the way to allow them entrance. “Please, come in.”
The entire party entered, sweeping their hoods off their heads as they did so, and Priscilla followed suit.
Though the front entrance was dimly lit and the doors to the rooms on either side of the foyer were closed, she could see down the hallway to other rooms along the first floor of the house which were open. Light spilled out into the hallway from them, illuminating a pathway where soft sounds she could not quite make out trickled through the hall.
Cormack took their cloaks, revealing their various styles of dress. Priscilla’s was certainly the most modest. Evie was wearing a bright, scarlet red that would have garnered her horrified looks in a ballroom, especially with how low cut the neckline was. Her breasts appeared ready to spill out at any moment.
Josie’s pink gown and Lily’s violet were slightly more modest, though not by much. Unlike Evie, they did not appear to be in danger of exposure with every breath, just if they bent over.
Gulping, Priscilla tried to tamp down on her nerves, which had surged again. Would everyone be so exposed? She felt positively prudish, whereas when she’d chosen the dress she’d thought she was rather daring. No one looked at her askance, though.
“Ladies.” Anthony offered Evie and Priscilla his arms again. She was surprised when Elijah, Josie, Lily, and Nathan did not dart off to their own entertainments. Especially since Elijah had been very vocal about wanting to enjoy his evening with his wife without distraction from his cousin.
“The two front rooms are for resting after… after,” Lily said when she saw Priscilla peering curiously at the closed doors. “They have refreshments and plenty of places to sit within.”
“After you are done with your debauchery is what she means,” Evie filled in the blanks helpfully. Lily scowled at her as her husband began to turn her down the hall.
“She knew what I meant.”
“You hoped she knew what you meant, so you did not have to say it outright, is what you mean,” Evie countered.
“Come on, Lily, we did not come here so you and Evie could bicker,” Nathan said, drawing his wife in with his arm about her waist. She sighed but went willingly.
“Stop it, minx,” Anthony said in a low voice when Evie opened her mouth to say something back. She huffed, but subsided, which was rather impressive. Her husband seemed to be the only person to be able to keep Evie under control on a regular basis, but she did not always listen to him, either. “Lily can be as discreet as she likes.”
Evie grumbled something under her breath, but Priscilla could not quite hear her.
