“Madam, you would make the sirens of ancient lore thrash upon their rocks and moan in envy,” he vowed.
Lierin laughed gaily and placed her arms around his neck as he settled his own about her waist and swung her from the stairs. He held her suspended from the floor while they exchanged an ardent kiss. Her tongue readily answered his, and it was a long, enjoyable moment before they parted. Ashton sighed and reluctantly set her to her feet. “I’m tempted to take you back to bed when you answer me like that.”
Caressing his vested chest, she responded with an enticing smile. “We can always delay our trip.”
Ashton groaned in mock agony. “Oh, madam, I’ve never been so wont to stay abed before, but I owe you a nightgown, remember.” He smiled down into her sparkling eyes. “We’ll need a goodly supply for the rest of the nights we can spend together.”
She raised on her toes to whisper in his ear. “I can understand why Marelda hates me so. You’re very nice to go to bed with.”
Ashton peered at her skeptically as he led her across the hall. “Madam, Marelda would have no scale to judge that by. I’ve never been intimate with the woman.”
Hugging his arm tightly against her breast, Lierin smiled into his eyes. “That makes me very, very happy.”
Hiram stood waiting at the open door of the carriage. As they emerged from the house, he swept off his fine beaver hat and greeted them with a wide grin. “Lawsy, y’all sho’ make a pair all duded up.”
“Why, thank you, Hiram,” Lierin replied blithely. “Mr. Wingate does look fine, doesn’t he?”
“Yes’m, jes’ like he always does,” the coachman agreed, then chuckled as he expanded on his statement: “But he ain’t nearly as pretty as yo, missus.”
Their warm laughter rewarded him, and with a bright smile Lierin accepted her husband’s assistance into the carriage. Settling into the leather seat, she lifted her skirts aside as Ashton sat close beside her. He laid his arm along the back of the seat behind her and, with a hand on her shoulder, urged her to nestle close against his side.
“I love you,” he whispered.
The bonneted head turned to present a softly smiling visage to his loving gaze, and her eyes touched his face in a gentle caress. “The feeling is mutual, sir.”
The landau swung around the curving drive, and the journey into Natchez took on a new measure of delight for Ashton, who had traversed the road on numerous and widely varied occasions. For the first time in many months he felt settled, both in mind and in spirit. The night of lustful pleasures had given him a release he had sorely needed, but the cause of his contentment lay in the person who snuggled so willingly against him.
Lierin picked a piece of lint from his trouser leg, and her hand lingered to rub the firmly muscled thigh lightly. Lifting her gaze, she met Ashton’s smiling regard and reached to receive his kiss when his face lowered to hers. The ride continued in a most delightful fashion until Hiram maneuvered the conveyance to a halt in front of the couturiere’s.
Ashton assisted his young wife to the boardwalk and spoke a word with Hiram about the estimated time of their return before slipping his hand to the small of her back and escorting her inside the dressmaker’s shop. Miss Gertrude hurried from the back of the shop, straining her long neck to see around the bolts of cloth that were stacked on the tables. When the gawky, parrot-faced woman saw who had entered, she threw up her hands and rushed forward to greet them.
“Oh, I’ve been so anxious to meet your young wife, Mr. Wingate,” she warbled.
He made the introductions, and through the small spectacles perched on the bridge of her thin, hawkish nose, Miss Gertrude gave Lierin a careful inspection from bonnet to soft leather slippers, then smiled and nodded in approval. “Your grandmother was in here yesterday morning, Mr. Wingate, and the way she was bragging about your wife, I thought she had been inflated with a lot of hot air, but I can see for myself that her claims are true.”
Miss Gertrude took the slender hand into hers and patted it affectionately. “When the ladies see you wearing my creations, I shall be deluged with a brood of chirping biddies wanting to look exactly like you. I’ve done a few miracles in my time, Mrs. Wingate, but none of that sort. You’re such a lovely thing, I can already see trouble coming.”
Lierin laughed at the unorthodox compliment and gently teased, “Perhaps we should forget about the clothes if there’s going to be such a problem for you.”
Miss Gertrude’s gangling form straightened abruptly, and she stared at the young woman in comic disbelief. “What?! And have you gowned by someone else? My dear, that is positively ridiculous. No one else will do you justice.” Her mouth lifted in a lopsided grin as she shrugged. “They’ll come all right, jealous as all get out, but have no fear. I can handle them.”
Envious they would be. About that Miss Gertrude had no doubt. Long ago she had heard rumors about the handsome Ashton Wingate and all the beautiful young women who had set their caps for him. The most persistent of these had been Marelda Rousse, who had frequented her shop and often prattled about how much the man adored her. His hasty marriage had caused her a great deal of embarrassment, and she had given tongue to a multitude of rationales on the probability of Ashton having been forced into the marriage by some outraged father. When pressed as to how that might have been accomplished with the obstinate Mr. Wingate, the brunette had simply shrugged and said he must have spoiled some girl’s maidenhead while he was drunk and then been prompted to do the honorable thing while in that same condition. The explanations had reeked of envy at the time, but once one chanced to view the lady in question, they lost all semblance of truth. If the tales had been factual, then in his drunken heat the man had blindly selected a jewel of unmatchable beauty.
The dressmaker gestured for them to follow and led the way toward the back of the shop. As the woman moved away, Lierin leaned near Ashton. “I do believe Miss Gertrude has a bit of blarney in her, especially if she tells the same thing to all her customers.”
He chuckled and squeezed her waist. “Miss Gertrude has been known to be brutally honest at times, and I can’t see any reason to believe she’s filling your pretty ears with rubbish now. If you’re not aware of it, madam, you’re definitely a pleasure to look at. Indeed, it has become my favorite pastime.”
Ashton had already taken note that it was other men’s wont to stare at his young wife and admire her beauty, too. The reaction was the same among the male customers at a nearby inn where they later went to enjoy a light repast. The hour was well after midday, and the number of patrons had dwindled to a double handful of men who were scattered about the common room. A few were acquaintances of Ashton and pressed for introductions, then, clapping him on his back, offered their good wishes. Some were strangers who stared in mute appreciation, while others were bolder and openly ogled her. With a brow raised in deliberate challenge, Ashton stared these men down until they turned away. He escorted her to a table near the back and placed her where he could enjoy what he had not been willing to share with others. Even there he found he had to contend with the curious glances of the gaunt, rawboned innkeeper. Ashton knew the man as a somewhat dull individual who had never shown too great an interest in eyeing women, seeming rather to prefer to watch over his own meager wealth. His unswerving interest in Lierin seemed highly out of character, and Ashton was more than mildly surprised when the man approached them.