Page 90 of A Bride for the Beastly Duke
He looked down at Lily in surprise. “Don’t you want to join the party?”
She shook her head. “No, I want to stay here.”
“All right then. I’ll have someone bring you something to eat.”
“Thanks Papa.” Lily let go of his hand and went to lean over the bassinets, watching her brothers sleep. With a smile, Edward left the room.
Ava wanted to go up and check on the twins, but people kept stopping her to talk. “Your Grace, a word,” a familiar voice said as he put his hand on her arm to detain her.
She turned with a sigh of frustration. “What is it, Matthew?”
“I’m sorry to disturb you, but Margaret is in a bit of a panic.”
Ava quirked an eyebrow. “Whatever do you mean?”
“When I asked her if her mother had given her the talk, and she said no, and now, she is panicking because she does not know what the talk entails. I didn’t mean for her to panic. Would you please…” He gave her a pleading look.
She gave a put upon sigh and rolled her eyes but patted him comfortingly on the shoulder, nevertheless. “Leave it to me,” she assured him.
“Thank you,” he said with relief before disappearing into the crowd.
Ava went in search of her sister, finding her in her old chambers, hunched in on herself. She immediately went to her putting an arm around Margaret’s shoulders. “Oh darling, what’s the matter now?” she asked.
Margaret turned to her with an urgent look. “Mama did not give me any talk! I’m going to fail my husband on my wedding night!”
Ava almost laughed. “You couldn’t possibly, even if you tried. Believe me.”
Margaret gave her an intense look. “What does that mean? Did Mama also not give you the talk?”
Ava pursed her lips. “I wasn’t exactly pure if you recall.”
“Yes, but what about the first time you got engaged?”
Ava looked away. “We never made it far enough in the wedding preparations for Mama to have to give me the talk.”
“What is it? What is this talk then?”
Ava smiled sadly, shaking her head. “Oh darling, it’s simply what you should expect in the marriage bed. I expect you know something about that?”
Margaret’s eyes were wide. “I have heard… things. Juliet says that it’s just like horses. I don’t know; that sounds uncomfortable.”
Ava threw back her head and laughed. “Well, you know… that isn’t completely wrong.”
Margaret’s eyes widened even further. “What? Are you saying…”
“No, no.” Ava waved a hand in dismissive laughter. “Don’t worry. You’ll lie on your back, and your husband will be between your legs. It’ll hurt, maybe a little, maybe a lot. It depends on how much care Matthew takes. It’s better if you drink some port beforehand. That way you won’t be so nervous.”
“I’ll lie… on my back?” Margaret frowned as if trying to picture it.
“Yes. Now, I find that it’s a lot better if you warm each other up a bit. You know, with kisses and touches… Have you… done any of that?”
Margaret blushed scarlet.
Ava gave a knowing smile. “I see you have. Well then, it’s just an extension of that to its full conclusion. The best thing I can tell you is, don’t be scared, and don’t tense up.”
Margaret nodded. “And that’s the talk?”
Ava shrugged. “More or less. Probably more than Mama would have said.”
