Malcolm was sure Regan kept eyeing him in the most impure fashion during the entire meal. The only saving grace was that her son was too young to understand what her sultry looks meant. The butler who stood nearby, however, was old enough to know what was going on, and it only added to Malcolm’s discomfort.
Surely, the staff didn’t know what he and Regan had done last evening. Well, yes, they knew. It was the wedding night, after all. But certainly, they hadn’t heard anything. Had they?
At one point, he glanced at the butler, and he thought he saw the older man smirk.
I’m imagining it, Malcolm told himself then forced his attention from the butler.
“What are you going to do today?” Regan asked before she picked up a strawberry.
“I’m going to White’s,” he said.
She let out a pretty frown. “You are?”
“Yes.” The sooner he made it clear he wasn’t going to let her dictate his life, the better. It was bad enough she wiggled her way into this marriage. “I have important gentlemen to talk to.”
“But I thought you said you had set aside an entire week to dedicate your time to me,” she replied. “I believe it was in the missive you sent when I requested you meet me before the wedding.”
“Circumstances changed,” he said, forcing aside the small inkling of guilt that threatened to overtake him. “I thought I hadn’t met you when I made that promise. It wasn’t like I knew who you were.”
Eyebrows raised, she offered a playful shrug. “All right. Have it your way…for now.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. Before he could consider the impact of her words, she put the strawberry halfway into her mouth. With a wink at him, she let her tongue glide over it, slowly working around the entire thing.
Face warm, he quickly looked away before the suggestive move excited him more than it should. If he wasn’t careful, he’d get an erection. Recalling the butler, he almost looked in his direction, wondering if the butler had seen her scandalous little act, but he managed to keep his focus on the plate in front of him.
“What do you want to do today, Leonard?” Regan asked her son.
Relieved she’d finally taken her attention off of him, Malcolm resumed eating. He didn’t know what to make of his new wife. What other lady would dare do such bold things in front of the staff? Didn’t anything—anything at all—embarrass her?
He’d have to have a word with her when they were alone. He was her husband now, and since that was the case, it was his responsibility to lay down some rules. This kind of thing couldn’t keep going on.
“I want to be with Father,” Leonard said.
Malcolm almost swallowed his eggs the wrong way. Didn’t the boy get enough of him yesterday? He’d spent the entire day with him after the wedding. Surely, the lad had other interests besides him.
“I’m afraid you can’t go to the gentleman’s club,” Regan told her son. “It’s only for adult gentlemen, and those that are allowed there have to be voted in.”
“Your mother’s right. It’s an exclusive club. Only the best of the best get in.” Recalling the fact that Logan belonged there, too, he added, “Of course, there are a few who were granted the honor of belonging to it. I’m not sure how they got in. I assume they knew someone of influence or had significant money.”
“Sometimes it’s who you know that matters in this society,” Regan mused. “Leonard, as you get older, you’ll come to realize this truth.”
Malcolm bristled. “Well, knowing the right people does matter.”
Turning her startled expression to him, Regan said, “I wasn’t talking about you. I was speaking of the Ton.”
He relaxed. “Oh. In that case, I apologize.”
“Not everything I say or think about has to do with you, Mr. Jasper.” She took a sip of her milk then put the glass back on the table. “I’ll tell you what, Leonard. Why don’t we visit Danette today?”
The boy’s shoulders slumped. “That will be boring.”
“No, it won’t. She has toys she brings out whenever you’re there.”
“But you talk and talk and talk. It’s boring.”
“I hate to spoil things for you,” Malcolm began, directing his attention to Leonard, “but the gentlemen at White’s do the same thing. They might play chess or engage in a bet, but mostly, it’s talk.” The boy didn’t seem to like hearing this, so he added, “When you grow up, you’ll enjoy it.”
“After we go to Danette’s, we’ll go to the park,” Regan offered.
The boy’s eyes lit up, and he was much more content to spend a couple of hours listening to ladies engage in boring talk. Malcolm couldn’t blame the lad for dreading it. Ladies hardly had anything of interest to say. Their talk was often on the fashion, gossip, or babies. Malcolm was much happier dealing with money, which reminded him…
He wiped his mouth with the napkin then set it on the plate. “I just remembered I have something important in my bedchamber. I need it for White’s.” He glanced at Regan. It would be rude to hop up and leave without her permission.
As if she could read his mind, she nodded. “You may go.”
Surprised she didn’t protest or give him another suggestive gesture, he thanked her and hurried to his bedchamber. He searched through his trunk and was relieved to see the butler had packed the modified plans he’d made after going to Warren’s dinner party. Warren would love to see how well the new plans turned out.
He put them on the dresser then debated whether or not he should change. No. It’d be unnecessary. When he’d dressed that morning, he’d had his trip to White’s in mind. Gripping the rolled-up parchment, he turned to leave his bedchamber when the door opened and Regan walked in.
He frowned. “I hope you won’t make it a habit of coming into my bedchamber.”
She rose her eyebrows in mock innocence as she clasped her hands together, an action which made her breasts press nicely together. “You didn’t seem to mind what happened after I came in last night.”
His gaze went to her cleavage, and a surge of warmth flooded his loins. Irritated, he forced his gaze back to her face. “I just remembered I have something very important to discuss with you.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Your behavior downstairs this morning was inappropriate.”
“What behavior was that?”
He debated whether or not he should come right out and say it. She knew full well what he was referring to. She was baiting him. He could see it in her eyes.
“Do you enjoy playing games like a child, Regan?” he asked.
“I assure you, my dear husband, childish games were not what I had in mind.”
He didn’t know how to respond to that. If this was a discussion about money, he’d know exactly what to say, but these sexual insinuations were new territory.
“Malcolm,” she walked over to him, “I’m not trying to be difficult. I know that, to you, it seems like I am, but really, I’m not. I want us to get along.”
“If that’s true, don’t do disgusting things like licking a strawberry.”
“Did you really find it disgusting?”
This time, he sensed her raised eyebrows stemmed from genuine surprise. “Yes, it was. I doubt the butler found it the least bit amusing.”
“But I didn’t do it for the butler. I did it for you. I was thinking tonight we could try something different. Just think of the strawberry as your more interesting part.”
He gasped and covered the area of his groin, though he was fully clothed. “I have no such inclination to do that.”
Her eyes widened. “You don’t?”
“Certainly not. I don’t know what you take me for, but I am a gentleman.”
“The reason you’re a gentleman is why you should enjoy having a lady’s mouth on your—”
“Enough. You don’t have to say the word.”
“Are you telling me you don’t want me to do that?”
Since she was being sincere in asking the question, he figured he’d answer it. “The purpose of being intimate is to have children. I don’t see how doing the thing you proposed with the strawberry is going to accomplish that.”
“Not everything we do has to result in children.”
“I see no reason to do something unless there’s a purpose for it.”
“The purpose would be fun. Enjoyment. Pleasure.”
“I find all the fun I need from making money.” Glancing at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room, he said, “I want to make sure I get to White’s by the time Warren does. He likes to get there early.”
“Warren?” she asked as he walked around her.
“Lord Steinbeck.” He looked back at her and smiled. “I get to refer to him by his Christian name. Not every gentleman gets that honor. I took a look at your ledger, and I can easily double what you have in two years. That’s why meetings with people of Warren’s reputation are of the utmost importance.”
He was hoping she’d looked suitably impressed, but she only stared at him as if she hadn’t heard a single thing he’d said. Well, maybe when she realized how much he was capable of earning, she’d understand why he had much more important things to do than spend all day in a bedchamber.
***
Regan was confounded. Completely and utterly confounded. Even after she made it to Danette’s, the conversation she’d shared with Malcolm in his bedchamber still had her at a loss.
She’d thought for sure after experiencing the bliss of lovemaking that Malcolm would want to engage in it for the sole purpose of enjoyment. But he surprised her. He still thought it should only be for having children. He thought making money was far more enjoyable, and, worse than that, he would rather spend time with conceited know-it-alls like Lord Steinbeck.
If only she could discuss this matter with Frederick. He’d know what to do. But then, if Frederick was alive, she wouldn’t be in this situation.
She glanced at Danette who was giving Leonard a tart. It was a shame she couldn’t talk to her friend about this. Her friend had never been married. Her world was in books, and nothing she ever read was remotely interesting.
“My father is nice,” Leonard told Danette.
“That’s wonderful,” Danette replied. Picking up a cup of tea, she turned to Regan. “Would you like more tea?”
Regan glanced down at the cup she was holding, which was still full. “No, I still have enough.”
Danette nodded and settled back on the settee she and Regan were sitting on. “It’s good Mr. Jasper gets along so well with your son. It’s what you hoped for.”
“Yes, it is.” She glanced at her son then whispered, “He needed a father.” And Frederick would have wanted it for him. In a louder voice, she added, “You can call him Malcolm.”
“But I call him ‘father’,” Leonard said.
“Right,” she replied.
Danette studied her as she sipped some tea. “Is something wrong?”
Regan tried to figure out the best way to express her concerns. She couldn’t come right out and say what was on her mind. Not only would Danette not understand, but Leonard was listening. Finally, she opted for, “Malcolm and I aren’t getting along as well as I’d hoped.”
“You can’t be surprised,” Danette told her, her voice soft to help lessen the blow of her words. “He didn’t exactly like you.”
“He didn’t give me a chance.”
“But you didn’t give him a reason to. What gentleman wants to be pursued?”
“Frederick did.”
“Yes, but Frederick wasn’t like other gentlemen.”
There was no arguing that statement. Regan doubted any other husband would be happy to help her write a book instructing gentlemen on how to pleasure their wives.
“Maybe you should let Malcolm pursue you for a change,” Danette suggested.
Lowering her voice, she said, “The only thing he wants to pursue is money. Maybe if I wore a dress made up of pounds, he’d take an interest in me.”
Her friend giggled. “Oh, what a sight that would be.”
Despite her sour mood, Regan chuckled. She could just see it now. He’d be running after her, trying to grab every last pound until she was naked. But knowing him, he’d run off with the money instead of taking her to bed.
“It’s a shame you don’t have a gentleman to talk to,” Danette said. “A gentleman would best know what to tell you about Malcolm.”
Regan considered her friend’s words as she sipped her tea. A gentleman would be the ideal source of advice. Gentlemen had a different way of looking at things than ladies did. She thought through all the gentlemen Frederick had introduced her to, and she quickly dismissed all of them. She hadn’t given them more than a polite greeting since his death. What she needed was a gentleman she knew well enough to have a private discussion with, and better yet, he had to be someone who didn’t mind talk of a personal nature.
She gasped when Melissa’s husband came to mind. Of course! Logan had been very bold in his speech yesterday after the wedding. He might not be friends with Malcolm, but he had a good sense of humor. She couldn’t think of anyone else who might be able to help her. If she asked him for help, and he refused to do it, then at least she’d know she’d tried.
“Danette,” she turned her attention back to her friend who was doting on Leonard, “would you watch my son for an hour? I think I know someone who might help me with Malcolm.”
“I’ll be happy to stay with Leonard,” Danette said. “He’s a delightful lad.”
“That’s why Father likes me,” Leonard replied, his smile wide.
“No one could resist you. You’re nice and intelligent. Those are good qualities.”
Regan watched Danette, thinking it was a shame her friend had been so quick to give up on marriage. Granted, she’d gone through three Seasons and had two failed engagements, but she still had time to find a husband.
“May you find what you need,” Danette told Regan.
“Thank you,” Regan replied, smiling at her friend. Looking at her son, she added, “Be good.”
“I will. I’m nice and intelli-i-ge-a-ment,” her son stammered in an effort to pronounce the word ‘intelligent’.
Regan chuckled before hurrying out of the drawing room.