"Ellie, I know that you are an extremely intelligent woman." He waited for her to say something and when she didn't, he added, "It's why I married you."
"You married me," she bit off, "because you needed to save your fortune and you thought I would overlook your affairs."
He colored slightly. "It is certainly true that my shaky financial situation had a great deal to do with the haste with which we married, but I assure you that having an affair was the last thing on my mind when I decided to wed you."
She let out a ladylike snort. "One has only to look at your list to know that you are lying."
"Ah, yes," Charles said caustically, "the infamous list."
"Speaking of our marriage agreement," Ellie said, "have you settled my financial affairs?"
"Just yesterday, as a matter of fact."
"You did?" She sounded quite surprised.
"Yes, but—"
"But what?" he asked testily, irritated that she hadn't expected him to keep his word.
"Nothing." She paused, and then added, "Thank you."
Charles nodded his reply. After a few moments of silence, he said, "Ellie, we really must discuss our marriage. I don't know where you obtained your poor impression of me, but—"
"Not now," she interrupted. "I'm too tired, and I really can't bear to hear you explain how little I know of aristocratic marriages."
"Any preconceptions I held of marriage were formed before I met you," he explained.
"I have already told you that I don't believe that I am so heartstoppingly appealing that you would throw over your notions of what a marriage ought to be."
Charles looked at her closely, taking in the wild length of red-gold hair that fell across her shoulders, and decided that "appealing" wasn't nearly a strong enough word to describe her. His body ached for her, and his heart—well, he wasn't so experienced with matters of the heart, but he was fairly sure that his was feeling something. "Then teach me," he said simply. "Teach me what a marriage ought to be."
She stared at him in shock. "How would I know? I'm as new to this as you are."
"Then perhaps you ought not to be so quick to scold me."
A vein very nearly popped clear out of her temple before she said, "I do know that husbands and wives ought to regard each other highly enough so that they do not laugh and turn the other cheek when their spouse is committing adultery."
"See? I knew you had some firm ideas about marriage." He smiled and leaned back into her bed pillows. "And I cannot tell you how pleased I am to hear that you are not interested in cuckolding me."
"I would be pleased to hear the same thing from you," she shot back.
His smile stretched into a full-fledged grin. "Jealousy never fell upon more appreciative ears."
"Charles ..." Her voice was laced with warning.
He chuckled and said, "Ellie, I assure you that the thought of adultery has not crossed my mind once since I met you."
"That is reassuring," she said sarcastically. "You have managed to keep your mind on the straight and narrow for an entire week."
Charles thought about pointing out that it had actually been eight days but decided that seemed childish. Instead he said, "It seems to me, then, that your role as wife is quite clear."
"I beg your pardon."
"After all, I don't want to stray."
"I don't like the sound of this," she muttered.
"I would like nothing more than to spend a lifetime in your arms."
She snorted. "I don't even want to think about how many times you've said that before, my lord."
Charles slid off the bed and onto his feet with the grace of a cat. He took advantage of her disconcertment by picking up one of her hands and raising it to his lips.
"If you're trying to seduce me," she said plainly, "it won't work."
He grinned, the very devil in his smile. "I'm not trying to seduce you, dearest Eleanor. I would never attempt such a gargantuan task. After all, you are noble; you are upright; you are made of stern stuff."
Put that way, Ellie rather thought she sounded like a tree trunk. "Your point being?" she ground out.
"Why, it is simple, Ellie. I think you should seduce me!"
Chapter 11
She smacked his chest with the heels of her hands, knocking him back onto the bed. "Are you insane?" she screeched.
Charles only smiled. "I assure you that you did not need to resort to force to get me into your bed, dear wife."
"This is nothing but a game to you!"
"No, Ellie. This is marriage."
"You don't know what marriage is."
"By your own admission, you don't know, either." He reached out for her hand. "I suggest we learn together."
Ellie snatched hers away. "Don't touch me. I can't think when you touch me."
"A most encouraging fact," he murmured.
She shot him a scathing look. "I am not going to try to seduce you."
"It wouldn't be that difficult. And it is always rewarding to succeed at one's endeavors."
"It would be exceedingly difficult," she spat back at him. "I shouldn't be able to summon enough desire to make a good go of it."
"Ouch. A well-placed blow, my lady, but clearly false."
Ellie wanted to hiss a stinging retort, but she couldn't think of anything clever to say. Trouble was, she knew her words were false, too. The man had only to look at her and her knees grew weak. When he actually reached out and touched her, she could barely stand.