A Season for Scandal by Golden Angel
Chapter 6
Josie
It was just like one of her dreams.
Lily preceded her up the aisle. She stood, her hand wrapped around her father’s arm, stomach full of butterflies, looking down the aisle at… Elijah. That was where her dream ended, and her nightmare began.
Not that Elijah was a nightmare. Calling him such was a disservice. He was breathtakingly handsome, a true gentleman, and a future Marquess. Likely there were debutantes among the guests who wept with envy over Josie’s good fortune.
At least she did not have to look at Joseph as she walked down the church aisle. Elijah had chosen to ask Adam to stand with him. Like Mary, Joseph would be seated among the guests. It was a small mercy.
Somber and stern as ever, Elijah watched her walk down the aisle. If she could have slowed her steps, she would have, but she matched her father’s all the way down, her heart sinking as she went. Adam was grinning widely, encouragingly at her, but she barely saw him.
Her heart thudded in her chest so loudly, it was a wonder she could hear the music.
They reached the end of the aisle. Stopped. Father Gregory spoke a few words Josie could not hear over the buzzing in her ears, then her father took her hand from his arm and gave it to Elijah. His fingers wrapped around hers, gently but firmly, helping her to step up, so they were facing each other in front of Father Gregory.
Josie stared at him. He stared back at her. Such a familiar face, yet it was as though she was seeing it for the first time. Black hair waving back from his face, eyes so dark they were nearly as black as his hair, a chiseled jawline, broad shoulders, and an altogether handsome visage. So very much like Joseph, yet not. The thought sent a niggle of guilt through her. She should be focusing on Elijah, not Joseph. She needed to forget about Joseph.
The gentle pressure of fingers squeezing hers made her jump. She had not been paying attention to the ceremony.
“Um…”
“Repeat after me,” Father Gregory said kindly. “I, Josephina Pennyworth.”
“I, Josephina Pennyworth,” she repeated dutifully.
Any moment now, she would wake up to find this past week had been a bad dream. That she had not been accosted in a garden. That she did not have to marry Elijah.
Except she finished her vows. Elijah finished his. The cool, heavy weight of her wedding band slid onto her finger. And she did not wake. She stared at the circle of gold that was supposed to represent their ever-lasting unity as her slim fingers rested against Elijah’s palm.
Then his fingers closed. Tugged. Pulled her toward him.
Josie’s head swung up so she could stare at Elijah, and Father Gregory’s words belatedly registered.
You may kiss the bride.
She expected a mere brush of lips, a brotherly kiss of necessity.
What she got was one of Elijah’s hands on her waist, the other neatly trapping her fingers within his as his lips descended to claim hers. Josie had been kissed a few times, mostly on dares. One of those kisses, from the son of a visiting squire, had been interrupted by Elijah himself.
None of them had felt like this.
Possessive. Provoking. Hot.
Josie’s lips parted beneath his, his tongue licking her lip for just a moment before he pulled away, leaving her breathless, staring, and wanting. What on earth had just happened?
Elijah
Leading Josie down the aisle, Elijah was shaken.
He had not meant to kiss her like that.
Well, he had but had not expected her reaction. Or his.
The kiss had been meant as claiming in front of the ton, his brother, and for Josie herself. The paleness of her face, the way she had stared at him with no happiness in her expression, had dug under his skin as the ceremony progressed. Yes, he knew of her feelings for Joseph. Yes, he knew she wished she was not marrying Elijah, and it had pricked his pride. He had not thought that he could wipe away everything with a mere kiss, but he had wanted to fluster her. To make her think of him differently. To make her forget his brother, if only for a moment, and focus on him, the man she was actually marrying.
Then his hand had touched her waist. Felt her trembling. His lips had met hers. The heat that flared between them had been entirely unexpected, and the way his body reacted to her closeness, to her kiss, had thrown him off guard. She was still Josie, but his senses recognized her as a woman, not only a woman but a woman he desired.
He had pulled away before he could make a spectacle of both of them, but the experience left him reeling.
The walk gave them time to compose themselves, and they were able to smile and do the pretty for the receiving line, accepting all manner of congratulations and well wishes from the attendees. Thankfully, there were not many of them since they had chosen to keep the guest list small under the circumstances.
Elijah had a moment of shocking jealousy when Joseph came through. He could feel Josie stiffen beside him as Joseph took her hands in his and gave her a brotherly kiss on the cheek, welcoming her to the family. Adam had done exactly the same thing, as had Father, but Elijah had not wanted to punch either of them in the face. It was not Joseph’s fault. Hell, it was not Josie’s fault either.
It was something they would all have to live with, though he did not like it.
Getting into the carriage that would convey them to their wedding brunch, they were alone together for the first time. Her white-and-silver skirts were spread over the dark red of the bench, and her blonde curls arranged in a pile atop her head made her neck look even more slender. The pale flush of pink on her cheeks as she averted her eyes made her look every inch the blushing bride. The curtains were open, and they could hear the coachman hie the horses into motion.
Sitting across from her, Elijah was uncomfortably aware of his newfound attraction to her, the way she had felt pressed against him for that brief moment, and how her lips had parted beneath his. He was hard as a rock, with no hope of relief any time soon. It had been a long time since he had been with a virgin, but he knew he would need patience. Josie likely knew very little and had recently had a traumatic experience at the hands of a man.
“I will be kind,” he blurted out, not at all the practiced speech he had planned.
Blinking rapidly in surprise, Josie met his gaze for the first time since stepping into the carriage, staring at him from across the space.
“What?”
Her reaction made him feel even more foolish, and he stiffened his spine defensively. Cleared his throat.
“I will be a kind husband. I wanted to reassure you. I know we have not always gotten along over the years, but I think we can have a good marriage if we are both willing to bend a little. I will not hamper your enjoyment of riding when we are in the country, though I would ask that you not wear breeches when we have guests.” That seemed eminently fair to him since he would prefer she not wear breeches at all, but he was well aware how much Josie loved riding. The residents of Derbyshire were used to seeing her so garbed and would not gossip… or perhaps, only gossip a little.
“I see.” Josie sat up straighter, her chin lifting in a posture he recognized and made him inwardly groan. What on earth had he said to set her off? “What about your ‘family business’? Will I be a part of that, or will you shut me out the same way you do Evie?”
Scowling, his hand clenched into a fist on his knee, that Josie even knew about the ‘family business.’ His father was the spymaster for the crown, and Elijah intended to succeed him there, as well as in the title—something Elijah wished otherwise. Women should not poke their noses into such matters. He had vehemently argued against his father occasionally using Evie’s assistance, especially when she had gone off on her own and inserted herself into their business. No matter how valuable her assistance had been, it had not been worth it in the long run, and it had only encouraged her to continue her wild starts, leaving them to worry in her absence.
“You will not need to concern yourself with such matters.”
Josie
She should not have been surprised at dictatorial Elijah making his presence known. In a way, it was a relief. When he was busy putting his foot down, she was no longer distracted by how handsome he was or how it had felt when he kissed her. This was solid, familiar ground, and she clung to that familiarity like a child with a favorite toy.
Josie crossed her arms over her chest.
“I am already concerned. I am already involved. You would not have even known about Collins if it were not for me and Lily.” They had been the ones to sound the alarm when Collins had kidnapped Mary. If not for them and their quick thinking, Mary would be dead, and Collins would have escaped, and no one would have been the wiser. Even now, she shivered to think about it.
“We would have found him eventually and without risking Mary’s life,” Elijah snapped, his scowl deepening. “That is why I—” He cut whatever he was about to say so abruptly, Josie knew it must be important, something he did not want her to know about. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Why you what?” She sighed as she realized what he must be talking about. He assumed she did not know, would not know, and she took great joy in dispelling him of that illusion. “You joined the Society because you knew there was a connection there.”
Though Mary said he fit in admirably, although Josie had trouble picturing despite Mary’s vivid description of Elijah shirtless, whipping a woman while a crowd watched. The very idea had made her shiver and feel rather odd. Now, sitting across from him in this cramped space, as he went ramrod straight, eyes flashing, his expression sterner than she had ever seen, those same odd feelings fluttered through her body.
“How do you know about the—” He cut off again, shaking his head, his tone turning to disgust. “Mary. Rex needs to take her more firmly in hand.”
Scowling at him, Josie sniffed.
“He already spanks her. What more do you want?” The idea both horrified and titillated. Josie still was not sure how she felt about it. Mary did not seem to mind. She had said it was even enjoyable sometimes, but Josie thought she might be trying to convince herself more than the rest of them.
“Rex has gone soft.” The derisive note in his voice was still there, and Josie gaped at him.
Rex? Soft? How Elijah could say such a thing was beyond her. She had an easier time believing Mary’s lurid descriptions of Elijah’s behavior at the Society’s events. The hard gaze he fixed on Josie had her scooting back in her seat. She had been the recipient of Elijah’s stern scoldings most her entire life, but he had never looked at her quite like this. “Since you already know about the Society, rest assured, wife, I have not gone soft, and I will not tolerate the kind of nonsense Rex does.”
There was a silkiness to the threat that sent a shiver through Josie, leaving her as speechless and breathless as being reminded that she was now his wife. This was a side to Elijah she had never seen before, and she was not prepared for it.
The carriage lurched to a halt before she could respond.
Elijah’s expression shifted, not a great deal, but he looked like an entirely different person. His brow softened, the corners of his lips lifting as he opened the door and hopped out, holding out his hand to help her down. Josie stared at him—this man she had not wanted to marry and was no longer sure she knew as well as she thought she did, but there was no other option.
She took his hand and climbed out of the carriage, her heart fluttering inside her chest, even more acutely aware of his large, intimidating presence beside her.
