An Unacceptable Arrangement by Victoria Winters Read Free Book Online Page B

her head and
began to weep. This was not how her beautiful daughter’s wedding
day was supposed to go. Lord Newblythe put his arm around his wife
and patted her as they watched their daughter’s carriage turn the
corner and go out of sight. He could not have denied that a tear or
two also wetted his eye.

Chapter 5
    Cassandra was glad
her husband had provided a closed carriage. It was beginning to
look like rain again. Frederic was sitting across from her looking
quite dashing as the carriage sped through the countryside. Finally
she was alone with her new husband, although he wasn’t the kind of
husband she’d had in mind though. Rather than being loving and
kind, he gave off an aura of solid steel, a strict sense of
command. She peeked at him from under her eyelashes, suddenly
feeling very young and unsure. He did not strike her as one who
would just go along with the wishes of another. She began to
suspect that this wedding had been all his idea. She thought back
to the ball, which must have been the first time he’d gotten a good
look at her. He must have decided then and there that she was to be
his wife and then made it happen. She realized that her new husband
was not a man to take lightly.
    She looked around; they appeared to be
heading towards London. Were they leaving on a honeymoon, or headed
to a hotel or a rented house? She knew absolutely nothing about
this man or what their life together would be, not to mention his
expectations of her. She watched him as he turned to say something
to the driver. She supposed that Sir Frederic was going to demand
his marital rights this very night. In fact, she was certain of it
based on the way he’d looked at her all day. She was not ignorant;
she had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen on her
wedding night. She and Nanette had been filled in with great detail
when Paulette had returned from her honeymoon. Thanks goodness,
because no information had been forthcoming from her
mother. 
    Frederic, as if reading her thoughts, took
her hand in his and leaned forward to stare into her eyes.
Cassandra looked down shyly. A part of her was terrified; another
part began to tingle. She had just been kissed for the first time
at the altar and within a few short hours, maybe even sooner, she
was expected to allow this virtual stranger to have his way with
her. Cassandra cringed and flushed. She didn’t know if she could do
this, but she realized that she had no choice. She would have to
stop being an infant and just allow whatever was going to happen
unfold. If she was old enough to be married, she was old enough to
deal with all that entailed.
    She closed her eyes and shuddered, trying to
imagine being unclothed in front of him. She prayed that their
bridal chamber would be dark. She thought of lying back and
allowing him to look upon and caress her body in whatever way he
wished. She knew that a part of his body was supposed to enter into
a part of hers. Would it hurt? What if they did not fit together?
What if it didn’t work? What if she didn’t please him? And she knew
that just lying there wasn’t going to be enough. She would be
expected to respond and to... do things... to him. What kind of
things? She should have asked Nanette’s sister more questions. She
began to tremble.
    “Are you cold, my darling?” her husband
asked. He removed his cloak and wrapped it around her. He looked
closely at Cassandra. She didn’t look cold; in fact she looked
rather overheated. Her face was quite flushed. She looked
embarrassed. As he studied her expression he realized what she was
fretting about. She was a virgin and tonight their wedding night.
Their kiss at the altar had undoubtedly been her first. She was
expecting him to claim his marital rights and the thought would
naturally unnerve her, especially since they were basically
strangers.
    Frederic took her hand in his and gave her a
reassuring smile. At the age of thirty, he had ample experience in
the art of love;