The man nodded and quickly disappeared. Within seconds, Martha was downstairs and the friends shared a quick hug.
“So,” Martha asked as they sat down in the drawing room. “What brings you here, my newlywed friend?”
Caroline sighed at this. “I am worried, Martha, and I find myself at a loss of what to do. I… I want to be a good wife, but…”
She closed her eyes and sighed. It was awfully improper to talk about such matters, but she could not keep it in.
“Sebastian does not come to me at night,” she admitted at last, her voice small. “Beatrice… she said awful things when she found out. That I was a burden, that I was his second choice and that he’d find his pleasures somewhere else. Oh, Martha, I do not know what to do.”
Martha listened patiently, her brow furrowed in thought. When at last Caroline fell silent, she reached across the table to clasp her friend's hand, her eyes warm with understanding.
“Darling, Caroline,” she said at last, shaking her head. “Perhaps you are misinterpreting this. From what you’ve said yourself, Lord Casterbridge seems like an honorable man, like a gentleman. Perhaps he is simply trying to give you time to adjust to your new role as his wife? Neither of you expected this match and he might be waiting until you are ready.”
Caroline blinked, rather taken aback by this suggestion. It would be unheard of in the ton to do this, and even if it were to be expected… she had been so consumed by Beatrice’s awful words that it was impossible to consider.
“I do not know,” she admitted at last, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “Perhaps it is possible, but what if you are wrong? What if he truly does not want me? What if he is disappointed with his second choice and he does not desire me in the slightest?”
Martha lifted her chin, her expression determined. “Then you simply must make him want you, Caroline,” she announced, as though it were easy. “You have read more than enough books, have you not? Any man would be lucky to have you as his wife and if Lord Casterbridge cannot see that, it is up to you to show him what it is that he is missing.”
Caroline’s heart raced at this prospect, and a thrill of excitement rushed through her. Could she do it? Could she seduce her ownhusband? Make him burn for her the way she’d read about so often?
She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “You are right,” she declared, her eyes gleaming with determination. “I shall not let Beatrice’s words haunt me any longer. I am Lady Casterbridge now and I will make my husband desire me.”
Martha grinned at this and she nodded eagerly. “And,” she said, her voice practically trembling with excitement. “You have the perfect opportunity. Certainly you are invited to the Boldwood ball next week?”
“We are,” Caroline admitted hesitantly. “But we haven’t spoken about going.”
“Nonsense,” Martha declared, her voice eager. “You must attend—and you will show your husband how desirable you really are.”
To Caroline’s delight, her husband was quite eager to attend the ball and though it pained her that he still did not visit her room, she found it easier to be patient.
The evening of the ball came faster than she had expected, and as she stood in her bedchamber, dressed in a deep crimson gown, she was rather excited to make her debut as Lady Casterbridge.
She made her way down the stairs slowly, suppressing a grin when her husband’s eyes widened appreciatively.
She knew that her skin looked particularly fair against the crimson gown, and Prudence had styled her hair in an elegant coiffure, with tendrils curling artfully around her face. Sebastian stepped forward when she reached the bottom of the stairs, a delicate necklace glittering in his hands.
“For you,” he said simply as he fastened it around her neck. Caroline’s breath hitched in her throat when his fingers brushed against her skin before he stepped back.
“You look absolutely breathtaking,” Sebastian murmured and Caroline looked up quickly at his tone. There was a rough, low edge to his voice and it sent a shiver down her spine. “I am truly a lucky man to have you by my side tonight,” he said before offering her his arm.
Emboldened by his clear admiration, Caroline looked up at him through lowered lashes and a coy smile played around her lips.
“I am quite the lucky woman too, to have you by my side,” she purred and laid a hand on his arm. Her heart sped up slightly as she felt the warmth radiating form his skin. “I only hope I can be a worthy wife for you. In every way.”
His eyes darkened at her words, the air between them crackling with sudden tension. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he lowered his head, his lips hovering a mere breath from hers. Caroline's eyes fluttered closed, her body thrumming with anticipation...
And then his mouth was on hers, warm and firm and achingly gentle. She melted into the kiss, her hands sliding up to twine around his neck, fingers threading through the silken strands of his hair. Sebastian's arms came around her waist, pulling her flush against the hard planes of his body as he deepened the kiss, his tongue stroking against hers in a dance that left her breathless and aching.
It was a long moment before they parted, both of them flushed and panting. Sebastian rested his forehead against hers, his eyes glinting with a heat that made her toes curl in her slippers.
“We should go,” he rasped, his voice strained with desire. “The carriage… the carriage is waiting.”
Caroline could only nod, not trusting herself to speak. As much as she longed to stay here in his arms, to explore whatever it was that was growing between them, she knew that they had an obligation to fulfill.
As they made their way towards the carriage, Sebastian took her hand in his own and Caroline could not help the smile that bloomed across her face. For the first time since their wedding,she felt a true sense of hope for their future: a belief that perhaps this marriage could bring her a sense of fulfillment.
Now all that remained was to convince the rest of the world—and her husband—of that truth.
