Mantheria shook her head.“No.To the carriage.I cannot wait a minute longer for us to start our wedding trip, and Andrew has assured me that he will be perfectly happy staying with Becca, Phineas, and Kitty for a few weeks.Lady Dutton is also going to visit them there, and I am pleased to share that Kitty is now a captain in Andrew’s army.”
“A high honor,” Sunny said, taking her hand, and together, they ran through the castle courtyard to his carriage.He lifted her inside and instructed his driver to leave at once.Then he got in beside her and leaned his head back against the squabs.“For a moment, I feared that you were going to make a run for it.”
She took his hand and pressed a warm kiss into the palm.“Please forgive me, my dearest friend and my forever love.I am still scared of failing you, but I love you too much not to try to be a good wife.”
“You don’t have to try to be a good wife.You just have to be you.That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Exhaling, she sat beside her new husband.Sunny did not touch her but smiled at her tenderly.Slowly, the fear turned into tingling of anticipation that covered her skin.This was not a stranger who would hurt her, but her dearest friend.She leaned closer to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.“Where are you taking me on our wedding trip, husband?”
He shrugged his shoulders.“It’s a surprise, my reluctant duchess.”
Blushing, she whispered, “I am not feeling reluctant now.”
Sunny gently reached to cup her cheek with his hand.Instinctively, she closed her eyes and rubbed her face against the roughened skin of his fingers.It felt good.More than good.Then his other hand cupped the opposite side of her face, and she felt his warm breath, caressing her lips.
His next kiss was just as gentle and devastating as the first, but their mouths were open, and his tongue tentatively played at the entrance, but he didn’t force it into her mouth and practically down her throat like Alexander had on their wedding night.Sunny’s tongue was soft and teasing, gently pleasing.His hands moved from her cheeks to her shoulders, pressing her closer to him.This was bliss.
Sunny’s kisses deepened, and Mantheria’s body began to feel out of her control.Instinctively, she pulled away, breaking the kiss.She gave him an awkward smile.“Did you like that?”she said, repeating his question after they’d kissed during his proposal.
“Very much.And you, my duchess?”
“Perfectly satisfactory.”
He grinned at her and then pressed a reverent kiss to her brow.“I am more than willing to practice my skills until they reach a level of quality that meets your exacting requirements.”
Mantheria leaned her head against his shoulder.Her heart was still beating wildly like a jack rabbit, and her hands were shaking a little.Sunny did not press her for more kissing or touching.Or even conversation.He merely held her trembling hand in his.Sunny’s skin felt warm and wonderful against hers.
The carriage stopped abruptly.Mantheria glanced out of the window, and she did not recognize the small village.“Where are we?”
“The exotic village of Chewton Mendip.”
A gurgle of laughter escaped her throat.
Sunny opened the door to the carriage.“I knew that you were bereft at missing the opportunity to visit this exciting location, and I thought it would be a great place to spend our first night together as man and wife.I have reserved the best parlor and bedchambers at its foremost inn.”
The mention of a bed set Mantheria’s nerves on edge.Still, she accepted his assistance out of the carriage and allowed him to escort her inside the inn and up to the private parlor.Her heart beat in her throat as Sunny asked the innkeeper to send up their dinner immediately.Turning away from her new husband to recover her composure, Mantheria was grateful that there was a meal imminent.
Mantheria couldn’t help but think of her first wedding night and how she’d asked for darkness so that Alexander wouldn’t see how terrified she was.Or the fact that she had closed her eyes and tried to remember Miss Cluess’s advice for how a proper young lady behaved in the marriage bed: lie still and think of something else until it is over, and do not make any untoward noises or words of complaint, even if it hurts.And it hurt.The pain had been excruciating.Mantheria had bit down on her lower lip to keep in her tears.The following nights had been a blur of discomfort and feeling like she was not in her own body.
The last time she’d been intimate with a man was twelve years ago.
“Can I help you take off your pelisse and bonnet?”Sunny asked.
Glancing over her shoulder, Mantheria saw that they were alone in the private parlor.Her pulse quickened, and she couldn’t help but think that Sunny was already trying to undress her.Swallowing, she shook her head.“I can manage.”
Her fingers trembled as she untied the bow of her bonnet and removed her pelisse.Sunny reverently hung them on the hat rack.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I should like to wash up before supper,” Sunny said, pointing to the door on the left of the room.“My bedchamber is here, and yours is there.If you’d like to freshen up, too.”
Sunny had reserved Mantheria her own room.He would not be pushing for his “husbandly rights” or for any intimacies that she was not yet ready to give.Her pulse slowed down to the normal rate, and she was able to go into her well-aired bedchamber and wash her hands and face.
Mantheria returned to the private parlor just as the innkeeper and his wife were laying out the meal on the table.Sunny thanked the pair and then escorted them to the door.Mantheria sat down at the table and discovered that she was ravenous.Her breakfast had been hours before.She took the lids off the tureens and dished herself up a hearty plate of meat and potatoes.Sunny took a seat by her and did the same.They ate in companionable silence.Mantheria chewed each bite slowly so as to make the meal last for as long as possible.After they finished eating, what were they supposed to do in a small village?Go on a walk?Read a sermon on their wedding night?
She pictured Sunny holding a book of Fordyce’s Sermons, and she couldn’t help but giggle.
His warm brown eyes were on her face.“What’s so funny, my love?”
“I was wondering if you brought a book of sermons to read aloud, should the evening grow long.”