The first encounter…

I may be on holiday this week, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still send you a #WIPItUp update from the poolside! 😉 This week I bring you the very first encounter between Lord Thomas Markham and Lady Lydia Franklin, from my forthcoming hot new spanking romance, Taming Lady Lydia! As you will see, the spoiled Lydia will learn that Thomas is not going to indulge her whim…
***
The appearance of Gregory and several other serving staff is opportune, breaking the growing tension in the room. As the first course is presented before me, the butler appears at my left shoulder, holding a decanter of the offending liquid.
“Would My Lady like a glass of the wine?”
The question appears to be offered to Lord Markham, and not myself. I glance at Gregory, throwing him my most withering look. “Yes,” I reply in an unnecessarily clipped tone, “she would.”
Sensing my acrimony, he visibly flinches at my words as he leans toward the glass already at my place on the table.
“No.”
Lord Markham’s voice is so loud that both Gregory and I jump at the sound of it. I eye him wildly, my face demanding an explanation for both the tenor and the content of his assertion. Seeing two sets of enquiring eyes awaiting him, he smiles, seemingly in his element.
“My Lord?” asks Gregory, seeking clarification from his master.
“No, thank you, Gregory,” comes the now much calmer response. “Her Ladyship is not of an age where intoxicating beverages should be served.”
I watch him from my seat, utterly astounded at his words. “Excuse me, My Lord,” I begin. “I am nineteen years old, and no longer an infant!”
Lord Markham tilts his head in my direction, before dismissing his servant with a wave of his right hand. “It is my understanding, Lady Franklin, that you are not nineteen until the seventeenth day of March—some five months from now?”
“Yes,” I admit. “What I mean to say is that I am nearly nineteen years old, My Lord!”
He smiles again. “Yes, My Lady, and even then you are my legal responsibility until you are twenty-one years old. Is this not correct?”
Anger pulses under the surface of my skin at my denigrating treatment. Aunt Jane had always permitted me a small glass of wine, or sometimes port in the late evening. I fail to understand why Lord Markham cannot afford me the same privilege. “I do not appreciate being treated like a child, My Lord,” I reply in little more than a hiss.
His stare is dark as he answers me. “Please do not behave as such then, Lady Franklin, and I shall have no need to treat you that way. Now, tell me, are you currently under the legal age of twenty-one?”
I draw in a deep breath between my teeth. “Yes, My Lord,” I say grudgingly.
“Good, then there is no cause for dispute. Gregory, please pour Lady Franklin a glass of water whilst we eat.”
I catch his eye as this latest order is given, and I see a flicker of something there I cannot decipher.
“My Lady,” he continues, gesturing to my plate with his left hand. “Please do enjoy your food.”
I concede the point, allowing my hunger to ultimately decide for me, and collect the correct cutlery from my place.
***

Check out my WIP’s in the #WIPItUp blog hop this week!
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And remember,  a wilful Regency Lady needs a firm hand… She meets her match in Lord Markham.

Taming Lady Lydia

Coming Friday, 8th September, 2017.

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