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“So we shall,” she said, sounding displeased with him.

William rose from the table. “No time like the present. Shall we discuss the matter in my bedchamber?”

“Of course.”

She rose fluidly from her chair. For all that Catherine was an unrefined rebel, she maintained a lady’s grace when she moved. Her eyes narrowed upon his face, and William grinned. He had a feeling that this confrontation would be enjoyable, indeed.

CHAPTER20

As Catherine sat across from William, she reflected on the state of the room. There was a warm, masculine quality about his private sitting room, and when combined with William’s pointed look over the breakfast table, it made her feel anxious. It was as if lightning traced along the path of her spine.

William poured two glasses of brandy and offered her one. Catherine took it from the desk and held it in her hand, swirling the spirit about and watching as the amber-brown liquid climbed the sides of the glass. “Am I to be lectured?” she asked. “Simply because you received an invitation? If you are so concerned about me embarrassing you, you need not even ask me to accompany you.”

“No, that will not do,” William said. “I am a newlywed man, and if I do not arrive with my wife, the gossip will be merciless.”

“I see.”

Itwasto be a lecture, then.

“I have been displeased with your behavior of late,” he continued. “You find an opportunity to argue at every occasion, and even when you seek to avoid me, you manage to make me feel as though you are defying me. You huff and puff and glare. Such behavior does not suit a duchess.”

Catherine inwardly bristled. “You provoke me.”

“Sometimes. But often, you findreasonto be provoked. The most innocuous statement might send you into a fury.”

Catherine could not honestly argue with that. She took a small sip of brandy and nearly coughed at how much the spirit burned her throat.

“A duchess,” William continued, “should not react to displeasures. Even when she is ignored or dismissed, she must maintain a graceful disposition and not play childish games.”

Butheseemed to be playing a game of his own. Catherine sipped the brandy and said nothing still. She did not expect William to admit to his own games, for he seemed to believe thathewas capable of doing whatsoever he pleased. It was only women who were told to always be proper.

“Remove your clothing,” he said.

She started and stared at him in disbelief. That familiar heat rose to her face. “Excuse me?”

“I know that you heard me,” he said smoothly. “I asked you to remove your clothes, and I expect you to do so. I do not like repeating myself, wife.”

She set her brandy aside and stood, conscious of his eyes on her. William leaned back against the cushions of his loveseat, fixing her with an imperious expression. Catherine’s toes curled in her slippers as she undid the fastenings of her gown and laid the garment over her chair.

William took an idle sip of his brandy and watched her with narrowed eyes. She unlaced her stays, fingers fumbling with the cords that held them together.

Catherine could not have said if it was anxiety or anticipation that caused her clumsiness, but at last, she had removed them. Next, she removed her petticoats and at last her chemise. Her core pulsed with need, arousal forming within her at even the smallest hint that there might be something intimate in nature to follow.

“Nicely done,” William said. “It seems that youcanobey.”

Heat rushed to her face. Catherine could not decide what to do with her hands, so she kept them at her sides. Her fingers twitched as she tried to decide if she ought to cover between her thighs or her breasts with their hard, pert nipples. Or should she cover anything at all? William had already seen everything that she had to offer, but Catherine still felt as though being naked before him was…

It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. She dug her nails into the palms of her hands. “I do not have to obey you in private. I can be myself in private. Remember?”

William rose fluidly and set his brandy aside. “Your wedding vow says otherwise.”

She scowled at him and wondered how long he was going to mention thewedding vowto justify his behavior. “Everyone knows that wedding vows are traditional,” Catherine said. “The words are less important than the spirit of the vows.”

“You are sounding once more like a solicitor, and I do not like that,” William said. “Stand still. I am going to train you to be a proper duchess.”

Her breath caught in her throat. Her impulse to argue warred with her curiosity and her deep-seated need to feel his hands on her and his manhood sheathed inside her.

William touched her upper back, and Catherine jolted in surprise. “Now, my good girl,” he said. “You must remain still no matter what I do. This will teach you restraint.”