“I promise you it is not going to hurt tonight,” the Earl said.
As he spoke the last words, he saw by the expression on her face that the idea of tonight was something that was really scaring her.
Then he knew instinctively why she had run away.
It was not only because she did not wish to marry a man whom she had never seen, but also because she was afraid of all men.
It was understandable considering that she had lived with a brute like her father and she was expecting her husband to be as cruel or perhaps even crueller.
Very quickly the Earl suggested,
“Now, suppose you turn round and I promise you that I will be very gentle and try not to hurt you.”
Obediently, like a small child, Ansella did as she was instructed.
The Earl first wiped away the blood that was showing again at th
