Chapter 26

Chapter

Twenty-Six

G enevieve, Charlotte, and Matilda entered Lord and Lady Bexley's ball later that evening. The event was well on its way to being a crush, with the rooms' gilded walls bursting with the number of people in attendance.

The gowns were opulent, the wine free flowing, the music tempting anyone within hearing of the string quartet.

She greeted the hosts, Lord and Lady Bexley, and proceeded into the ballroom. Many of the guests looked their way, not so much surprised to see her or her friends together, but no doubt her husband's absence would certainly be on the lips of every gossiper come morning.

Which was exactly what she wished.

If Lord Tyndall would not attend the first ball they had been invited to as a married couple, she would attend on her own.

He would soon come to learn that she did not take well to being slighted, especially by her spouse, nor did she like missing out on balls and parties.

All too soon, they would be returning to the country and leaving London, and they would not be back for several months. Now that she was a wife, she would not get to return to her ancestral home, but have to travel to her new one.

Who knew how boring and dull that home may be? If it was any indication of how her husband was in society these days, it would be dull indeed.

She frowned as they moved through the crowd of guests. In fact, she hardly knew anything about his home in the country. He had always stayed at their estate during school and university breaks. Did he even own one, or was it merely a figment of her imagination?

"You look beautiful this evening, Lady Tyndall," Lady Ashbrook said, dipping into a curtsy. The baron's wife was new to London, having returned after giving birth to their first son last year.

"Thank you, Lady Ashbrook. And you look well also. Congratulations on the birth of your son. I hear he's charming."

"Oh, he is, thank you, and soon you too will be expecting, I'm sure. Lord Tyndall is a handsome man. I should imagine your marriage is quite passionate."

Genevieve stared at Lady Ashbrook momentarily, her mind blank about what to reply. Was this how married ladies spoke to each other, without any circumspection?

Matilda chuckled and covered her mouth with her fan. "We get along well enough, my lady. Thank you for your kind inquiry." Genevieve moved on, having had enough of that conversation, before they found themselves near the end of the room, watching the ton at play.

"An interesting question from Lady Ashbrook and one I'd like to know the answer to as well." Charlotte smirked. "Do tell us, Genevieve, what Lord Tyndall is like in the biblical sense. We're curious to know."

Oh dear, how to answer such a question without turning as red as the rouge she decided not to put on her lips this evening? "I will not lie; he is passionate, or at least, he was when we were married. He has not darkened my door since that day. I'm not sure why."

"Hmm, do you think he regrets marrying you?" Matilda blurted.

Genevieve gasped, unable to believe her friend had said such a thing. Matilda's eyes widened, and she fumbled words, trying to fix her faux pas. "Not so much regret, I amend, but perhaps marrying you has shocked him somehow, and now he's a little spooked."

"Oh yes, I see where you're going with this idea," Charlotte joined in. "Maybe after being with you intimately, he's become a little obsessed, and that's frightened him. Maybe he isn't touching you because if he did, he would lose control of his gentlemanly behavior. The wall that has always been between you both."

Neither were silly notions, and the thought had crossed Genevieve's mind a time or two since returning from Scotland, among other things, that it had been a terrible mistake that she could not undo.

"So what would you suggest I do to try to fix our issues? Seduce him? Deny him? Dress provocatively when in his presence and then deny him? What?"

"All of those things?" Matilda chuckled. "Oh, could you imagine the renowned rake Lord Tyndall falling at your feet begging for you to take mercy on him and allow him to, you know…"

"Sleep with me again?"

"I think she was looking for a more forceful term than sleep."

"I cannot see him doing such a thing," Genevieve stated. "He seems quite determined to keep me at a distance."

"He would be a fool indeed to deny you."

Genevieve hugged Matilda quickly, thankful for her friends with whom she could be herself and say whatever she thought without judgment. "His lordship made it clear in Scotland that this marriage is one of duty for him. He's saved me from ruin from Mr. Venzellons and now thinks his burden is concluded. But not for me. If I'm honest, I find myself a little smitten with my husband. The emotions he made me feel on our first night together… The pleasure I did not know could be gained from another."

"Are you saying what we've learned to do alone is possible with our husbands? I know the book we read said so, but I never truly believed it. Have you seen how many married women walk around London with scowls on their faces and pinched mouths? They do not look like women who've enjoyed their husbands in the marriage bed the night before."

"Charlotte, that is wicked but utterly true. I must agree," Matilda said.

"That is what I'm saying, indeed. While I know we all have explored ourselves in the privacy of our own rooms, I must admit that when Lord Tyndall and I were alone, well, let me just say that the outcome of that union was more forceful, intense, and satisfying than I have ever experienced when by myself."

"Well, that is good news. Maybe I ought to chase Lord Wolfson more forcefully. I want to experience that as well."

"Do not forget me, not that I have found anyone that I like enough to become naked with. Could you imagine?" Charlotte said, her cheeks turning red.

"You're beautiful," Genevieve and Matilda said in unison to Charlotte. "And when you find your husband, he too will fall on his knees and beg for mercy, which is what you deserve and nothing less."

"Well, if our decision is to make Lord Tyndall jealous and raging mad that you're out in society, enjoying balls and parties, wine and good conversation, should you also not enjoy the opposite sex? In a platonic kind of way, but flirt just enough to raise the hackles of Lord Tyndall."

"I think that is exactly what is needed. When one sees the possibility of what they've lost, maybe they will want to win their prize back," Matilda stated.

"Yes, I shall go on as I did before. Enjoy dancing with the gentlemen who pay me notice, and allow Lord Tyndall to learn of his wife's popularity through the members of his precious club."

"Do not forget to taunt him when home as much as you can. If we're to make him realize that you're the only woman he needs and should ravish, then he must see what he's missing and for what, a Covent Garden whore."

The idea made Genevieve's stomach twist. Could she be so bold? Push her husband and see how far she needed to go before he folds to her bidding. To her affection?

"Let us hope he's not reverting to his old ways, merely keeping a distance from me because of the stipulations we discussed above. Pray for me that he'll not be able to deny me forever, that his lust for me will grow into love."

"Do you love him? Have you fallen in love with your husband?" Matilda asked, her eyes wide with shock.

"I do not know what I feel for Beckett, but I know it's muddled and as confusing as I think he is feeling right now. I would like a love match, as we all would. Whether I get that outcome is yet to be seen, but I shall not give up without a fight—even if that fight is a little seedy and beneath the actions of a lady."

"When has being a lady ever got us far? I say play dirty and win, especially if that prize is love," Charlotte said.

"Hear, hear," Matilda agreed.

Genevieve nodded. Let the games begin.