Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

“ T ell me, Brother, do you intend to spend the rest of your life ignoring your new bride? Or are you getting it all out of the way today?” Lord William Campbell tittered as he sipped on his glass of brandy.

Frederick looked at his younger brother flatly. “I am not ignoring her.”

“Are we dealing in semantics, now? Because not speaking with her is the same as ignoring her. Or it was the last time I checked.”

“I am not not speaking with her either. I am just…” Frederick looked around the room for an answer, making sure not to look in Hannah’s direction. “Playing host. It would be rude not to.”

“Playing host?” His brother snorted. “This isn’t even your home to play host in.”

“But it is my wedding breakfast.”

“All the more reason you should be spending it with your bride,” William shot back with a very self-satisfied grin.

“There is time for that later,” Frederick said warningly, hoping his tone would be enough to dissuade his brother from continuing this conversation.

“Later?” William sipped his brandy, his body now shaking from withheld laughter. “From what I saw earlier, later might be too far away for you to wait.” A wink next. “Honestly, Brother, I am surprised that the two of you even made it to this breakfast. That you didn’t whisk her way in the carriage and perform your husbandly duties before even the sun had begun to set?—”

“Will you keep it down!” Frederick snapped, his eyes widening as he glanced around the room, making sure nobody heard. “And I have no idea what you are talking about.”

William could not have looked more pleased. “If that is what you need to tell yourself. But between you and me, even God was blushing at your little performance.” He clicked his tongue, grinning from ear to ear. “Shame on you, Brother. I thought you had more self-control than that.”

Frederick scowled warningly at his brother, choosing to ignore the comment because he would not dignify it with an answer. It was the kiss to which his brother referred, and despite the jokes, Frederick didn’t think it was that bad.

He and William were standing in the back corner of Lord Ramsbury’s ballroom, the chosen location for the wedding breakfast. It was supposed to be hosted by Frederick, but seeing as the church was so close to Ramsbury House they opted to have it here instead. At the moment, there were a dozen or so people occupying the ballroom, most standing in small groups as they gossiped about the wedding.

Among them was Frederick’s new bride, Hannah. She stood with her sisters on the other side of the room, with her back to him, almost purposefully, as if she wanted to make a point of not looking his way.

Frederick stole a glance at her. Only a glance. It was meant to be a second… but his eyes were captivated by the sight of her bare back, her round hips. The memory their kiss and how utterly entranced he had become by it flashed in his mind. He had lost himself for a moment, his walls shattered in a way he had not expected.

He knew what she was doing, of course. The dress. The performance. She was trying to seduce him, to prove his claims that he would not kiss or touch her were false and foolhardy. But was she doing so because she wanted him? Or simply because she enjoyed making him squirm? Based on the little he knew of her so far… it was impossible to tell.

“So, I suppose that introductions are out of the question?” his brother asked, noting the way he stared at his new wife.

William was his younger brother, the black sheep of the family for the way he had chosen to live his life—with vigor, as he put it. Loudly. Boisterously. Putting fun first above all else. The very opposite of Frederick. But Frederick, being the older brother, having accepted that the burden of the title fell on his own shoulders, had never begrudged him the fact. If anything, he had envied him.

“W-what?” Frederick tore his gaze away from Hannah and turned back around to find his brother still grinning stupidly.

“I was saying, are you going to introduce me to my sister-in-law? Or are you still ignoring her?”

“I am not?—”

“Avoiding her, then. Scared to approach her—and do not say otherwise.” William raised an eyebrow. “I know you, Brother, and I know what this is. But she is your wife now, and you cannot ignore the poor woman forever.”

Frederick grimaced. “I do not intend to.”

“And seeing as I am yet to meet the woman, I would very much like an introduction. It is proper, Brother. For me to go over there alone… well, how would that look?”

“Do not take it personally…” Frederick looked across the room again, certain now that she had turned her back to him on purpose. “Even Amelia has not met her yet.”

“Truly?” William chuckled. “It’s been two weeks, Brother. How have you managed to avoid such a thing?”

Frederick could not help but laugh, but more in mockery of his own actions. “By doing what you have accused me of, is how. Avoiding her.”

And he had been doing that too. For two weeks, Frederick had avoided Hannah the best he could simply because he felt he had no choice. Their near kiss in the garden that day was the reason for it, the fear it struck in him at how close the two had come. For all his talk of not wanting to touch her, having no desire for such a thing, he had come so close to breaking that his only answer was to run and hide and hope that some distance would solve the problem.

If anything, it had only made things worse.

Hannah was either toying with him, trying to seduce him, or doing everything she could to prove him a liar. Whatever it was, it was working a little too well, and Frederick knew that to be alone with her would be to court danger—a very tough situation to be in, seeing as they were now man and wife.

“Well, come on then.” William nudged him. “No time like the present.”

“Yes…” Frederick swallowed as he fell into step with his brother. He could do this. There was no reason that he could not. “I suppose we may as well get this over with…”

It was the Duchess of Hayward, Hannah’s older sister, who saw them coming. She nudged Hannah and nodded over her shoulder. Hannah hesitated, before finally turning around. Slowly, a satisfied smile spread across her lips, which she directed at Frederick.

“Ah, good day to you,” she crooned as he joined them. “Dear husband.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him.

“Dear wife,” he responded.

All eyes were on him as Hannah stepped back to allow him into their circle. He considered leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek, but then he quickly dismissed that notion. For obvious reasons.

“I hope I am not interrupting.”

“Not at all.”

“I wished to introduce you to somebody.”

“Oh?”

“This is my brother, Lord William Campbell.” Frederick turned toward his brother, who was standing a few feet back, smirking as he took note of their interaction… and how painfully awkward it was.

“Your Grace.” William bowed to her. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I had hoped to meet you sooner, but my brother has been somewhat hopeless at making introductions.”

“Oh, do not blame him…” Hannah smirked. “He has simply been busy with wedding preparations. Believe me, I know it firsthand.”

Frederick stiffened at the jibe. “Yes, well, it has been a very busy two weeks. Unlike some, I haven’t had the pleasure of being able to sit back with my feet up, just expecting everything to come together as it has.”

“And you have done a wonderful job,” Hannah assured him, still smirking. “I might have told you sooner, again, had I been given the chance.”

“No matter,” Frederick responded coolly. “You have done so now. And I thank you for your appraisement.”

“You are most welcome.”

The subtext of their conversation was obvious to Frederick, and most likely obvious to everyone lucky enough to be listening. And if it hadn’t been, the way the two looked at one another surely must have made it more so.

Hannah wore a coy smile, satisfied as she poked and prodded at him, seemingly doing what she could to elicit a reaction from him. He had been avoiding her these past two weeks, and she wanted it known that she had noticed… and that she knew why.

While Frederick was doing his best to play things cool, standing between her and his brother, he was careful not to look at her directly— that dress! —to keep his distance, and not to rise to the bait that she was setting him.

“So…” the Duchess of Walford, her eldest sister, began somewhat carefully. “I am sure that the two of you are looking forward to heading back home after this. A chance to finally get to know one another a little better.” She glanced at Hannah and gave a secretive smile. “Seeing as these past two weeks have been so busy.”

William latched onto that. “Oh, he is. My brother was just telling me that, weren’t you?” He clapped Frederick on the shoulder.

Frederick glared warningly at his brother. “Yes… that will be most welcome. There is no rush, however,” he added quickly. “It would be rude to leave so soon, with all the effort Lord and Lady Rambsury have put into this breakfast.”

“Oh, they will not mind,” the Duchess of Walford assured him. “If I know our father, he’ll be glad to get everyone out of his house as soon as possible.”

“Wonderful!” William said cheerfully. He took a sip of his brandy, grinning behind his glass and making sure that Frederick saw it.

Frederick glared at his brother again, quickly, not wanting the others to see it. And then he forced a smile, his mind racing as he was forced to consider the reality that his days of avoiding Hannah were over. Come tonight, they would return to his home together as man and wife, at which point he would be forced to prove the self-control that he so heavily touted once and for all.

A quick glance at Hannah, who was watching him closely. He tried just to meet her eyes, but he could not help but look down at her dress—or more specifically, her exposed shoulders and the swell of her breasts. Dammit, she was stunning, so tempting and sumptuous that Frederick dared to wonder if perhaps he had been a tad rash in proclaiming celibacy?

“Is everything all right, Your Grace?” Hannah asked him, as if she could see what was on his mind. “You seem a little quiet.”

“Am I?” Frederick laughed awkwardly. “Perhaps I am just a little tired. It has been a long day.”

“Not too tired, I hope…” She was staring right at him, the faintest smirk on her lips, and Frederick very nearly balked because the implication was all too clear. “I am hoping for a tour of your home when we arrive later on.”

“Oh, yes, I am sure that will be fine.”

“Wonderful. I had worried what it might be like to move into a new home. Feeling like a stranger and everything.” She laughed. “But I know that with you, that will not be a problem.”

She reached over and stroked his arm. Frederick ignored it the best he could, and also ignored the coy smile she wore, knowing all too well that she was baiting him.

“I will endeavor to make you as comfortable as possible.”

“I look forward to it.”

“As do I.”

“Personally, I am looking forward to where we left things off the last time we spoke alone,” she murmured.

Frederick met her gaze but was careful not to be sucked into it. “As am I. What we spoke about, it is my thinking now that a reminder might be needed.”

“What we spoke about?” She pretended to consider. “Oh!” Her eyes went wide. “Yes, I had nearly forgotten. I was referring to the end of the conversation. I cannot help but feel there was much left wanting.”

“Unsaid is perhaps a more accurate description.”

“Either way…” She stroked his arm again. “I look forward to it.”

“As do I.”

Stiff. Awkward. Highly suggestive. Hannah continued to look at Frederick, and Frederick looked away. But it was becoming more and more difficult to do so. Anyone listening to their first conversation as man and wife would not have to work too hard to discern the underlying meaning.

Hannah either wanted him or took far too much pleasure in teasing him. But it did not really matter. Frederick understood now more than ever that if he was going to get through this marriage, he was going to have to set boundaries—remind her what he had explained two weeks ago, and make sure she understood that he was not to be tested like this.

Because if he did not, and if she continued to tease him like this, another glance at the swell of her breasts and shoulders… her plump lips… and Frederick knew that he would only be able to control himself for so long.

He was, after all, only human.