Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

I zzie nodded and smiled and did her best impersonation of an obedient daughter as her mother firmly informed her that she would be returning to the room in fifteen minutes. Then, everyone filed out of the yellow parlor, leaving her alone with Archibald.

As soon as the door closed, Izzie scurried across the room and turned the key in the lock.

Archibald stared at her with wide eyes. “I know your mother agreed to let us have fifteen minutes. But I don’t think she would approve of us locking the door.”

It was all Izzie could do to tamp down a crazed laugh. Leaving the door unlocked was well and good for a standard sort of proposal.

But the concern she was about to express to Archibald required… exceptional measures.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m already ruined, then,” she said crisply.

She began pacing the room, wondering where to begin. What she was about to confess would be a difficult admission, to say the least.

After her second circuit of the room, Archibald cleared his throat. “If you are desirous of reassurances of affection on my part—”

“It’s not that,” she said crisply, then regretted interrupting him when he stopped short. Even though that wasn’t the issue at hand, it would have been nice to hear.

“Perhaps you are wondering how I intend to treat my future wife?”

She waved this off. “It’s not that, either.”

She needed to come to the point, no matter how much embarrassment she felt. They had few enough minutes as it was. Steeling herself, Izzie stopped in the middle of the room, squeezed her eyes shut, and curled her hands into fists. “There is a particular concern I have that I would prefer to have addressed before I agree to marry any man.”

“Of course.” He crossed the room in three strides, coming to stand in front of her. “You have but to name it.”

“Last night,” she began haltingly, “physical relations between us seemed… promising.”

His voice dropped half an octave. “A fair sight more than promising, I would say.”

She could see her reflection in the mirror hanging beside the fireplace. Her cheeks were scarlet. “This is the area I wish to discuss.”

He waited for her to elaborate. When she did not, he asked, “Are you worried that I might engage in physical relations outside of our marriage? Allow me to assure you that I will not.”

“No, it’s not that.”

He tilted his head. “Are you trying to tell me that you have engaged in, er, relations , prior to marriage?”

She blew out a frustrated breath. “It’s not that, either.”

He was studying her more closely than was comfortable. He took a step closer, and his voice was gentle as he said, “It wouldn’t put me off, Izzie. I would still want to marry you.”

“I appreciate that. But my maidenhead is intact.” She swallowed, wishing he wasn’t standing so close because this was going to be humiliating enough as it was. But at this point, she was wasting time, a commodity of which they had too little to begin with.

She’d best just come out and say it. She stared at the wall behind him. “My concern is this. I am afraid”—she squeezed her eyes shut—“that I am frigid.”

Archibald couldn’t help it.

He laughed.

When Izzie opened her eyes, they were full of poison.

“I’m sorry,” he said swiftly. “But… Really, Izzie. You are quite possibly the least frigid person I have ever met.”

“I wish I could share in your confidence!” she snapped. “But I… I…” She looked away, rubbing her elbow awkwardly.

He seized her hand and led her over to the sofa. Once they were settled, he said, “Tell me the reason for your concerns.”

Her face was a portrait of mortification. “I told you. I’m frigid .”

He studied her profile. If she hadn’t been with another man, that seemed to leave only one option. “Are you saying that you tried touching yourself?”

Her cheeks were scarlet. “ Yes .”

He squeezed her hand. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s normal to be curious. I take it you did not find your satisfaction?”

“ No .”

She still wouldn’t look at him, but at least they were getting somewhere. “All right. What all did you attempt to do?”

Panic filled her eyes. “I… I…” She swallowed. “ You know .”

“No, I don’t.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “The point is, it didn’t work. At all .”

“All right. But, as you noted, things between us seemed promising. Very promising,” he added.

She looked at him then, but her expression remained one of consternation. “But what if it turns out that we’re wrong? Marriage is for life, and I feel uncomfortable tying myself permanently to a man if we might not be, er…”

“Physically compatible?” Archibald supplied.

“Yes,” Izzie muttered, looking away.

It was difficult for Archibald to imagine being more compatible with someone than he had been with Izzie last night. He could certainly speak for himself, and given the way Izzie had cried out when he kissed her breasts, and began instinctively grinding her core against him, it certainly seemed like she had felt something similar.

But right now, she was in distress.

“I have to be sure,” she said.

It seemed that nothing he could say would reassure her. He was going to have to show her how good they could be together.

“Let me make sure I understand,” he said slowly. “If I can bring you to climax, right here, right now, you’ll agree to marry me?”

Izzie peered up at him, cringing. “It would make me feel considerably better about the prospect, yes.”

Archibald glanced at the clock.

Eleven minutes.

That was how long he would have.