Free Those Endearing Young Charms by Marion Chesney Page B

servants'
    gossip had a truly marvelous way of carrying a very long distance.
    Emily was relieved to find she had a private bedchamber and drawing room. Felice chattered happily as she set about unpacking her mistress's belongings. La! It was dark and cold. And _old_.
    Emily answered automatically. What did this husband of hers plan to do with her?
    She had awakened feeling both ill and hungry. Try as she would, she could not remember anything after the first few glasses of wine in the taproom at Market Warborough. She had imagined all sorts of horrors. But Felice had somewhat reassured her by saying that my lord had carried Emily upstairs, as far as she knew, without waking her.
    The earl had hardly spoken on the journey to Maxton Court.
    A footman scratched at the door to announce supper, and Emily hastily finished her toilet and followed him downstairs and then along cold, shadowy passages.
    The dining room was immense and faced north. A huge fire, big enough to roast an ox, did little to alleviate the pervading chill.
    The earl was in evening dress and already seated at one end of the long table. Emily sat at the other and stared at her husband across a long, narrow stretch of white linen, silver, and glass.
    They ate their way through dish after dish, Emily barely tasting her food.
    The tablecloth was then removed and the fruit, nuts, and wine brought in. The servants retired.
    The earl spoke. "If you will pour yourself a glass of wine, you may send it down to me."
    Emily looked nervously at the little silver wagon on wheels at her elbow, which contained three decanters: port, sherry, and madeira. She poured herself a glass of madeira, carefully put the crystal decanter back on the wagon, and gave it a push. One of the wheels appeared to have jammed. The earl sighed and rapped one long finger on the table.

    She gave it an enormous push. The old floors of the house were uneven and the dining room was on a definite slope. The wagon set off decorously enough, but it gathered momentum as it sped down the long, polished table. The earl put out his hand a second too late. It flew past him and sailed off the end of the table, continued on its journey, and crashed into the far wall.
    "I am _so_ sorry," babbled Emily, "but you see..."
    "No matter," said the earl. He stood up and went to retrieve the wagon. The contents were miraculously undamaged. He carried it back to the table and poured himself a glass of port.
    Emily began to giggle nervously. The earl raised his thin eyebrows. Emily began to laugh, and the more supercilious her husband's expression became, the harder she laughed. "We look so _silly,_" she gasped at last.

"I beg your pardon," he said.
    "There you are!" shouted Emily. "You can barely hear me, which is not in the slightest amazing, since you are seated about a mile away."
    The earl picked up the decanter in one hand and his glass in the other and walked down the length of the table, pulled out a chair next to Emily, and sat down.
    Emily's laughter died abruptly, and she shrank back in her chair.
    "Now," he said evenly, "we have a great deal to discuss."
    "Yes, Devenham," whispered Emily.
    She hung her head, her blond curls tumbling about her face. Her evening gown of gold silk was cut low enough to show the rapid rise and fall of two excellent breasts. He wrenched his eyes away and stared stonily down the table. The tremendous attraction she held for him was, he was sure, the result of overlong celibacy. Any woman who was not precisely an antidote would have held the same attraction.
    "The situation is this," he said, taking a sip of wine and placing the glass carefully on the table. "We are locked in a marriage that is distasteful to both of us. This was brought about by your childish play-acting and interference."
    Emily flushed with anger. She felt her action had not been without a certain amount of nobility.
    "But, here we are. I expect you to learn the role of a countess. That is not too much to ask. I