A Seven Year Hitch (31 page)

While Erica jumped down to be enveloped in an embrace from Ross’ mother, the Duke officially welcomed her into his family. “Glad to see my son
has inherited my good sense,” he joked. “You are the perfect choice for him and I could not be happier. Congratulations my dear.” He then turned to his heir and hugged him. “Congratulations, son.”

Erica did not have to wait long for her own family to approve her nuptials although some, with no prior warning, were experiencing a little difficulty fully appreciating the turn of events. She was drawn into hug after hug from Aunts, Uncles and Cousins until Ross, who had also been subjected to familial congratulations and displays of affection, managed to make his way to her side. Lifting her onto the stage, he climbed up afterwards and called for quiet.

“My wife and I, having deprived you seven years ago of a wedding breakfast, would like to make it up to you now. We cordially invite you to join us this evening to celebrate our nuptials.”

“Mrs. Kavanagh and Boodle have been preparing it all day and asks that we be assembled in the draw
ing room for no later than nine o’clock.” Erica added. “So we will see you all then.”

             
A champagne reception was underway when Erica entered the drawing room a little while later. Ross was already there, standing before the fireplace and chatting to Sir Richard and Michael, looking breathtakingly handsome in his black evening attire, relieved by the frothy white of his shirt and cravat. The clothes showed off his tall, fine physique to advantage and she found herself blushing as she remembered what lay beneath the layers of material. Looking up at that moment, Ross saw her and making his excuses, he made his way to her side.

“I refuse to rel
inquish you tonight, my love,” he told her, catching hold of her hand and placing it on his arm so that they could traverse the room together.  

“Our announcement seem
s to have been well received,” she commented.

“From the comments made by Sir Richard, it seems we have been the objects of speculation from fairly soon after the house party began. It appears many of your relatives were of the opinion that you and I would suit and there were plans afoot to throw us together at every opportunity, if we did not come to an agreement by the end of this fortnight.”

“Family!” she said, “I have always made it perfectly clear that I would not submit to their matchmaking but they still persevere.”

“Not any more, my darling!” he laughed “but you cannot be cross with them this time, for they picked me as your ideal mate and have accepted me with genuine delight.”

“Will your family welcome me as your bride, do you think?” she asked, suddenly nervous at the thought of meeting Ross’ relatives.
”Of-course, although I must warn you, most of them are dead bores and incredibly starchy. My parents and I spend as little time as possible with them. I have always wanted to belong to a family such as yours and will enjoy welcoming them to gatherings in our home. It is important to me that our children grow up with plenty of loving relatives,” he paused for a moment before saying, “I did mention that I would like lots of children, didn’t I?”

“Yes. ‘Three or four heirs and some daughters’” she quoted. “In fact, I believe you expressed a desire for a wife who resembled a brood mare!”

“What a good memory you have, my love,” he grinned at her. “I seem to recall promising to chastise you as well.”

“I may have agreed to remain your wife, Trevellyn
but don’t overplay your hand,” she warned, pretending to glare angrily at him.

“Don’t tell me you are falling out already?” Fiona asked approaching them at that moment with Stephen. But no response was necessary for at that moment Boodle appeared to announce dinner.

              Much later, Erica snuggled into her husband’s embrace, as they lay sated and content in his bed. The evening had been a resounding success and had eventually broken up around midnight, when, for the first time in their married life, they had been able to retire together. Some of the male cousins had been unable to resist passing comments laced with innuendo but Erica hid her blushes well and bade them a serene goodnight.

Their lovemaking that night had been relaxed and slow, Ross taking his time to explore her body and rouse her to climax. When he had been ready to enter her, he had sat her atop of him, and with hands on her hips he had guided her down onto his shaft, which was hard and throbbing. Only when she was fully impaled did he release her hips, moving his hands to enclose them around her full breasts.

“Ride me, sweetheart,” he had told her and watched as she began the rhythmic motion of rising and falling, and with each move they had both felt the tension mount; the desire building. Erica rode him faster, placing her hands on his chest and splaying her fingers. Their breathing became more ragged until with one final push down, she reached her climax. Ross had held on until the quivers racing through her body had subsided, before taking up the rhythm himself, thrusting up and in until he too had found release and filled her with his seed.

“Are there lots of different positions for making love?” she asked him now, although she was on the brink of sleep.

“Yes darling. And we can try them all,” he assured her.

“Perhaps tomorrow morning. . .” she began but then fell asleep before she could finish the sentence.

The ballroom drew gasps of delight from each set of guests as they arrived and waited to be announced to the assembled crowd. White and yellow satin had been draped artistically across the ceiling and around the walls giving the illusion of being the inside of a marquee, The colour scheme had been continued in elaborate floral displays, all entwined with ribbons, which decorated the ballroom and those reception rooms opened up for the event.

Erica stood beside Trevellyn in the reception line along with Gerald, Great Aunt Celia and Great Uncle James. It had been decided that she would introduce Ross as her husband and leave the relatives to pass it off as a love match made some years before, to the full knowledge of her family. Anyone brave or indiscreet enough to ask why the nuptials had remained secret would be told it was necessary because of Ross’ role in the campaign against Napoleon.

After what seemed an interminably long time, Ross and Erica were released from the line and took to the floor in order to open the dancing with a waltz. For one turn of the ballroom, the couple remained alone on the dance floor, Ross holding her at the correct distance and twirling her gracefully around. It was only as other couples joined in, that he pulled her more intimately against him and their dance on the terrace, two weeks before, was re-enacted.

“Ross, you are holding me too close, people will notice.”

“Hush darling, there are too many couples for anyone to notice us and besides, being your husband grants me certain privileges.”

Erica had dressed formally for the occasion in a lemon gown, cut low across her bosom and granting Ross a tantalizing glimpse of the creamy white orbs he knew lay beneath the fine silk of her dress. Her hair was piled high and threaded with pearls, matching the ones that were twined around her neck and dropped down to nestle in the valley between her breasts. Completing the ensemble were a pair of dangling pearl eardrops, that brushed against her exposed neck whenever she moved her head.

“Later, my darling girl, I will take you onto the terrace so that w
e can dance in the moonlight,” he whispered. “And I shall face the challenge of making love to you without disturbing that rather elaborate coiffure or creasing your gown.”

“There are some things beyond even your capabilities, my darl
ing, and that is one of them,” she chuckled, imagining the shock of all the guests were she to appear in the ballroom with her hair tumbling down and her gown crumpled. “Besides which, we have to be reasonably presentable for the toasts.”

“Ah yes, the toasts
,” he sighed.

             
Only close neighbours and friends had been invited to the ball, so most of the guests were known to each other. After the initial dance, Ross was taken around for the obligatory introductions and was given scant time to enjoy the company of his wife. A brief respite came in the form of Stephen who, taking pity on him, insisted he was needed to discuss aspects of the war with a retired General.

“The General is fast asleep in the corner and need not be
disturbed,” Stephen informed him as soon as they were out of earshot. “But we thought you looked to be in dire need of rescuing.”

“And you were right. I feel like a prized bull being displayed at the
County Fayre!”

“Oh poor you,
” Fiona sympathized. “Of-course, once the introductions are over, you will be expected to dance with all the young ladies.”

“I draw the line at that! I thought marriage protected one from such tasks. Surely there are enough unattached males in attendance to satisfy all the fawning matchmakers and their simpering daughters? I shall have to let drop into conversation that my brother-in-law is seriously looking about him for a bride. If I can distract them long enough, perhaps I ca
n sneak a dance with my wife,” he said hopefully, but their expressions did not give him hope.

“Don’t you dare tell them anything of the kind!” Gerald had come up behind him as he was talking and had heard every word. “They are bad enough now without giving them false hope. Do you know, the
Fullerton chit has just tried to entrap me? She lured me into the small drawing room on the pretext of Charlie wishing to see me. When we went in, not only was the room unoccupied but she closed the door and proceeded to lower her already indecently low gown!” He blanched at the recollection.

Fiona laughed and told him he should not have been so naïve as to accompany her in the first place.

“So how did you escape before mama conveniently burst in?”

“I leapt out the open window. You were right about her mother though. She sounded most put out with her daughter. I hovered long enough outside to hear the beginning of her tirade and then dashed around to the ballroom.”

“I don’t think Charlie is fairing much better,” Stephen told them. “If you look to my right now, you will see he has been cornered by the Fullerton’s younger daughter. He has been unsuccessfully trying to dodge her for the last half hour. The poor lad looks positively nauseous!”

“Someone needs to rescue him!” Fiona said and looked expectantly at the three gentlemen before her who all looked blankly back.

“Don’t look at me, after the close shave with the sister, I am not going within spitting distance of any of that man hungry family,” Gerald was adamant.

“Oh very well” Fiona sighed and stalked off to rescue her cousin. She returned not five minutes later with an ashen-faced Charlie in tow. “She is seriously scary, that one
,” he told them with a shudder. “A positive, man-devouring vampire.”

“Vampires don’t devour, they suck blood
,” Fiona scorned.

“That one does!” he retorted.

“You are safe now, for a little while anyway,” Stephen consoled him.

“Safety in numbers,
” Gerald muttered. “We need to stick together, Charlie!”

“You need wives!” Trevellyn said and was frowned at by the bachelors.

              The toast to the happy couple was to take place before supper, in the main ballroom and as planned, Boodle supervised the distribution of champagne just as the clock chimed ten o’clock. Ross sought out Erica and accompanied her to the small rostrum situated half way down the ballroom where Gerald stood, waiting for them with all the family members gathered round. His speech was all that was expected with genuine delight at welcoming the Marquis into his family and wishing the couple many more years of wedded bliss.

“So please, raise your glasses and drink a toast to the Marquis and Marchioness of Trevellyn.”

Relinquishing his place to Uncle William, another toast was then proposed as he announced; “I have great pleasure in announcing the engagement of my beloved daughter, Charlotte to Mr. Michael Stanier. May we wish them happy.”

The couple were immediately swamped by well wishers, all eager to offer congratulations and to admire the ring adorning
Charlotte’s left hand, and it was therefore much later that Erica managed to have a private word with Michael. “I am so pleased for you Michael, I know you will both be very happy,” she said giving him a big hug and receiving one in turn.

“Thank you, my dear, and may I say the same for you. Trevellyn is a good man and loves you deeply, Erica, I am sure your marriage will be as wonderful as I know mine will be.”

“Fiona is going to be impossible though!”

“How so?” he asked, puzzled. “She had observed your growing attraction to
Charlotte and informed me of it. She also told me that I would fall for Trevellyn’s charms! We will not hear the end of it you know”

             
Supper was a lively affair with much to celebrate and also tinged with a little sadness that the two-week family holiday was nearing its end.

“This year’s house party will certainly go down in the family history bo
oks as one of the most eventful,” Charlie announced to his cousins as they enjoyed the repast in the supper room. “Secret marriages, kidnappings, premier performances, ghost hunts and betrothals. Whoever is holding it next year has a big act to follow.”