Page 58 of Venus in Disguise

“Yes, my lady?” Barnes appeared magically in the doorway with such speed it was obvious he’d been listening in the hallway. “We’ll have tea and whatever refreshments you can bring us, if you would, please.”

“Of course. At once, my lady.”

“And now everyone will sit down and shut up, and Ash and Narcissa will tell us everything, won’t you, dears?”

“Yes, of course we will,” Narcissa said, grateful for the opportunity to explain what had made them act as they had.

“Well, maybe not everything, Mama,” Ash replied, his lips quirking.

His mother returned a reproving look, but there was a twinkle in her eyes all the same. “Do shut up, Ash, there’s a good boy.”

“Yes, Mother,” he said with a grin, and did as he was told for once.

After an afternoon of explanations and getting to know her new in-laws, Narcissa was tired, if delighted by the way things had turned out.

Viven had apologised and admitted she may have been a trifle hasty, for her brother might be an idiot, but he was not a fool. Ash took this ringing endorsement with remarkably good humour, explaining it was the best he could hope for from his twin, who had always been unkind to him. This prompted the kind of bickering only two siblings who knew and loved each other dearly could engage in until their mother shut them both up.

Lady Cavendish, whom Narcissa was to address as Aashini, was warm and kind and quickly made Narcissa feel at home. She promised she would give them a splendid ball to celebrate their marriage and to show the gossiping ton they had nothing to be ashamed of. The party would be on such a grand scale that people would talk about it for years to come, and those who were not invited would be sick with envy.

By the time everyone left Mr Weston’s house, Ash decided they ought to return home, too. After all, their marriage had been well and truly consummated now and there was no way of undoing it.

“Not that I’m averse to making extra sure of that fact,” he added, giving her a lascivious wink as he walked her down the steps to the carriage.

As good as his word, once they had been greeted by the staff and congratulated as Mrs Fenchurch threw handfuls of rice at them, Ash took her straight up to his room and to bed.

Some hours later, Narcissa lay, utterly content and sleepy in her husband’s arms. She was contemplating the fact she was rather hungry when Ash sighed.

“Well, my love. I hope you’ll forgive me, but I must leave you for a little while.”

Narcissa turned to look at him in surprise as he gently moved her aside and slipped from the bed. “Where are you going?” she asked, covertly admiring her husband’s splendid rear view even as she felt a stir of consternation at his words.

“Out,” he said, somewhat evasively. “I have an appointment I must keep.”

Narcissa’s heart pitched as she wondered if he meant to meet with another woman, but she quickly forced the terrible suspicion aside. She did not believe he would do such a thing to her, yet he was hiding something.

“What kind of appointment?” she pressed.

He slid on his banyan—this one a deep burnt orange with black embroidery—and avoided her eye.

“Ash, what kind of appointment?”

He sighed and turned to face her. “Don’t make a fuss,” he warned, a look in his eyes that made her already anxious heart skip.

“What kind of appointment?” she asked again, holding his gaze.

“A fight,” he said.

“A—” Narcissa blinked at him, hardly believing the words. “A fight?” she repeated, her voice becoming unnaturally high even to her own ears.

“A prize fight. You know very well I box, sweetheart. The match was arranged weeks ago and there is a good deal of money riding on it. I can’t back out now.”

“But Ash,” Narcissa protested. The idea of him putting himself in harm’s way made her feel quite breathless with terror.

Sighing, Ash returned to the bed and sat down, taking her hands. “Listen to me. I am the club’s unbeaten champion. No one has come close to knocking me down in years. I do this all the time. It’s perfectly safe.”

“But it’s… it’s brutal,” she said, remembering too vividly the way it had felt when her father had beaten her. The thought that Ash would willingly put himself through something like that made her feel so anxious she could not breathe. “I mean, I can understand you sparring for sport, I suppose, but to fight someone in earnest—”

“Darling, it’s not just about violence and brute force, there is skill to it, and a deal of pride at stake. I don’t wish to upset you, but you’ll have to take my word for the fact I cannot back out.” He kissed her hands and patted them gently before getting up again. “You knew this was what I did, Narcissa. It’s important to me.”