raggedly as his own.
He could no longer wait. There was no doubt she was ready for him. By sheer will, he forced himself to go slowly, but she showed no signs of discomfort or distress. In fact, she instinctively drew him deeper, propelling him over the edge until he could not think at all. His mouth crushed onto hers as he drove them into ever higher spirals of dizziness until together they burst into a thousand pieces and crashed back to earth, practically unconscious.
“Dear Lord,” he gasped, shifting so she could breathe.
“Mmm...”
With his last ounce of energy, he drew the sheet over their still-entwined bodies and was instantly asleep.
Chapter 4
Caroline retrieved some stationery from the library for making notes and tried not to dwell on her first night as a wife. It would take time to fit the evening into proper perspective, but her impressions were encouraging, confirming several of her previous suspicions.
That Thomas was an established rake seemed probable. He was so obviously adept at the art of seduction. And the strength of his passion was equally clear. Despite their incredible initial encounter, he had awakened her twice during the night. Thankfully, she had enjoyed herself as much as he so obviously did, and she blessed her sisters for their encouragement. Society held that ladies were expected to barely tolerate the duty of the marriage bed, and her mother had seemed not to know how to broach the subject given the suddenness of her marriage and the lack of any pretense of affection.
But how did such mutual satisfaction fit with separate bedrooms? More than ever she resolved to guard her heart. Any rapport was purely physical. It was dangerous to read more into the night than actually existed. A rake rarely cared who the partner of the moment was. All he required was a woman who willingly accepted his advances.
“Good morning, ma’am,” said Mrs. Peters as Caroline reached the hall.
“Mrs. Peters.” She nodded. “Shall we begin? I want to see every room today, so Mr. Mannering can decide where to start.”
“I must apologize for the state of–” the housekeeper began.
“No apologies are necessary,” interrupted Caroline, loathe to endure a day of such sentiments. “I am aware of the estate’s history, but the past is over. We are now concerned with the future, starting with a top to bottom cleaning. How many temporary workers can be located by tomorrow?”
“Quite a few, I am sure. There is little to do in the fields this time of year, though farm laborers are not trained for indoor duties.”
“We will manage quite well. I spoke at length with Sarah last night. She described the domestic servant apprenticeships you have offered.” She was surprised to see a flush spread across the housekeeper’s face at this change of subject and noted a flash of trepidation in her eyes. “I approve of your efforts and have every intention of continuing such a worthwhile policy,” she assured her. “Why would anyone expect otherwise?”
“Well” —Mrs. Peters hesitated, then succumbed to temptation— “the previous owner was a regular nipfarthing, never willing to spend a groat on the estate, even if that meant poor service and decaying surroundings. Mr. Tibbins had been ordered to extract all possible profits, especially after the old gent moved on to stay with a sister in London. He would not have countenanced even the room and board I supply to the girls.”
“But Mr. Mannering has never expressed such sentiments,” she riposted before catching the housekeeper’s unbelieving eye and forcing herself to think. “Of course, he has not previously spent much time or thought on Crawley,” she conceded.
“There you have it,” agreed Mrs. Peters. “And he left Mr. Tibbins in charge with no change in his instructions.”
“There will be changes now,” she promised, “for he cannot have known what those instructions were.”
No more was said about the
He could no longer wait. There was no doubt she was ready for him. By sheer will, he forced himself to go slowly, but she showed no signs of discomfort or distress. In fact, she instinctively drew him deeper, propelling him over the edge until he could not think at all. His mouth crushed onto hers as he drove them into ever higher spirals of dizziness until together they burst into a thousand pieces and crashed back to earth, practically unconscious.
“Dear Lord,” he gasped, shifting so she could breathe.
“Mmm...”
With his last ounce of energy, he drew the sheet over their still-entwined bodies and was instantly asleep.
Chapter 4
Caroline retrieved some stationery from the library for making notes and tried not to dwell on her first night as a wife. It would take time to fit the evening into proper perspective, but her impressions were encouraging, confirming several of her previous suspicions.
That Thomas was an established rake seemed probable. He was so obviously adept at the art of seduction. And the strength of his passion was equally clear. Despite their incredible initial encounter, he had awakened her twice during the night. Thankfully, she had enjoyed herself as much as he so obviously did, and she blessed her sisters for their encouragement. Society held that ladies were expected to barely tolerate the duty of the marriage bed, and her mother had seemed not to know how to broach the subject given the suddenness of her marriage and the lack of any pretense of affection.
But how did such mutual satisfaction fit with separate bedrooms? More than ever she resolved to guard her heart. Any rapport was purely physical. It was dangerous to read more into the night than actually existed. A rake rarely cared who the partner of the moment was. All he required was a woman who willingly accepted his advances.
“Good morning, ma’am,” said Mrs. Peters as Caroline reached the hall.
“Mrs. Peters.” She nodded. “Shall we begin? I want to see every room today, so Mr. Mannering can decide where to start.”
“I must apologize for the state of–” the housekeeper began.
“No apologies are necessary,” interrupted Caroline, loathe to endure a day of such sentiments. “I am aware of the estate’s history, but the past is over. We are now concerned with the future, starting with a top to bottom cleaning. How many temporary workers can be located by tomorrow?”
“Quite a few, I am sure. There is little to do in the fields this time of year, though farm laborers are not trained for indoor duties.”
“We will manage quite well. I spoke at length with Sarah last night. She described the domestic servant apprenticeships you have offered.” She was surprised to see a flush spread across the housekeeper’s face at this change of subject and noted a flash of trepidation in her eyes. “I approve of your efforts and have every intention of continuing such a worthwhile policy,” she assured her. “Why would anyone expect otherwise?”
“Well” —Mrs. Peters hesitated, then succumbed to temptation— “the previous owner was a regular nipfarthing, never willing to spend a groat on the estate, even if that meant poor service and decaying surroundings. Mr. Tibbins had been ordered to extract all possible profits, especially after the old gent moved on to stay with a sister in London. He would not have countenanced even the room and board I supply to the girls.”
“But Mr. Mannering has never expressed such sentiments,” she riposted before catching the housekeeper’s unbelieving eye and forcing herself to think. “Of course, he has not previously spent much time or thought on Crawley,” she conceded.
“There you have it,” agreed Mrs. Peters. “And he left Mr. Tibbins in charge with no change in his instructions.”
“There will be changes now,” she promised, “for he cannot have known what those instructions were.”
No more was said about the
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