Page 33 of The Raven and the Rose
“Miss Contrary,” muttered Kate.
Roseanna threw a smug little smile at Ravenspur. “You don’t mind how I dress, do you?”
Beneath the covers his hand swept up her bare thigh, and when it moved deliberately to the velvety inside, she gasped. “You do the dressing; I’ll take care of the undressing,” he taunted.
Alice blushed to the roots of her hair.
“Tit fer tat,” nodded Kate with satisfaction.
Roger picked up his cloak and threw it negligently over his arm. He surveyed his wife, still sitting in bed. “If I ask you to hurry so we can reach Ravensworth before dark, I suppose you will purposely dawdle. Of course, if you don’t mind sharing a bed at some cramped little inn, I certainly don’t.”
“I may have many faults, my lord, but tardiness is not one of them!” She flung back the bedcovers and swung her legs to the carpet.
“Delightful,” he said, more to himself than to anyone in the room. She stifled the urge to throw a candelabrum at him.
Kate saw that she still wore her chemise and surreptitiously examined the bed sheets. When she found neither blood nor semen stains, she pressed her lips together. This boded no good! If Roseanna was playing games, leading him all around the houses, she was playing with fire. It happened that she had caught his fancy and he was willing to indulge her a bit, but any fool could see that if he were pushed too far, he’d be dangerous. Aye, Roseanna had met her match—and more! She just hadn’t realized it yet.
“I’ll bring him low yet,” vowed Roseanna a couple of moments after he had safely departed.
“There’s many a slip ’twixt cup and lip,” muttered Kate darkly.
“Oh, I wish we were going to London instead of farther north. I’ve heard so much about the Court at Westminster. I wish I could get a look at the Queen.”
“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride,” said Kate.
“Kate, if you utter one more of your damned sayings, I’ll scream. From morning till night, all I hear is ‘If you cry more, you’ll piss less,’ or ‘Laugh before breakfast; cry before bedtime.’ I’m fair toty with your sayings!”
Kate nodded. “Somebody’s made you toty, and I don’t need three guesses to name him.”
“A truce, Kate. I must bid my family farewell; then I’ll come and help pack. I want to be ready and waiting when His High and Mightiness returns. I won’t give him the satisfaction of gloating over my tardiness.”
Roseanna knew it was her duty to bid her mother farewell She didn’t think she could ever forgive Joanna for forcing this marriage on her, but the thing was done and nothing could change it. It had begun to dawn upon her that love and marriage were not the same thing and that she had been naïve and unworldly to expect to be allowed to marry for love. Joanna had not been allowed to do so, and when she thought over every marriage she had seen, she saw clearly that most men and women sought love elsewhere. She could see clearly the reasons why her parents had chosen Ravenspur, for the advantages to her were numerous. What puzzled her was why Ravenspur had been so determined to have her. She brought him nothing. The only explanation she could come up with was that he had been determined to have his way. He would not be thwarted, and when she had asked to be released, she became the one thing that he had to have at all costs. She shrugged, hurried along to her parents’ room, and knocked politely.
Neville was dressed, but Joanna was still abed. “Darling, you’re just in time to eat breakfast with us. Come, let’s have a look at you. For all your pitiful tears and protestations, you don’t look any worse for wear.”
Roseanna didn’t think she’d ever forgive her mother for this marriage, but she’d be damned if she’d let her wounds show. “Oh, I’m all right, but you should see Ravenspur. Poor devil!”
Her mother drawled, “Exhausted, is he?”
Roseanna caught her mother’s eye and glared, “No, he’s suffering from night starvation!”
Joanna said, “Neville, your daughter can be downright vulgar at times.”
“Yes, she takes after you, my dear.” He smiled and brushed his lips across Roseanna’s brow. “I’ll miss you sorely, you know.”
“I’ll miss you too, Father.”
“Nonsense. You’ll be so busy breeding, once you get your clutches on Ravenspur’s stable, that you won’t have time to miss us.”
“She may be busy breeding more than horses,” laughed Joanna, offering her daughter a plate of food.
Roseanna looked her in the eye again and said, “Don’t hold your breath!”
Neville caught a signal from Joanna that she wished to speak privately with her daughter. He quickly kissed Roseanna’s brow and withdrew tactfully.
Joanna put down the little silver dish of plums she was eating and took Roseanna’s hand. “Oh, my darling, if only I could impart to you my knowledge of men. You are far lovelier than I ever was. If you are clever, you will soon have him eating out of your hand.” Roseanna’s stubborn chin went up.
“Roseanna, it is a man’s world, never doubt it! The power is in their hands. Yet a clever woman, by choosing the most powerful man she knows and enslaving him, gains all his power for herself. Darling, you won’t enslave him by denying him your body.”
