The Werewolf's Pregnant Bride by Jane B. Night Page B

needed.
    "Yes. My father and the Marquess go hunting together about once a month. It is a long held family tradition," Claire said.
    "It is a lovely time to stay home. Much of the staff joins them and the house is quiet," Mercy added.
    "You do not join them?" Sophronia asked. He could see the look of disappointment on her face.
    "No. Eldon and Nathaniel go to hunt and Claire goes because it is a chance to see her father and visit with her sister and step-mother," Mercy explained.
    "And why do you not go?" Sophronia asked.
    "My father feels that the women in his family should not hunt. It is a very masculine sport," Mercy explained. It was not a perfect cover story but he hoped it would do. He could force Sophronia to stay home but he did not want to have to exert his power as her husband over something so trivial. She would likely think him a brute.
    "I do not enjoy the killing of innocent little creatures," Sophronia said after a moment.
    "It will be a lovely time to catch up on reading. Have your read any books by Jane Austen? I have read all that she has written and I do believe they are my favorites. I only read them when the men are away. My father does not exactly approve of such books," Mercy said.
    "He does not want your head filled with nonsense," Nathaniel said.
    "If you had ever read a single book by Jane Austen you would know that they are not full of nonsense," Sophronia said. She gave him a look of indignation. He had no idea she was a booklover let alone a fan of such ridiculous fantasies. He had actually read a few of the books just to see what his sister was always sighing about. She could have her guilty little pleasure books. He preferred Shakespeare and Sophocles. At least characters like Antigone did what they needed to do and did not sit around simpering and waiting for a husband to save them from the woes of poverty or whatever else the silly women worried about. He did not see the same heroics in the Austen characters that his sister did but it was forgivable at least in her. He could see how Mercy's troubles mirrored Austen's characters. She had always expected to marry Daniel but without being a werewolf that was nearly impossible. She might marry a man of some rank someday but there were few who knew about werewolves and were not either were-kind themselves or those serving them. There were not many Dukes, Counts, or Earls out in the world who were not were -kind and still had knowledge of the fantastical world. There was no way that their father could let Mercy marry someone who had no knowledge of their world unless there was a desperate need. Of course, there would never be a desperate need. Mercy would be looked after by her father and brothers into her old age. He could imagine that a woman with few marriage prospects might find the Austen books hopeful.
    Still,  he could not imagine why they would appeal to a woman like his wife. She was an American strumpet who had married far above what she deserved. She had made out far better than any of the characters Austen had created.
    "My brother prefers much older works," Mercy said. "Father says he has an old soul."
    "I have read widely. Perhaps one day we will talk and see if our readings have overlapped," Sophronia said. Her smile innerved him. Her haughty stance annoyed him but the moistness of her lips made him want to cover her mouth with his and taste her.
    He was going to need to get past these ridiculous feelings of desire if they were to have a happy marriage. His father had ordered him to bed her but surely he could have had no idea of the results. The last thing Nathaniel needed was to lust after her. At least with Vivian the lust was sensible. She was a she-wolf who would breed healthy were-children. Sophronia was nothing. The babe she carried might be a were-child or not. Her future babes might be were-kind or not. Filling her with children was a toss of the dice as to whether it would benefit the pack. Such lust for her was little more