Taming His Scandalous Countess Read Online Free Page B

brother's house is scarcely a happy one. If you
marry me, you will be returned to your proper sphere. I can keep you safe from
any whispers. No one will dare question my countess."
    Isabelle was tempted to accept him,
if only to get away from John and Cordelia. But the memory of the night of the
lake, the pleasure, and the feelings he'd stirred, made her want to run out the
door. She would not give her heart away so thoughtlessly again.
    "I won't be an easy husband. I
will exercise my authority as your husband. I will want to know where you are
and what you are doing. Your body will be mine to enjoy, whenever and however I
wish. And I'll punish you if you disobey me. That is my way. You see, I pay you
the compliment of being frank about my expectations."
    He leaned closer, until his breath
stirred her hair. He smelled of clean wool and leather, with a hint of whiskey.
He smelled of warm, male flesh. Isabelle wavered.
    "But, Isabelle, you will know
that you're mine, and that I will care for you, and protect you, above
all."
    "Will you be faithful?"
The words tumbled out before she could stop them.
    Snow took both her hands and held
them, tightly, painfully. "If that's what you want, what you need."
    Isabelle looked into his intense
dark eyes. "It is."
    *
* * * *
    The wedding was a simple one, held
in the family chapel. It had taken several weeks for Snow to procure the
special license and get his household in order for his bride. His wife.
Isabelle stood beside him, uttering her responses in a low voice. The vicar
pronounced them man and wife. He bent to kiss her cold lips. They trembled
against his mouth.
    Snow smiled at her in what he hoped
was a reassuring manner. Isabelle looked gravely back at him. He'd decided
against any sort of reception afterward, and now he waited for his wife to say
goodbye to her family.
    Sir John embraced Isabelle,
pressing a kiss to each cheek. "Be happy," he heard him whisper.
    Cordelia also kissed her, with some
reluctance. They spoke briefly while the carriages were readied. Snow was
surprised to feel Isabelle's small gloved hand slip into his. He raised it to
his lips, and placed her hand carefully on his arm. She was his.
    They traveled silently through the
deepening day. They stopped briefly several times, but Snow was anxious to get
Isabelle home and settled. The wedding lines secure in his pocket, Snow needed
to see her installed safely in his household. Her gaze was fixed out the window
while he watched her, the line of her brow and nose outlined in exquisite
detail against the rose light of sunset. He'd tasted the pleasure of her body,
but her mind and heart remained a mystery. Was that the source of her
fascination for him? He'd experienced so many different women, but somehow,
Isabelle, his Isabelle, was different. He had even promised to be faithful. He
would, he realized, have promised anything just to possess her.
    *
* * * *
    She was so weary, in body and soul.
Impulsive Isabelle, deciding to marry a man she knew nearly nothing about. 
Would it be like Charlie Croucher all over again? Then again, it could hardly
be any worse.
    Her new husband seemed kinder, more
considerate in many ways. Once Snow decided to stop pursuing her as a mistress,
and marry her instead, his manners had undergone considerable improvement. And
then there were his promises to care for and protect her, as well as his vows
to control and discipline her.
    After marriage to Charlie,
inconstant, careless, and selfish, those promises of Snow's seemed to offer a
safe haven. No longer would she be 'poor Isabelle,' the neglected wife or
'wicked Isabelle,' fodder for scandal. She would have a husband who actually
thought about her , instead of his next drink or game of chance. He had
even pledged his fidelity
    But would Snow deliver on his
promises? What exactly did he mean by discipline anyway? Isabelle yawned behind
her glove. She would have to ask him later. The coach continued inexorably on
to London and her new