LADY WHISTLEDOWN’S SOCIETY PAPERS, 10 JUNE 1814
The next few weeks flew by in a delirious rush. After a brief stay in the country at Aubrey Hall, the newlyweds returned to London, where the season was in full swing. Kate had hoped to use her afternoons to resume her flute lessons, but she quickly discovered that she was in great demand, and her days were filled with social calls, shopping excursions with her family, and the occasional ride in the park. Her evenings were a whirlwind of balls and parties.
But her nights were for Anthony alone.
Marriage, she decided, agreed with her. She saw less of Anthony than she would have liked, but she understood and accepted that he was a very busy man. His many concerns, both in Parliament and on his estates, took up a great deal of his time. But when he returned home at night and met her in the bedroom （no separate bedchambers for Lord and Lady Bridgerton!） he was marvelously attentive, asking about her day, telling her of his, and making love to her until the wee hours of the night.
He’d even taken the time to listen to her practice her flute. She’d managed to hire a musician to come and tutor her two mornings a week. Considering the （not very expert） level of play which Kate had achieved, Anthony’s willingness to sit through an entire thirty minutes of rehearsal could only be interpreted as a sign of great affection.
Of course, it did not escape her notice that he’d never repeated the gesture.
Hers was a fine existence, a far better marriage than most women of her station could expect. If her husband did not love her, if he would never love her, then at least he did a good job of making her feel cared for and appreciated. And for now Kate was able to content herself with that.
And if he seemed distant during the day, well, he certainly wasn’t distant at night.
The rest of society, however, and Edwina in particular, had gotten it into their heads that Lord and Lady Bridgerton’s marriage was a love match. Edwina had taken to visiting in the afternoons, and this day was no exception. She and Kate were sitting in the drawing room, sipping tea and nibbling on biscuits, enjoying a rare moment of privacy now that Kate had bidden farewell to her daily swarm of visitors.
Everyone, it seemed, wanted to see how the new viscountess was getting along, and Kate’s drawing room was almost never empty in the afternoon.
Newton had hopped up onto the sofa beside Edwina, and she was idly stroking his fur as she said, “Everyone is talking about you today.”
Kate didn’t even pause as she lifted her tea to her lips and took a sip. “Everyone is always talking about me,” she said with a shrug. “They’ll soon find another topic.”
“Not,” Edwina replied, “as long as your husband keeps looking at you the way he did last night.”
Kate felt her cheeks grow warm. “He did nothing out of the ordinary,” she murmured.
“Kate, he was positively smoldering!” Edwina shifted her position as Newton shifted his, letting her know with a little whine that he wanted his belly rubbed. “I personally saw him push Lord Haveridge out of the way in his haste to reach your side.”
“We arrived separately,” Kate explained, although her heart was filling with a secret—and most probably foolish—joy. “I’m sure he just had something he needed to tell me.”
Edwina looked dubious. “And did he?”
“Did he what?”
“Tell you something,” Edwina said with palpable exasperation. “You just said you were sure he just had something he needed to tell you. If that were the case, wouldn’t he have told you whatever it was? And then you’d know he had something to tell you, right?”
Kate blinked. “Edwina, you’re making me dizzy.”
Edwina’s lips smooshed together in a disgruntled frown. “You never tell me anything.”
“Edwina, there’s nothing to tell!” Kate reached forward, grabbed a biscuit, and took a large, extremely uncouth bite so that her mouth would be too full to speak. What was she supposed to say to her sister—that before they’d even wed, her husband had informed her in a most matter-of-fact and straightforward manner that he would never love her?
That would make for charming conversation over tea and biscuits.
“Well,” Edwina finally announced, after watching Kate chew for an improbable full minute, “I actually had another reason for coming here today. I have something I wish to tell you.”
Kate swallowed gratefully. “Really?”
Edwina nodded, then blushed.
“What is it?” Kate implored, sipping at her tea. Her mouth was awfully dry after all that chewing.