Becoming Wanton (Trade Wind Book 3) by Rebecca Aubrey

Author:Rebecca Aubrey [Aubrey, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feisty Otter Publications
Published: 2022-07-18T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

William stared at his half-eaten breakfast, feeling as cold and useless as the cut of meat he had abandoned on his plate.

“You’ll debate the corruption bill today?” Bea asked pleasantly.

Since their row earlier in the month, his marchioness had persisted in her most basic duties to him outside of the bedchamber, at least until evening came around. She had ceased dining with him or sharing quiet time together before bed. Initially, he had understood; not only were they both smarting from their conflict, Beatrice had needed the rest after the difficulties with Benjamin.

Their son had returned to good cheer and a more predictable routine, yet she had not rejoined him in the evenings, unless they were hosting others. She did, however, break her fast with him daily, as she had since their wedding. Whenever they were together, her politeness toward him was unfailing.

He loved and hated it. At first, he had taken her efforts as an olive branch, hoping she would come around once she was better rested. Her skin glowed once more with good health and her eyes were bright again, but her interactions with him, while not frosty, lacked the depth he had enjoyed and taken for granted before.

Pushing his plate away, he forced himself to look at her, aching as he took her in, lovely in her lilac-colored wrapper. “Yes, my lady. We’ll see what we can do about undue influence in elections. Better than nothing, but I fear those who seek to evade justice bring more craft to their ignoble efforts than we, as law makers, bring to our bills.”

“Will the bill pass in time for the general election next month?”

“It’s late in the session, but I believe it shall. For all the good it will do. I’m certain in some constituencies, the bribes are at the ready regardless.”

He sighed, thinking of the state of British politics. A small fraction of the population—only men who owned or rented property above a certain value—was eligible to vote. With such a limited electorate, each vote carried significant weight, and margins of victory were often slight. There was no secrecy as votes were cast, with each publicly recorded, and it was common for the vote to be watched by landlords or bailiffs, who would evict or punish anyone who didn’t vote as expected. In other cases, voters no sooner finished marking their ballots before they extended their hands to collect their bribes.

After setting her tea cup silently onto its saucer, Bea dipped her head. “Nonetheless, my lord, I commend you for your work to improve the situation. Your amendments have been so well received!”

Once upon a time, his wife’s support had warmed him to the core. He had not only felt understood by her, but her encouragement and their open exchange of ideas made him feel as though his career was theirs. That she was contributing to the good of the country, just as together they were cultivating the family life they valued so much.

He still appreciated her words today—he even believed she meant them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.