An English Bride In Scotland Read Online Free PDF Page B

drop to curtain all that loveliness.
    “What the bloody hell is that?” As the first real words he’d said since marrying the woman, Ross supposed they left much to be desired. But he was just so shocked at the sight of the ugly shirt covering all that beauty, he couldn’t help himself.
    “ ’Tis a chemise carouse,” Annabel explained, looking suddenly uncertain. She hesitated, her tongue poking out quickly to lick her lips, and then gave a pained smile, and added, “Father Athol thought we might like to use it, but I forgot about it until now.”
    “Use it for what?” he asked nonplussed.
    “For the bedding,” she explained, blushing brightly.
    His gaze slid over her body in the contraption. It was quite simply a long shirt that appeared to be made of a very heavy material, and it covered every inch of her body. “How the devil am I to bed ye in that?”
    “Oh, there is a hole,” she said quickly and pulled the cloth around her hips tight, only to quickly let it go as she realized what she was revealing. Still, she’d held it long enough for him to see that there was indeed a hole several inches below the apex of her thighs . . . which he presumed he was to use for entry.
    Shaking his head, he let his gaze slide over her again. The shirt had obviously been made for a much larger woman, that or someone had overestimated Annabel’s size. He turned his eyes back to her face to see that she was blushing brightly and avoiding his gaze. Ross simply stared at her for several minutes, unsure how to react in this situation.
    He had heard of the chemise carouse. It was intended to ensure that there was no pleasure accidentally found in the marriage bed. Because, of course, the church frowned on pleasure of any kind, but most specifically, sexual pleasure. Ross, himself, felt sex was healthy and natural and meant to be enjoyed, but he knew not everyone was that enlightened. It seemed his bride had been raised differently.
    This was not a problem he had considered encountering, and frankly, he didn’t have a clue what to do about it. There was no way on God’s green earth that he intended to roll her over onto her back and simply thrust himself into her completely unprepared body. He would not do that to the wife of his worst enemy, let alone his own. They had to spend the rest of their lives together.
    Besides, he enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh, and he liked for his partners to experience pleasure as well. He enjoyed hearing them gasp, and moan and groan. He liked to make them shake and tremble with it until they were pleading with need.
    When Ross simply continued to stare at her, his wee bride shifted uncomfortably and then climbed back into bed next to him. She settled on her back without pulling the linen and furs up to cover the shirt, closed her eyes, and said stoically, “I am ready.”
    Ross surveyed her briefly, then shook his head and shoved aside the linens and furs covering him. Grabbing his plaid up off the floor, he wrapped it loosely around his waist and held it in place as he strode out of the room.
    A NNABEL BLINKED HER eyes open with surprise at the sound of the door closing and frowned at the sight of the empty room. Ross had left. She supposed she should have been distressed, but she was mostly relieved. Annabel had heard the rustling and felt the shifting of the bed and had braced herself for her husband to mount her, but she hadn’t exactly looked forward to it.
    There had been half a dozen oblates like herself at the abbey, and a few novices, and perhaps not surprisingly the topic of sex had come up on occasion. As they’d scrubbed the stone floors, or cleaned the stables, they’d whispered about how lucky they were to avoid men, marriage and the marriage bed, for all knew it was a terrible trial for those unfortunate enough to land in it. The tearing of the veil of innocence was said to be a painful and bloody endeavor. One girl, much younger than her siblings, had been present at her