Page 41 of The Marquis, the Minx, and the Mistletoe
"Oh, God," Tia moaned, that stupid jacket glaring at her from the corner like a thousand flickering candles in the dark. She opted to sink completely under the water rather than attempt to formulate a response, though even shrouded by the cloud of her wet hair in the depths of the steaming bath, she could hear Gloriana's tinkling laughter all the same.
When she re-emerged, pink all over from the heat of the water, rather than blushing with guilt writ large all over her face, Glory was still giggling to herself. "My darling Tia, it is what I had hoped would happen!" she said before Tia could protest or argue. "Do you think I only found Alex's bed after our vows were exchanged?"
"I wouldn't know," she replied a bit more hotly than she meant to. "Both you and Nell managed to marry men that I had no idea you were involved with, so why should I share my own endeavors when I am left in the dark by my dearest friends?"
"How was it?" Glory asked, her eyes sparkling, completely unfazed by Tia's snit. "He is such a large man and so ... hm, rugged? I do not know the right word. I imagine it was very exciting."
Tia leveled her friend with what she thought was her most withering glare, but it did absolutely nothing to dampen the enthusiasm and pep from the other woman. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, but felt the words sputtering forth all the same. "It was interrupted by half the house falling down, unfortunately," she said in a hushed voice, giddiness threatening to sprout from her throat. "We only ... well, one time went uninterrupted, and the next promised to be most interesting."
"Oh, I'm certain Lord Moorvale will complete his task at a less hectic moment." Glory clapped her hands together, nearly bouncing with excitement. "So, are you to elope? I do hope you wait until after Christmas if that is to be the case. I could go with you to serve as witness!"
"Elope?" Tia balked. "There has been no talk of elopement!"
"Hm, but you must wait such an awfully long time to do things the traditional way. I suppose it would give time to send word to your parents, though. Is he not impatient to have it done with? I know Alex was."
"Glory," Tia said with some difficulty, pulling a lather of soap slowly through her hair, "we are not going to wed."
At last, something seemed to shock Gloriana from her glee and gossip. "Whatever do you mean?" she demanded, pushing herself to her feet. "Of course you will! Especially now that ... well, I assume ..." She gestured toward Tia's knees where they emerged from the tub and raised her eyebrows meaningfully.
"No," Tia hissed, snapping her knees together with a slosh of water. "I am not fit to be a marchioness, Glory. Think about what you are saying. I simply did not want to enter my spinsterhood without knowing how it felt to be wanted, before I am too old and jaded to discover it for myself."
"He told you you were not fit?" she repeated, aghast. "That scoundrel! I shall have him flogged!"
"No, he didn't say anything of the sort, you daft bunny. Sit down!" Tia sighed, dropping her head into her hands and shaking it back and forth, somewhat hidden by her curtain of freshly washed hair. She peeked through her fingers, waiting until Glory had arranged herself in some semblance of composure before continuing. "It is understood, between us," she explained. "Unspoken, yes, and without any trace of disdain or disrespect from him. We both wanted this, so I fail to see the harm."
Glory took a moment to consider her response, pressing her lips into each other with marked disapproval. "Did you take precautions, Tia?" she asked, all the bubbly enthusiasm sapped from her voice.
Tia paused in her progress with a soapy sponge, genuinely curious. "Precautions against what?"
Glory let out a dramatic sigh, slapping her hands on the rumpled coverlet. "Honestly! Have either of you thought this through at all? What if you are with child, hm? What then?"
Tia blinked, dropping the sponge in the water with a dullplop. "I hadn't considered ... surely I wouldn't be, after one time."
Her friend gave a humorless laugh. "Heloise says one time is all it takes, and she should know. She's the one pulling babies out of unmarried mothers here."
Tia lifted her chin, refusing to be shamed. "Well, then I suppose you'd best tell me what precautions are available to me before my cursed life becomes even more difficult, for I have no intention of ceasing to tryst with Lord Moorvale, for so long as the opportunity presents itself to me."
Glory's mouth dropped open, and Tia used this reprieve of silence to reach for a towel and begin to dry herself, leaving behind a tub full of water that was much dirtier than she was accustomed to seeing. It was the last of the storm, she thought, swirling in that copper bath.
She set about wrapping her hair in a dry towel and choosing her clothing for the day, allowing Glory as much time as she needed to be shocked and scandalized. She had meant what she'd said. The time for shame had passed when she'd fled her wedding. Her life was now subject to endless mockery, so she was going to enjoy it however she saw fit, until such a time as she couldn't any longer.
She did not want to have to warn him that they had already been discovered. If she could convince Glory of one thing before they left this room, it would be secrecy. There was so much still that she wanted to say ... that she wanted to do.
"Very well," Gloriana finally said, her tone hollow as though she had gone on a very long journey and returned in the space of those few minutes. "I will educate you on precautions, but I refuse to accept that you are for a certainty declining to marry. It's nonsense, Tia. You are obviously mutually smitten!"
"Are we?" Tia said, more to distract her friend than out of any uncertainty on that score. She wouldn't bother to say it to Gloriana, but being smitten was hardly the typical basis for marriage, nor was it strong enough to overcome a tattered reputation. There was no point in arguing with an idealist.
Warmth blossomed in her chest as her friend chattered, both because of the promise of things to come and because of what she'd said.Mutually smitten. Both of them.
What a marvelous thing that was, to want someone just as much as he wanted her. Had he been just as tormented with it as she had over this last year? Had he dreamed of her? Ached for her? Even the mere possibility of it was intoxicating.
She listened with one ear to Glory's advice on preventing pregnancy while she dressed herself and combed out her hair. It was impossible to concentrate upon it entirely, after all, with so much else on her mind.
Chapter 20
"It truly, truly is not as bad as I thought it was going to be," Sheldon said in his most soothing voice.
Gideon Somers was standing, arms akimbo, frowning at the broken stables so hard that Sheldon thought the whole structure likely to catch on fire. Next to him, his son Reggie was attempting to emulate his father's posture, from the puffed-out chest to the exaggerated glower, though he kept breaking his pose to check its accuracy and adjusting as he saw fit.
