Page 12 of Murder at Madame Chambon's
She’d never kissed a man before and wondered if his mustache would make it uncomfortable.
But in fact, it was soft and not unpleasant, she found, though it was clear he enjoyed the experience considerably more than she did.
He was the one to break the kiss, saying as he drew back, “Good lord, Evelina, I must be careful when I am around you.You really are … quite astonishing.”
The gleam in his eyes hinted at the desire of her future bridegroom for what Evelina had heard referred to as the pleasures of the marriage bed, though in truth she had little idea of what this really meant.Her convent schooling had enshrined such talk in secrecy, and she wasn’t sure her mother was going to prepare her.
So, Evelina merely dipped her head, pretending shyness, because she’d found he responded well to the idea that she was less robust than she really was, even if she really was as ignorant as he believed her.
But ignorance was not a state Evelina could tolerate.
So, when Kitty attended to her later that evening, she decided the young maid would be as well placed as any to answer her questions.Kitty came from the working class where people lived in crowded conditions with little privacy.Evelina didn’t know what she didn’t know, but questioning Kitty would be a start.And the girl was friendly and honest.
“Well, who’d a thought I’d become lady’s maid to the future Lady Dunstable,” the girl said without preamble as she ran her brush through Evelina’s long dark tresses which Evelina sat at her dressing table.
“Indeed, but Kitty, this is to remain secret for now,” Evelina said.“Lord Dunstable has made it clear he doesn’t yet want a public notice in the newspaper, or in fact, anything to become common knowledge, before he has spoken to his own family about our marriage.”
“Mum’s the word.And your mama must be right pleased!”
“She is.”Evelina paused.“I hope she will know what else to say to explain what marriage…involves.”
“Involves…?”Kitty frowned at her.
“Yes.”Evelina swallowed.“As in, what is expected of me?”
Kitty stared, her brush poised.“You mean… yer don’t know, miss?”
“How can I know?I’ve not seen my mother for six years and I’ve grown up in a convent.The nuns don’t know what’s involved in marriage, so they can’t tell me.”
“I reckon the nuns know very well what’s involved.They just ain’t about to tell yer,” said Kitty under her breath.
Evelina began to feel faintly alarmed.“It can’t be that bad, surely?I must be his hostess, look after the accounts, which I’m good at.My mathematics abilities were highly praised at the convent, and I was told this would be one of my chief roles after marriage.”
“That and providin’ his lordship with children.Yer do know about that side ’o things, don’t yer, miss?”
Evelina shrugged.Any allusion to this subject was always either skirted around, or spoken of in hushed tones, and was considered highly vulgar, which was, of course, why Evelina knew nothing about it.
But she ventured with more boldness and confidence than she felt, “Well, I know there’s… kissing…” She felt her cheeks burning.
“Not always,” said Kitty.“Though that’s a good way to start.Yer want to get some pleasure out of it, if yer don’t mind me saying so, miss.”
“There’s more than kissing?”Evelina asked before she could stop herself.What else could there possibly be?When Lord Dunstable had kissed her earlier that day, she’d felt she’d gone as far as any married woman would and that her behavior was verging on immoral.
Kitty looked at her strangely.“Yer mean yer really don’t know, miss?Yer don’t know what you’ll ‘ave to do to give ‘is Lordship children?”
Evelina shook her head.
Kitty sighed.“Ain’t my place to tell yer that, miss.In fact, I reckon I’m the last person what should tell you what goes on between men and women and what can lead to babies.”
“It doesn’t always?”
“Course not!Otherwise the world would be so filled wiv babies we wouldn’t know what to do wiv ‘em all.Why, the lengths my girls went to in order to stop having babies—” Kitty stopped abruptly and it was Evelina’s turn to look at her strangely.
“Your girls?The sisters you worked for, you mean?They told you things like--” She swallowed.“After they were married, they talked about it?”
Kitty bit her lip.“And before,” she muttered.“But that’s nobody’s business, I reckon.You’re a young lady what’s got to get herself a rich husband.Having babies is your job.Yer got the money to be a good catch, and that’s your part of the bargain.His part of the bargain is to treat you nice.And because you’re a fine lady, I reckon he’ll treat you nice and buy you expensive clothes and then when you’ve given him a son and maybe another jest to be sure, he’ll leave you alone, and yer both can do what yer want.That’s the way I sees it mostly happens.”
Evelina stared.“Leave me alone?What are you talking about, Kitty?I’m about to marry a man who fulfills the requirements I’m after in a husband.Marriage is a contract.I know that.All I’m confused about is what is required of me so that I can … give Lord Dunstable a son.Well, I certainly hope it’ll be a son.And I do know that some women don’t succeed and they are forever maligned by society, but I don’t intend that to be me.”
