Page 45 of A Virgin for the Duke of Scars
“I wonder what she is thinking behind that sweet smile,” Juliette added.
If the blush on her cheeks had been subtle before, it flamed into full view now. Theresa could not tell these women, as helpful as they had been, that she had been thinking of the way her husband had touched her between her legs.
“I am merely thinking about embarrassing myself,” she said quickly.
“Hmm,” Juliette murmured. “Yes, I often blush when I think of the same thing.”
Theresa could tell that Juliette did not believe her, but it would be inappropriate to press her for the details. Not that she would ever share those details with anyone around her. Even if she knew what it was that Aaron had done to her, modesty would not permit gossip about his skills as a lover.
“I think it’s time to wrap up today’s lesson,” Lady Sophia announced with a knowing smile. “I have a feeling the Duchess is eager to see her husband.”
“I appreciate your teachings,” Theresa offered, rising to her feet to see her out.
This, at least, was similar to how they saw guests out at the nunnery.
“Then you had better put them into practice. The Duke of Blackthorn—that is my grandson—has allowed me to host ahouse party at the end of the week. You will come, and you will curtsy, and you will see for yourself how thetonparties.”
Lady Sophia patted the back of her hand and gave her a genuine smile.
“I can do it,” Theresa said, with more confidence than she felt.
The only thing she cared about right now was impressing her husband, making him see her for the Duchess she could be. For the wife she was determined to be to him, despite his prickly exterior.
She would practice her lessons over and over if that was what it took to convince him to touch her again.
CHAPTER 15
“You did not tell us that your wedding would be a brief affair,” Jeremy said, slamming down his pint on the table such that ale sloshed over the rim. “We barely had a chance to meet your bride. It seemed as though you wanted her all to yourself.”
“You will forgive me if I was eager for the ceremony to be over,” Aaron drawled.
His friends burst into chuckles.
Morgan had already seen his wife in her ill-fitting clothing. She had put her body on display for him, but it was lucky that his friend approached them before he slipped his hand beneath her gown.
Aaron didn’t like that Morgan had thought Theresa attractive, but his friend was laughing with the others. He supposed it must have been a good joke.
“We weren’t sure the wedding would take place,” Jeremy admitted. “Not when your nun showed up at the altar with her sister nowhere to be seen. Why should a lady of the cloth want to marry a beast?”
“Be kind,” Morgan chided, determined to stand up for his friend. “We all know that looks mean nothing. The Beast is as deserving of love as the next man. Perhaps even more so.”
“And when, pray tell, did your runaway bride return?”
“What would it do for me to tell you that she did not return?” Aaron said with a smile.
He knew he was baiting his friends, knew that they would not be able to resist the delicious morsel of gossip.
He was not heartbroken in the slightest. In fact, he got a better deal. Theresa was much more beautiful, much kinder than her sister could have been. And she saw something in him that he had not acknowledged in many years.
“Then who did you marry? I saw the Marquess walk her down the aisle.”
“Did you know that the Marquess had two daughters?” He asked.
The table fell silent.
The men had all grown up in the city,meaning they knew that the Marquess of Wyndham had only one daughter, Lady Hope. When the Queen issued her edict, it was Hope that Aaron was supposed to marry. As far as he knew, there were no other options. With her on the run, he would have been jilted and would have had to appeal to the Queen.
He shared all of this with his friends, who listened intently.
