Chapter 18

The Morning After

Edwin woke up, and he was immediately on edge. Something was not right—something was different. He was about to leap out of bed when he realized what was different. Beatrice lay in the bed next to him. It had been a long time since he’d woken up to a woman in his bed, especially one as beautiful as his wife.

She slept peacefully, an angel beneath his blankets. He did not want to wake her, so he lay gazing upon her gorgeousness. Her breathing was shallow and deep, and her chest rose and fell as she slumbered. Edwin stopped himself from reaching out and cupping her milky mounds as they rose and fell. The blankets had slipped down low enough to give him a view of her more intimate parts.

He watched her bosom rise and fall like waves crashing against the shore before shifting his gaze back to her face. She smiled as she slept, her dimples on show. Edwin found that it was harder to take his eyes off them than her bosom.

Beatrice sighed as she slept, as if she were dreaming about something pleasant. She eventually stirred and blinked her eyes open. Edwin looked away from her dimples and into her deep brown eyes.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning,” Beatrice replied, smiling and stretching.

She let out a groan as she reached her arms up, her hands pressing against the headboard. Then, she let out a small gasp as she realized she was naked in bed with the Duke.

“My goodness!” she squealed, grabbing the blankets and pulling them up to her neck. She blushed pale pink as she suddenly became shy.

“After what we did last night, you don’t need to hide yourself from me,” Edwin teased.

He reached down and took hold of the blanket, gently pulling it down,

Beatrice resisted for a moment before she let go. Edwin pulled the fabric down, and the hemmed edge rose and fell to uncover her glorious breasts once more. She crossed her arms over her exposed bosom and looked up at him.

“I must thank you for last night,” she said quietly. “I have never felt that way before. I am glad we waited to do that. I don’t know why, but it felt much better than it would have been if we had engaged in the act immediately after the wedding. I hope I can return the favor one day.”

“Return the favor?” Edwin asked, confused. “What do you mean?”

“You made me feel wonderful, and not only once.” Beatrice bit her bottom lip and smiled. “I want to make you feel that way.”

Edwin laughed softly. “You have nothing to return, my dear. You made me feel wonderful, too.”

“I did?” Beatrice asked. “But I didn’t do anything.”

“You certainly did.” Edwin trailed the back of his hand over her cheek and down her neck. “The way you kissed me and responded to my touch was perfect. You might not have seen it because you were lost in the moment, but I don’t think I have ever felt like that before.”

“Really?” Beatrice’s eyes widened. She shivered slightly under his tender touch. “You don’t know how that makes me feel.”

The Duke ran the back of his hand over her shoulder, then down her upper arm, her forearm, and across her covered stomach.

Beatrice looked him in the eye with some nervousness, but she still removed her arms from her breasts and lifted them above her head, stretching her body out.

Edwin moved his hand back up, turning it over to caress her torso with his palm. He moved from her stomach, up over her breasts to her collarbone, and then back down to her breasts again.

“I would very much like to make you feel the way you felt last night,” he murmured.

“I cannot stop you now even if I want to,” Beatrice replied.

Edwin ran his hand over her nipple and then down to her navel again. His hand trailed over her side, leaving goose pimples in its wake, before going back up to her neck and then her cheek. He leaned closer to her and kissed the swell of her breast, his lips lingering there. He kissed her creamy mound again, circling her nipple.

Beatrice breathed heavily through her nose, moaning.

Edwin finally reached her nipple, kissing it gently before nipping it.

Beatrice opened her mouth to moan. She reached for his head and brought his lips to hers. She let out another moan as their lips came together, and Edwin pressed his body to hers, enjoying her warmth. One hand remained on her cheek, and the other explored her body.

He fondled her other breast this time, the one he had not teased with his mouth, rubbing her nipple and squeezing it. Her curves excited him more than anything else, and he had trouble letting go of her plump mound. Eventually, he did, and his hand trailed down her body. He skimmed over her stomach and finally explored beneath the blankets.

Edwin pushed his tongue against Beatrice’s, just enough for her to push back, and their supple muscles explored each other, licking languidly. His fingers ran through the small tuft of hair above her warm entrance, and then he rubbed her inner thigh, building up the anticipation.

His fingers danced over her skin, going down, then back up, and just as he was about to touch her special place, he moved to the other thigh. That elicited a frustrated moan from Beatrice as they kissed, but the frustration would soon come to an end. He stroked her other thigh and then brought his hand to her wet cave.

Suddenly, an almighty crash came from downstairs.

Both Edwin and Beatrice jerked back as if someone were in the room, and Beatrice pulled the blankets back up to her neck. Edwin looked around, on high alert in case an attacker had come.

A smaller crash came from downstairs, followed by what sounded like cursing. Edwin’s mood shifted from turned on to grumpy. He didn’t know what had happened, but he was confident his mother was involved in some way. He looked at Beatrice, and she smiled sweetly and amusedly.

“I have to make sure everything is fine down below,” he told her. “And down below, I mean, down below, and not down below. I will return as soon as I can.”

Beatrice nodded, smiling. “I understand. I shall be waiting for you. Please don’t be too long.”

Edwin leaned back down and kissed her before he stood up, prancing around the bedroom stark naked. The crash from downstairs had terrorized him so much that the blood had gone straight to his head. This came with the benefit that it did not take long before he was ready to venture downstairs without his arousal being on show.

The Duke finished getting dressed, not putting on so many clothes that he could not remove quickly, but making sure to not be underdressed either, and he went downstairs to discover what Modesty had done.

At the bottom of the stairs, he found Elizabeth.

“What is going on?” he asked.

“I know as much as you do, Edwin. I waited for you to come down because I’m sure whatever is happening there”—she pointed down the hallway leading to the drawing room—“is something you are better equipped to deal with than me.”

Edwin smiled and snorted. “So, you are leaving me to deal with whatever mess I find in there?”

“I would have gone in there eventually, but now that you are here, I can take a walk in the gardens. I would only be in the way.”

“You think too lowly of yourself, dear sister,” Edwin told her.

“It is only that I think so highly of you, dear brother,” she replied with a sly smile. “Now, go and fix whatever has happened, and I look forward to hearing all about it later.”

Elizabeth practically skipped away from the commotion. Edwin shook his head, but he couldn’t help but chuckle. It was hard to be in a bad mood after what he and Beatrice had done the previous night and what they would do that afternoon.

He proceeded down the hallway, trying to imagine what might have caused the loud crash. He was almost at the drawing room when he received a startling fright.

A creature that looked vaguely human but had battle paint drawn across its face emerged from the drawing room. Smears of red, blue, brown, and white covered most of its face, and its hair was sticking up at odd angles. It held in its hand a paintbrush.

When his fright subsided, Edwin realized he was staring at Modesty.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Whatever do you mean?”

Edwin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Your face, Mother. You have paint all over it.”

“Do I?” she asked. She pulled a rag from her pocket and wiped her cheek, then looked down at it. “Oh, yes, I suppose I do. Yes, that is where I was going. I need to clean up before I go back in there.”

“What is going on in there?” Edwin asked.

“A painting class!” she announced proudly. “All of my friends are here, and we have hired an instructor—it will be ever so much fun! I have not painted in years, and I fear I might have lost my touch, but I am sure I will soon pick it up again. I mean, how hard can it be? All you have to do is put the colors in the right places.”

Edwin didn’t have an immediate response. He placed one hand on his mother’s shoulder to stop her from going anywhere and leaned past her to see what was happening in the room.

Inside, he did indeed find many of Modesty’s friends, and he saw a man with a rather sheepish expression standing in the middle—he must be the instructor. Numerous easels and canvases were set up. Some of the ladies had small stains on their dresses. In the middle of the room, near an empty canvas, three maids were cleaning the carnage on the floor. There was paint, utensils, food, drinks, and other messes.

Behind it all, outside the window, Edwin saw Elizabeth looking in, amused.

The ladies greeted him collectively, and the instructor bowed deeply, worried he might be the one in trouble. Edwin leaned back so he was not visible from inside the room anymore and looked Modesty in the eye.

“What happened in there, Mother? It looks like a bull was set loose.”

“Yes, well, they will have it cleaned up soon, and there was no harm done. There was no damage except for maybe a couple of broken cups.”

“And how were they broken?” Edwin asked.

“It was a most unfortunate event,” Modesty relayed. “I had only just ordered refreshments to be brought, and I had no idea the maids were bringing the trolley in with the tea and cakes when it happened. Lady Hamilton mentioned a piece of music I am very fond of, and I had to hum it for Lady Mitchell, who had never heard it before. And you can’t hum a piece of music without also dancing to it. So, the next thing I knew, I was crashing into the maids and knocking into my paint table. It went up in the air, and a million things came crashing down. I managed to get almost all of the paint on myself, thank goodness. That brings us to this moment, where I need to go and clean off as much of the paint as possible.”

Edwin sighed. “Are you hurt, Mother? I hope the morning is not ruined.”

“Oh, goodness, no!” Modesty exclaimed happily. “Oh, no, my dear. It is only just beginning. We will have the entire morning to learn how to paint beautiful pictures. Oh, my goodness!” She placed a hand on her chest, leaving a multicolored handprint. “I have just had the most wonderful idea. You and Beatrice should join us. You must call her down from her room, and we will all paint as a family. Will that not be wonderful?”

“We already have plans,” Edwin said quickly.

“Oh, you do?” Modesty asked.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Edwin replied, happy to have thought so quickly on his feet. “Yes, we must go into town on important business, and I was on my way to check if she was awake when I heard the commotion down here.”

“Well, that is unfortunate,” Modesty said. “Still, if you are back early, you can always join us.”

Edwin sighed. “We will be gone for most of the day.”

“Oh, well, there is always next time,” Modesty suggested.

“Yes, there is always next time. Unless we happen to have plans again. I shall not keep you, Mother. You must want to get cleaned up so you can get back in there with your friends.”

“Yes, that is where I was going.” Modesty hesitated for a moment. “Is it noticeable? Do I need to clean up, or do I look fine?”

Edwin looked at his mother’s paint-smeared face. “It might be best to clean up a little before you go back in,” he suggested.

Modesty patted his cheek, and he could feel the paint she left there. “Enjoy your day out with your lovely wife.”

Edwin pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his face as he walked away and headed back upstairs.

He entered his room, and Beatrice looked over from the bed, still mostly covered by the blankets. She smiled at him, but upon seeing the stain on his cheek, she frowned in confusion.

“You have something on your cheek,” she told him.

“Paint,” Edwin said. “I shall explain on the ride into town. We must go out, and I will also explain why.”

Beatrice looked disappointed not to have him back in bed with her, but she brightened almost immediately. “A day out will be great fun.”