Page 34 of Surrender Your Grace
“Yes. It’s close enough to London that you could attend special events, and I could visit at week’s end, occasionally. Kippford is quiet. Brighton is, too, during the off-season. Butthey are too far away and therefore out of the question for a primary residence.”
Her heart lurched as his suggestion. They had made great strides in the past few weeks, growing close and being at ease with one another, or so she thought. She didn’t want to be like so many other couples, living separate lives. The custom for the men to stay in town, attending to business and pleasure, while the women languished in the country, raising the children, didn’t sit right with her.
It brought up an issue she had been trying not to think about. But now she needed to know the answer with as much urgency as she needed to breathe.“May I ask an intimate question?”
“As I’ve said, there is nothing that can’t be shared between a husband and wife.”
She nodded, nervously brushing a blade of grass from her skirt.“I was wondering… Do you, uh—”
He covered her restless hands with one of his own.“Ask, Cici. I won’t bite.”
Gazing out over the water, feeling more than seeing his eyes burning into her, she took a deep breath and blurted out,“Do you have a convenient?”
When he didn’t immediately answer, she peeked up at him, registering the surprise on his face. Wives of the ton didn’t ask about their husbands’ dalliances.
“That’s a bold question,” he said, a hint of admiration in his voice.
“You said we could share anything.”
He grunted. “I suppose I should be careful what I ask for.”
His attempt at humor fell flat. She took his lack of response as confirmation and averted her gaze. But he wouldn’t allow her to withdraw, either physically or emotionally. He cupped her chin in his palm, pausing until she looked at him.
“The answer is no. I don’t currently have a mistress. When I chose to pursue your sister, I ended our arrangement.”
That was more than some men would do.“Do you intend to find another now that you’ve secured a bride?”
She had to know but now was almost sorry she’d asked. Maybe ignorance was bliss. What if his answer was yes? It hurt imagining him with another woman.She was naïve, but not so much that she was oblivious to the fact that aristocratic men navigated the subculture of the demimonde with ease, while their wives turned a blind eye or at least pretended to.
Andrew leaned back against the bench and rubbed his face with both hands. Appearing resigned to having this awkward conversation, he turned to face her.“My father was a notorious rake before he married my mother.Once he settled down, he never looked at another woman.His friends and other male relatives were not so inclined.They kept mistresses in town or visited the brothels, thinking they were discreet. It’s laughable, because the scandal sheets have nullified that word.”
“Gossip is the lifeblood of the ton,”Cici commented.“If a wife didn’t read about a husband’s liaisons in one of those rags, word would reach her ears, regardless.”
“This is the truth, and has been for years,”Andrew concurred.“When I was a boy, my mother’s sister, Madeleine, learned about her husband’s infidelity in one of those gossip sheets. She was not only devastated by his faithlessness but also publicly humiliated. So much so, she left him and moved in with us.”He leaned forward, elbows to his knees, all traces of humor and teasing vanished.“My uncle tried to win her back, but the betrayal was too deep.She fell into a deep melancholia and eventually died of a broken heart.Uncle Edward still mourns her.To my knowledge, he hasn’t kept another mistress since her death.He is a shell of a man, guilt-ridden and alone.”
“What a horrid story.”
“Like many wealthy, powerful men, he fell into a trap, thinking he could do whatever he liked without consequences.”Andrew turned only his head to look at her.“I tell you this because I don’t want that for my marriage.”
“Were they a love match?”
“No. Their marriage was arranged,”he admitted, crushing the hope she’d begun to feel.
She wasn’t adept at schooling her features, and her disappointment must have shown.
He clasped both her hands.“That doesn’t mean we can’t do better. Only that we will have to work harder at it.”
“I don’t want us to live apart, or like strangers.”
“That is fortunate, because I don’t want that either. I have a beautiful, charming woman who will represent me well as my viscountess. Luckily, there is a spark between us. I say we nurture it and keep it burning, so there is no risk of us ending up like Edward and Madeleine.”
“You’re saying you want a lady in the ballroom—”She stopped abruptly before finishing the scandalous adage she’d overheard on more than one occasion.
“And a harlot in the bedroom?”he supplied, as chagrined as she that she had almost said it.“How did you hear such a thing? Did your mother neglect to chaperone you?”
“You’ll remember my mother was solely focused on Elizabeth’s prospects. And I’m very good at blending into the wallpaper and potted plants.”
“Evidently,”he said, lips twitching, but stopping short of outright laughing.“The context of the original quote has changed quite a bit as it’s made the rounds through the clubs and gossip circles.In truth, it’s from a Yank’s anti-suffrage sermon some years back, declaring a woman’s place is in the home. It’s not as sensational as you and your friends thought, I’m sure.”
