Part 3 (1/2)

5.

THE following afternoon, Lord Astor was lying on his back in his favorite position, his hands clasped behind his head, his feet crossed at the ankles. He was feeling sleepy and contented. Ginny's hand was slowly circling his naked chest. Her tangled curls and her warm breath were tickling his side. He wriggled his toes and sighed. It seemed an age since these visits to his mistress had been a regular afternoon or nighttime occurrence. It was nearly six weeks.

”I had almost forgotten how good you are, Ginny,” he said, lowering one hand to fondle the back of her neck for a moment. ”You have quite worn me out.”

She raised her head and smiled in that slow, sensual manner that usually succeeded in making his temperature rise. ”I take it that the bride is not thoroughly satisfactory if you have come back to me so soon, Geoffrey,” she said. ”And so very full of energy! I am only thankful that the bruises I am bound to carry around with me for the next several days are in places where they will not be seen in public.”

”I would apologize,” he said, grinning and returning his hand to the back of his head. ”But we both know that you like it rough, don't we, Ginny?”

She pouted. ”Sometimes I think you have no respect for me at all, Geoffrey,” she said. ”I have sung at the homes of no fewer than three t.i.tled persons since you have been away, you know, not to mention other establishments quite as respectable. And everywhere I have been treated with marked respect and praised for my voice. And I have been called Virginia and even Miss c.o.x. Sir Harvey Hamilton called me Miss c.o.x. Why will not you?”

”Call you Miss c.o.x?” he said. ”Will you please remove your clothes now, Miss c.o.x? Will you please come to bed now, Miss c.o.x? Come on now, Ginny. Those people have not seen you as I havea”at least, I hope for your sake they have not. And which would you prefer to havea”respect or pleasure?”

She ran her finger over his lips and tapped them sharply. ”I would like both,” she said.

”Go to sleep, Gin,” he said, turning his head and shaking off her finger. ”Three times has quite tired me. I am not in the mood for conversation.”

”Of course you have to perform for someone else at night too now,” she said, wriggling closer to his warm, relaxed body. ”You have to save yourself. Poor Geoffrey.”

”Enough of that,” he said. ”I will have my wife left right out of any conversation between you and me, Ginny. Now, go to sleep, there's a good girl.”

She seemed to obey him. At least she fell silent and motionless beside him. Lord Astor continued to stare upward. He did not think he wanted to sleep even though he felt drowsy. It was pleasant to have a few minutes in which just to relax. He must go home soon in order to be in time to bathe Ginny's perfume from his skin before getting ready for dinner. But not just yet.

It had been a pleasant day. Arabella had been at the breakfast table again, but she had seen his paper beside his fork and had suggested that he read it if he wished. She had seemed to relax once he did so. She had resumed her eating and finished her m.u.f.fin as she had not the morning before. She was not very fond of b.u.t.ter, she had explained when he had lowered his paper briefly to ask why she ate it dry.

Aunt Hermione had been coming to take Arabella and Frances shopping again. There were all sorts of trappings like bonnets, slippers, fans, and ribbons to be examined and bought. He had not felt it necessary to accompany them this time, as he trusted his aunt to help his wife make suitable purchases. He had spent the morning at White's in delicious isolation in the reading room for a whole hour and then in company with a group of acquaintances who had come straight from Jackson's boxing saloon. He had promised to meet them there the following morning.

He had even eaten at White's and reveled in the sensible male conversationa”all about interesting topics like horses and hunting and politics. No one so much as mentioned a bonnet or a parasol.

His wife and her sister had been invited back to Grosvenor Square for luncheon. Doubtless they would remain there for at least part of the afternoon. And so finally he had had the luxury of a whole free afternoon in which to visit Ginny. And an extremely satisfying afternoon it had been, too. He had not realized quite how much pent-up energy he had been waiting to unleash until he had found himself quite unsatiated after one lengthy and energetic performance on the bed with her, and then another. They had both sweated their way through the third, and lain tangled together, exhausted, for several minutes before finding the energy to move themselves into the positions they now occupied.

An extremely satisfying afternoon.

He did not want to think of Arabella. She belonged to a different world. It was not that he did not respect her. She was his wife. He intended to see that she had every material comfort he was capable of giving her. He intended to see that she became well-established in society. He would escort her everywhere it was necessary for her to appear. And he intended to see to her happiness whenever he could, as in this business with her dog and horse, for example.

But he could not be faithful to her. No one of any sense would expect him to be so. It was true that scarcely a week before, he had made a promise at the altar to keep himself only for her. But everyone knew that the wedding service was just a quaint ceremony. No one took the words quite literally. He was doing no harm to Arabella by keeping a mistress and spending such afternoons as this with her. Indeed, he would go home refreshed and with new patience to spend an evening with his wife and her sister.

He did not want to think about Arabella. He glanced down at Ginny's tangled fair curls and thought of his wife's dark curly locks. She really did look almost pretty with her hair cut short. She looked like a little pixie. How absurdly anxious she had been when awaiting his verdict in the hallway the morning before. Had she expected that he would rant and rave and demand that she have the severed hair stuck back on again? Lord Astor grinned. Her eyes had been enormous and very dark with apprehension. And that upper lip of hers had curved upward, showing the very white teeth beneath.

He would not think of her, Lord Astor decided. He closed his eyes. He would sleep for a few minutes. She was so very small. He felt large and virile when he covered her on her bed. In fact, the night before, he had raised himself on his forearms while he took her. He was afraid of squas.h.i.+ng her, of suffocating her. He had wondered if he hurt her. She always lay so still and compliant beneath him that it was impossible to tell. He had looked down at her once to find that her eyes were open and looking off to one side. Her face had been calm, as far as he had been able to see in the darkness.

It would not seem quite fair to go to her tonight and violate that innocent little body with his own, which had taken its wanton pleasure with Ginny all afternoon.

Lord Astor opened his eyes again. He really did not want to be having these thoughts. He wanted to relax and savor his s.e.xual satisfaction. He wanted to sleep.

He was not going to develop a conscience, was he? How d.a.m.nably tiresome that would be. He would buy Arabella a string of pearls tomorrow. He had planned to do so anyway for her first ball. Why not for her first appearance in public at his aunt's soiree? He would buy the most costly string he could find.

Lord Astor yawned and dozed for a few minutes.

Arabella was finding it hard to concentrate on the Crown Jewels. They were very beautiful and obviously quite priceless, and normally she would have been paralyzed with wonder. But his lords.h.i.+p had said they were to see the royal menagerie, which was also housed in the Tower of London, and Arabella was all impatience to go there.

Indeed, seeing the animals had been their main reason for coming. His lords.h.i.+p had told her at breakfast that George and Emily might be expected in about a week's time, but that in the meantime she might enjoy seeing some different animals. There was even an elephant in the menagerie, apparently. Arabella could not imagine an animal that was reputedly so large.

Frances had exclaimed with delight when Arabella had told her late in the morning that they were to go to the Tower of London when his lords.h.i.+p returned home after luncheon. He had gone to a boxing saloon for the morning. Arabella wished she could see him box. She would wager that he would pummel into the ground any opponent he cared to challenge.

Frances had not been interested in the menagerie. She had wanted to see the Crown Jewels. So here they were, Arabella thought as she stood quietly at her husband's side, her arm tucked within his, while Frances sighed in ecstasy over every diamond and pearl in Mary of Modena's crown, with its purple velvet and ermine cap and its solid gold band.

”Just imagine being queen and actually wearing that,” she said wistfully.

”Saint Edward's crown is very much grander,” Lord Astor said, ”as you will see when we come to it. It apparently weighs all of seven pounds.”

”Gracious!” Arabella said. ”It is amazing that the king's neck does not slide right down into his chest when it is upon his head.”

Lord Astor laughed down at her. ”It is no wonder that kings are reputed to sit on their thrones all day, is it?” he said. ”It must take two muscular courtiers merely to raise them to their feet.”

They both laughed merrily while Frances moved on to gaze upon the ampulla and spoon.

”Do you suppose the king will ever regain his health?” Arabella asked suddenly, sobering and gazing earnestly into her husband's eyes. ”Do you hear anything of his recovery, my lord?”

”I am afraid not much hope is held out, Arabella,” he said, smiling gently down at her. ”The king is very sick.” He touched her gloved hand lightly with his fingertips.

”Poor King George!” she said. ”I wish he could know that his subjects still love him and admire him and wish him to recover. Do you think he knows, my lord?”

”I am quite sure he does,” he said, and he curled his fingers under hers for a moment and squeezed them.

She flushed deeply suddenly and looked jerkily away from him. ”Let us see this crown,” she said. ”The one the king wore at his coronation.”

Another twenty minutes pa.s.sed before they finally moved on to the menagerie. Even Arabella stood spellbound before the grand crown and told herself in awe that she was within a foot of the crown that the king himself had once worn on his head. And then on the way out of the apartments that housed the jewels, Lord Astor was accosted by a tall, thin young man with carrot-red hair, pale eyebrows, and a boyish, lopsided grin. Arabella liked him immediately. He was not at all handsome or grand.

”Astor!” he said. ”What an unexpected place in which to meet you. I thought you were in the country.” His eyes slid curiously to Arabella and Frances.

”I returned three days ago,” Lord Astor said. ”How d'ye do, Farraday? May I present my wife, Lady Astor, and her sister, Miss Wilson? Lord Farraday, an old university friend of mine.”

Arabella beamed at him while Frances curtsied. Here was a man with whom she was sure she could feel perfectly comfortable. She hoped they would see more of him.

”How do you do, my lord?” she said. ”Have you come to see the jewels too? They really are a splendid sight. The king's coronation crown weighs seven pounds, you know. His lords.h.i.+p has brought us here because we are new to London and want to see absolutely everything. At least, my sister wanted to see the jewels, so we came here first. I want to see the menagerie, and that is where we are going now. There is an elephant there. Have you ever seen it? Perhaps you would like to come with us?”

Lord Farraday bowed to her and grinned. ”I would like nothing better, ma'am,” he said. ”But I have lost my mother and my grandmother somewhere around here. My mother will surely rip up at me if I take another half-hour to visit the animals. Will you be at Lady Berry's tonight, Astor?”

”Most certainly,” the viscount said. ”You can imagine how agog my aunt is to show off my wife to all her guests, Farraday.”

”I shall see you there,” the baron said. Then, turning to the ladies and smiling, ”I shall do myself the honor of paying my respects to you again tonight, ma'am, Miss Wilson.”

Arabella smiled, but her eyes had lost some of their sparkle. Lady Berry was eager to ”show her off” to her guests? She was to be the center of attraction at tonight's soiree? She would be introduced as Lord Astor's wife. Everyone present there would see what a very unfortunate choice of bride he had felt obliged to make. They would see Frances at her side and wonder why she was not the new Lady Astor. And Arabella had not even had time to lose more than a few ounces of weight!

It was perhaps fortunate for her that Lord Farraday moved on in search of his female relatives and her own party turned in the direction of the menagerie. Her spirits rose immediately. Even Frances seemed eager to see the elephant.

They stood gazing at it a few minutes later. Arabella was speechless. It was huge. But there was far more than its size to stupefy the viewer. It legs were like tree trunks. And its skin was wrinkled and leathery. It looked a thousand years old. Its eyes were small and seemed almost human in its mammoth body.