There is something about the way he looks at a woman from under those shaggy brows that just makes it impossible to say ‘no.’ He is so filled with delight at every smile. Don’t you agree?”
Marguerite did not see the attraction that Violet spoke of. It was not like Peter had his brother’s penetrating silver glance that could see into a woman’s very soul, but Marguerite could see the glazed look in Violet’s eyes and knew that no comment would make a difference. She nodded.
Violet gave herself a little shake and sat, pouring out cups of chocolate for each of them. “But enough of my secrets, tell me yours. What has brought you calling at such an early hour?” She put down her cup and perused Marguerite. “You do look different, so something must have happened.” Violet stared at Marguerite’s lips and then touched her own swollen ones. “Yes, something must have happened.”
Marguerite was not sure what to say. She had come here intending to tell Violet all and then to ask her further advice, but when confronted with the moment words failed her. How did a woman speak of such things?
Violet sat, sipping her chocolate, and waited.
“He fell asleep,” Marguerite managed to spit the phrase out.
“Oh, that is most unexpected. I would not have expected it from what I had heard.” Violet put her cup down with care. She tapped a finger on the edge of the cup. “Did you do everything as planned?”
“Yes, and it seemed to be working. But then he fell asleep without saying anything.”
“You must tell me more. Had he had much to drink?”
“Two glasses of wine with dinner. He was in his study before that with the accounts. He does not normally indulge then. And after dinner – when we went to the library, he did not even touch the port or brandy.”
“So, not too much.” Violet stood and began to pace the room, trailing her fingers along the edges of tables. How could she look so refined while in her nightwear? It was an art to be studied. Marguerite looked down at her shoes. They were spotted with mud. Thirteen spots on the left. Five on the right.
“Did you dress as I suggested?” Violet spun to face her.
“Yes, I made sure it was a dress of thin fabric and easy to remove.” Marguerite felt her color rise. Would she ever learn not to blush?
“I don’t understand it then. I’ve never known a man to fall asleep while still aroused and I cannot believe your husband was unaffected by your appearance. Even my first husband never fell asleep once he’d become – Oh, that doesn’t matter. Still, you say he fell asleep, not that he left. Did he lie down on the couch? You were in the library you say?”
“Well no, it was in bed,” Marguerite answered.
“His or yours?”
What did it matter? “His.”
Violet sat back down. “So you were in his room. Things had progressed then?”
Progression, that was a good word for it. “Yes.”
Violet picked up her cup again and sipped. “I am just not understanding. He took you to his chamber and then he fell asleep. What exactly had happened?”
Marguerite did not believe she had ever been so red. She looked at her shoes again. She was wrong. There were six spots on the right.
“Well?” Violet let the question hang.
“He just fell asleep. I was next to him, in the bed, without my clothes on and he fell asleep.”
“You were in bed wit the man, bare-assed, and he fell asleep?”
Marguerite nodded.
Violet closed her eyes. “It sounds so unlikely. I’ve never even heard of man getting a woman naked and then falling asleep – unless there were drugs or liquor involved. Did he smoke anything? Did the room smell funny?”
Marguerite shook her head. She was a failure. Her husband had fallen asleep. Tears began to build behind her eyes. “No, he just rolled off me and closed his eyes. Then he started to snore.”
Violet suddenly looked alert. “You say he rolled off you? I believe I asked if you understood the mechanics of the situation. Did he try to – Did he have an erection?”
Marguerite was not exactly sure of the meaning of the word, but she could guess. There were still six spots. She rubbed her toes together. “Yes, although it,” her voice shook, “it did grow smaller afterwards.”
“Afterwards. You mean you did have intercourse?”
Marguerite was glad Violet had used the word. She did not think she could have. “Yes, four times, but