Page 6 of Desire and Discipline

Joseph

“There are no locked doors,” Rex said firmly, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at Joseph.

“But I am agreeing to a locked door,” he argued, just as obstinate.

He knew the rule, but he’d suggested the lock to Lady Cross, anyway, and unfortunately, Rex and Mary had overheard.

The last thing he needed was someone other than Rex seeing him and Lady Cross in a room together.

Closed doors were supposed to indicate that the couple within did not wish to be intruded upon, but there were always accidents.

“I am not at all in fear for my safety, and if something terrible should happen to me behind a locked door, I will have no one to blame but myself.”

He understood the reason behind the rule, as there had been incidents in the past, but he was not concerned for his safety. It was hardly his first time with Lady Cross.

“The rules are for everyone. No exceptions because then everyone will want an exception.” Rex had a particularly obstinate gleam in his eye, and Joseph was not sure if it was because he was that dedicated to the rule or because he disapproved of Joseph’s presence here.

Well, if he could not get his needs met here, he would have to go elsewhere, though the brothels did not generally appeal to him.

Mary, Rex’s marchioness, glided up to his side, sliding her arm through her husband’s and leveling a cool look at Joseph.

Despite her diminutive height and submissive nature, she managed to appear even more intimidating than Lady Cross.

Perhaps it was his guilty conscience or his anxiety that she might say something indiscreet to his wife that made her appear so much more than she was.

“I think you have bigger things to worry about than whether or not you can lock the door behind you,” she said, her tone tart and unfriendly.

Which hurt. Mary had grown up next door to him and they’d always been friends.

But then, she did not understand his dilemma any more than his cousin and his brothers had.

His frustration was growing to the point where he could hardly think about what she was saying.

The situation and the judgment being heaped on him felt patently unfair when all he was trying to do was protect Priscilla’s feelings and get what he needed.

It was not as if he’d taken a mistress, and plenty of gentlemen did that without the approbation he was currently facing.

But he had to be part of a family where no one else was and no one understood.

Which perhaps was why Mary’s actual words did not sink in until he heard the impossible—his wife’s voice saying his name.

“Joseph?”

The entire world seemed to still, time moving slowly around him as he turned, as though the air had turned to thick jam. He could not breathe. His heart felt as if it was about to burst out of his chest, it was thudding so hard.

“No.” He whispered the word, but it dropped like a shout in the silence. Mary and Rex were already backing away against the wall, leaving the view completely clear.

Priscilla was standing there, staring at him with the same amount of shock he felt, her complexion stark white, clutching Anthony’s arm as though she was about to fall over. On Anthony’s other side, Evie stood, glaring daggers down the hall. If looks could kill…

“No,” he whispered again. This was not supposed to happen.

This could not be happening. Priscilla was far too pure for this place, too good for the depravities that were practiced here…

and if she knew what particular perversion called to him, she would never look at him the same again. She would never respect him.

How much did she already know?

Fear and panic chilled him from the inside out.

“She cannot be here. You cannot be here.” He should be moving toward her, but his feet would not go. All he could do was stare.

“Here? Here where you are?” Unlike him, she had no problem moving, sliding her arm from Anthony’s and stalking forward with her hands clenched into fists at her side.

As she did so, Mary and Rex shifted further away from Joseph, moving to stand behind her in support, the way Evie and Anthony were, leaving him abandoned.

“I should not be here where my husband is, rather than at the club with his friends where you said you would be?”

This was a side of Priscilla he had never seen before.

There was nothing amiable or accepting about her demeanor, nothing placid or accepting about her expression, and by the time she reached the end of her questions, she was shouting at him.

Joseph took a step back, shocked even more by her reaction than her appearance.

Of course, he’d never wanted to hurt her, of course, he did not want her to know, but any time he had imagined her reaction to him being with another woman, this was not it.

If she ever found out, he expected the usual wifely reaction—the quiet hurt, the wounded stoicism, the pretense that she knew no such thing.

The way most proper English wives reacted to their husband’s affairs or mistresses when they were indiscreet.

He certainly did not expect her to bear down on him like a vengeful fury, questioning him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked blankly, unable to think of anything else to say, even as his brain screamed at him that it was the exact wrong reply.

“I was invited by friends. I am here to discover this side of their lives and because I wanted to know if it was something I might enjoy. I am here because my husband went out for the night to be with his friends, and I thought nothing of doing the same. Now, sirrah , what are you doing here?” The paleness of her cheeks had given way to red fury, her bosom heaving with emotion as she confronted him, and there was a stern glint to her eye that reached into his body and did things to his insides he could not explain.

Priscilla had never, not once, looked at him like this before.

She was a goddess, and the urge to fall to his knees and beg forgiveness was nearly overwhelming…

but he had to make her understand. He had to make sure she knew it did not change any of his feelings for her.

Then he was going to have strong words with his cousin about putting Priscilla in a position to be so egregiously hurt with knowledge she should have been protected from.

“I… you are not supposed to be here.”

Rather than backing down or even looking at him, Priscilla looked past him.

“What was he here to do with you?” It was not a question; it was a demand, and she was addressing Lady Cross.

“Not what you think,” he said, stepping between them, blocking Lady Cross from Priscilla’s view. But his demure, proper wife pushed him aside, and he was so surprised that he stumbled away, leaving her and Lady Cross facing each other.

Lady Cross looked Priscilla up and down consideringly, and Priscilla stared back at her.

“What is your arrangement with my husband? Since he seems incapable of answering my questions, woman to woman, I am asking you. Please, tell me.” Her voice only softened slightly to a request.

Joseph was about to step forward again when Lady Cross flung her hand up at him, palm facing him, and he ground to a halt.

His jaw clenched. His entire life was about to collapse, and…

he knew exactly who to blame. He glared at his cousin.

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared back, mouthing the words, ‘I told you to tell her.’

As if that would have helped.

It hardly mattered now, though, did it?

“Your husband and I have never shared a bed,” Lady Cross said, and something inside Joseph unclenched. Maybe there was still hope… then she dashed any prayer he had of keeping his statue in his wife’s eyes. “He requires me to punish him.”

Priscilla’s lips parted in surprise, and she looked at him, then back at Lady Cross so quickly, he could not even catch her eye.

His shoulders slumped. She did not even want to look at him.

This was exactly why he’d never wanted her to know.

How could she respect him as a man, as a husband, knowing of his perversions?

If he’d wanted to spank her, it would be bad enough, but he could have reassured her that he would never inflict such depravity upon her, that?—

“Punish him… with a flogger?” Priscilla asked.

Wait, what?

Why was she asking such a question?

“A flogger, a paddle, a whip, whatever implement I am in the mood for that evening,” Lady Cross replied serenely.

“He requires nothing more than the discipline from me. Though there is much more that could be done if he was willing, I believe he sought me out specifically to keep his marriage vows, and so that is the sum of our encounters.”

“That’s something,” Evie muttered, loud enough to be heard by everyone.

Priscilla turned partially around, leveling a stern look at his cousin.

“Evie, thank you for the invitation tonight. I love you dearly, and I appreciate that you had my best interests at heart, but I think for the remainder of the evening, it is best if you and Anthony no longer serve as my guides.” Priscilla glanced at Mary and Rex, then back at Lady Cross.

“My Lady, if you are amenable, would you serve as my guide for the evening and also instruct me on how to punish my husband?”

If Joseph was not so flabbergasted, he would have enjoyed the expression on his cousin’s face, but he was reeling with too much shock himself to appreciate anyone else’s. Anthony’s mouth had dropped open, along with Evie’s. Whatever his cousin had expected to happen, that was not it.

“Of course, I would be happy to,” Lady Cross replied.

The world seemed to whirl around Joseph, spinning like a top and flipping upside down, leaving him floundering.

“Then we will be on our way,” Anthony said, stepping back and pulling a still-stunned Evie with him. “Priscilla, we will be in the front room when you are done if you would like to ride home with us.”

“Thank you.”

It was the offer to take Priscilla home, without extending the invitation to him, that made Joseph finally shake off his stunned shock as Anthony dragged his cousin back down the hall, disappearing around the corner. Mary and Rex followed without looking back.

“I—”

“No.” Priscilla snapped out the word, finally looking at him fully, the heat of her anger blazing in her gaze. He was so taken aback, he actually stepped back from her in surprise.

“What?”

“No. Unless you wish for me to leave right now, in which case you will no longer be welcome in my bedroom upon your return, no to whatever argument you are going to make. You are my husband. You have betrayed me. And if you have a liking for punishment, well… good because right now, I am ready to do so.”

Joseph’s mouth snapped shut.

He did not know who this was. She was Priscilla; she was his wife, but it was not her. It was as though stepping into the Society of Sin and discovering his transgressions had turned her into an entirely different person.

Worse, his cock stirred at her threat rather than withering.

He might be shocked by her turnabout, he might be horrified that she knew his secret, but one part of him liked this new Priscilla very much.