Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 46587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
I’d told her in my rage about Noelle and the child she was carrying. I too sought ways of breaking the engagement, but in the end, there was no hope for it. In order to preserve my father’s good name, I had to go through with the marriage.
I was devastated, and so was little Noelle who was afraid unto death. A young unmarried woman would face more than ridicule in these parts.
She’d cried enough to break my heart, which only made me hate my as yet unseen bride to be even more. That didn’t change when I met Judy in the flesh.
She was an abrasive spoilt bitch who made my skin crawl. Unlike my love, she was vain and cared only for the finer things that money could buy.
No matter how I felt though, the marriage went on as planned, only a few short months after I first took Noelle. My hate was such I had to be forced to bed her.
And it was only Ella’s machinations that made that possible, when she fed me the aphrodisiac in my wine on my wedding night.
I’d forbidden her to ever do such a thing again and it was the only time I ever shared a bed with my ‘wife’. Thankfully the lady of the house had her own rooms and I didn’t have to suffer her presence.
She didn’t seem to mind my inattentions either, she was more interested in the wealth attached to my name, more so than the man.
It pained me to do so, but I could treat my Noelle as little more than my mistress. Because of her small stature, her pregnancy didn’t show for quite some time.
And to make matters worse, Judy came up pregnant from our one night together. As much as I resented her I couldn’t hate my own child, so I showed her every courtesy during her confinement.
The women were only two months apart in their pregnancies and I knew that Noelle was going to start showing before long.
To protect her I moved her into my home. I never did give an explanation, but everyone just automatically thought she was there for Judy.
It was my sister Priscilla who suspected the truth and put everyone’s minds at ease by claiming Noelle as her companion.
We had to think fast before her pregnancy became obvious and it was agreed that she would go away for a while only to return with a story of marriage and widowhood.
It was the hardest few months of my life, being away from her. But no one seemed to suspect, least of all Judy who was only too happy to see the young beauty disappear.
My mother, my sister, and Ella were the only ones who knew the truth, not even her own parents knew. They accepted that my mother had found a good match for their daughter who wouldn’t have done better on her own. And by the time she was back by my side there was no longer any fear of being found out.
With the story of her widowhood widespread and accepted by all, we relaxed and went back to the way things were.
Her room, which was separated from mine only by the nursery is where I spent my nights. Long nights spent playing with her growing stomach as the child rolled and played around in there.
Hot nights spent buried deep inside her while the house around us slept. I did everything in my power to make up for what I’d done to her. For the fact that she could never walk openly by my side as mine.
She never complained, never blamed me. And somehow that made it worst. So while she carried my child I spoiled her as much as I could.
Judy had made our affair very easy. She’d stayed confined to her rooms throughout her pregnancy and I was only taxed with seeing her in the mornings and once again at night before she turned in, both for brief moments at a time.
Our conversations were always centered around the child, since by then it was obvious I had no love for her.
She did ask a lot about Noelle’s presence and had even made a few disparaging remarks which I rebuffed instantly.
I knew her anger stemmed from the fact that Noelle’s beauty was remarked upon by everyone who came to the house. It’s a wonder she hadn’t wanted to get rid of my own sister who herself was also a beauty.
There was even a time or two when she tried mistreating Noelle by having her do demeaning tasks, but Priscilla had told her in no uncertain terms once it came to light that her companion was off limits to her.
She’d not been too pleased, believing that as my wife, the lady of the house her words should be obeyed by all. I’d soon disavowed her of that notion.