Edward Seymour arrived at the Stanhope residence at Sudbury in Suffolk later in the day. He found himself very anxious and even, perhaps, a bit nervous to meet his future wife. He had not that long ago, managed to get an annulment from his first wife, Catherine Fillol. The woman had been cheating on him with his own father, and it had disgusted Edward beyond all belief. He had thought, in his youth, that he had loved Catherine, but when he discovered her nasty and wretched ways, he soon realized that it had not been love at all. He sent Catherine off to a convent where she was imprisoned and their two children were declared bastards. They could've been his brother's for all he knew.
Edward, naturally disgusted by his father after the whole ordeal, set out to arrange his second marriage himself, luckily stumbling into the eldest of the two Stanhope brother's, Richard, and from there Edward found it very easy to arrange a marriage with his apparently appealing and well bred half-sister, Lady Anne Stanhope. He had not expected for the marriage to be agreed to so quickly, but Richard seemed keen to marry the girl off. Now, he was going to meet his new future wife, and he only hoped that this woman would not be a cheating, incestuous whore like his last one.
"Edward!" Richard greeted him happily as he came down the staircase in his home to Edward, who stood in the middle of the entrance hall.
Edward nodded his head to Richard. "Richard." He said. He was never one to be overly friendly with men. Even with his brother's, he didn't hold the best relationship, especially with Thomas. They were constantly arguing about something.
Richard kept a smile on his face, despite the rather cold greeting he had received from Edward. He realized now that he was certainly not a good matchmaker; Anne and him both seemed to be rather cold people, which could not be a good trait for lover's to share. "I believe Anne is ready to see you. I'll go fetch her; do you want to wait in the drawing room over there? It's to your right. I'll be right back." Richard turned on the stairs and headed up them, toward Anne's chambers.
Edward looked to his right and saw the room Richard had indicated. He walked over and entered it, taking a seat on one of the chairs that sat directly in the sunlight. He placed his hands on his lap and waited, waited for his future bride to come. He could only hope that she was not like his last as he waited, because there was no way of getting out of it now. He was not in the mood to go through with another annulment either. Oh God, please give me some sort of saint this time! I'm twenty-eight years old; I need to find a good wife.
Edward's wait for Anne to come downstairs felt like eternity. In actuality, it had taken some time for Richard to convince her to go down at all. She had made quite a fuss, and had even thrown a fancy statue of her mother's at her brother, before eventually being forced downstairs by Richard and her other brother, Michael. Richard ordered Anne to go to the drawing room and she obeyed, cursing her brother's as she stalked away.
The sunlight that came through the windows that day was very bright. Edward found himself squinting very hard to see the girl, his betrothed, as she entered the room. He stood up from his seat as a sign of respect and as she came closer, he was finally able to get a good glimpse of her. "My Lady Anne." He said, inclining his head slightly to her. It was not difficult for him to greet her like it had been with her brother. She was beautiful, picturesque if you will. He wanted to be kind to her, to court her and impress her, and they hadn't even spoken yet!
Anne placed herself into a comfortable little curtsey and then rose as Edward reached for her hand. She was very surprised by his boldness, and found herself giving him a small smirk. "Mister Seymour. It is a pleasure to meet you."
He returned her devilish little smirk and put on his best charm, hoping to do nothing but woo her. "It is more of a pleasure for me to meet you, Lady Anne." He took her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. He then dropped her hand and looked around. "Would you like to sit down?"
Anne's first reaction had been pleasant surprise, but now she was a bit annoyed. This was her home and her drawing room, not his. How dare he offer her a seat in her own house, how rude! She bit her tongue a bit however, trying to repress her anger. She was going to have to be somewhat easy on him; after all, there was no escaping from her binding contract. "Surely." She replied. She took a seat in the chair across from his, sitting up straight and proper like any proper young lady should.
Edward followed her example and sat back down in his seat. He had never smiled for this long in his life, yet he was having some trouble getting the smirk off his face. The idea of having a faithful and beautiful wife was one that clearly pleased him very much, and he could not hide that from her, it seemed. "You are very beautiful, my lady."
"Thank you, sir." Anne replied simply. It was often that she heard such praises from men, so she was not overly complimented by his words. He would certainly have to do more than that to impress her. She wasn't some dainty broad that could be impressed by a few smooth comments and she certainly hoped he didn't see her that way, because then he would be very surprised, when they were married and lived together, how opposite from that she was. "Will you tell me about yourself?" She asked, not out of curiosity however. She felt that he seemed to be very bland and boring. It seemed he was one of those stupid men who was soft and useless, and she already felt slightly repulsed. Her initial reaction must have been completely wrong.
Edward nodded his head once, courteously. "Of course, my lady. I'm the son of Sir John Seymour, Sheriff of Wiltshire, and I have several other siblings. I'm the oldest son. I live at court right now, and if I might add," Edward said, his true self being revealed slightly with this single comment. "I'm currently in His Majesty, the King's good favour." He smirked pompously for a moment and Anne caught a good glimpse of who her future husband really was. Perhaps he wasn't as boring as she had just thought. On the contrary, he seemed like he may be an ambitious man. "And what about yourself, my lady?"
Anne sat up a little straighter in her seat, and turned her head on an angle as she spoke to him. Although she was talking, Anne watched as Edward's eyes wandered a long her body for a moment, before gluing themselves to her gaze. "I am the daughter of Sir Edward Stanhope of Subury, and Elizabeth Bourchier. I am a direct descendant of King Edward III of England, and I have two half brothers. I know you have met Richard, but there is Michael too. I spent some of my childhood in the company of Princess Mary, and we are quite good friends." She smiled a little, batting her eyelashes slightly. "Is there anything else you'd like to know, mister Seymour?" She wanted to be the one asking the questions, so she hoped he'd give up the position so she could begin to poke and prod at him, and reveal more of that ambitious side of him that she had got a glimpse of for only a few moments.
Edward returned her small smile, and sat back a bit in his chair. He tried to rack his brain for other things he could ask her, but the way she was sitting, and that little smile, the tilt of her head; he could not think of much but her, and those luscious looking lips. "I cannot say I do, Lady Anne. You sound like a very well bred woman. Do you have any questions for me?"
She nodded her head. "I have many." She said, smiling bigger now. "I want to know as much as I can about my future husband. You must understand that, don't you, mister Seymour?"
"Of course, Lady Anne." He replied, now leaning forward in his seat slightly. It seemed that this woman was not like his last, Catherine, at all. Instead, she seemed to have some personality in her, some feistiness. She knew what she wanted right now, and she was going to get it. She had drive, or maybe it was more like a hunger. Whatever it was, it was definitely drawing him in, and since Catherine, he had made very sure that any more stupid whores did not draw him in and wrap him in their web. He could tell that Anne was no whore though, and she certainly wasn't stupid. He hoped that she did not think he was easily manipulated, because he wasn't, and she would not find him wrapped around her fingers at any time in their marriage. "Fire away."
She giggled and clasped her hands together on her lap, sitting forward in her seat too. "What do you like to do in your spare time?" she asked. Questions were beginning to form in her head out of curiosity, and she was astounded to realize that she was actually interested in this Seymour boy's life. She wanted to know him, the real him, and she hoped he would not hide that side of him from her. "Be honest."
Be honest? He thought, questionably. If she is sure… "I like to hunt or just go out on a ride. I really enjoy any sport, archery to jousting." He thought for a moment, looking around the room. "I don't know, I am open to new things." He said, looking back to her. "What else would you like to know? That was such a simple question."
Anne raised her eyebrows at him. "Was that too simple for you mister Seymour?" She asked, smirking. "So you like a challenge, then?"
He shrugged, as if a challenge were nothing to him. She had guessed right, however. Edward enjoyed a good challenge, and he certainly didn't like to meet failure. "I do. I'm quite fond of challenges, and I like to be the best at everything I do. I'm a little bit of a sore loser, I suppose, except when it comes to things with the King, of course, as I believe he's the biggest sore loser of us all."
Anne nodded her head as she listened with interest to his words. He had said what she had wanted to hear; the truth and he had openly revealed his eagerness to be the best at all. She suddenly found herself oddly attracted to the man, and she need not wonder why. She had found what seemed to be a sort of perfect match in Edward Seymour. "I like a man who can hold his own, and who likes to get what he wants." She admitted, equally as honestly as him. If one of them was going to be honest, they might as well both be. They were going to be married after all, best to let it all out in the open. "I also like to get what I want."
A devilish grin appeared on his face. "I like a woman who likes to get what she wants." God has answered my prayers…
She burst into a fit of giggles, covering her mouth after a few moments of laughter. She looked shyly up at him, batting her eyelashes seductively. "May I ask a more personal question?"
He nodded, having no objections to her request. He had no idea what she was going to ask, but he secretly hoped it was something naughty. My mind has gone to the gutter now! What powers this woman has over me!
"Why did you get an annulment, from your last wife?" She asked, curiosity getting the best of her. Now that she felt some attraction for the man, she was interested to know what exactly had caused him to annul his last marriage. She hoped that the question did not anger him in anyway, you know, in case she had been a cheating whore.
He leaned back in his seat and sighed a bit. Normally, he would've gone into a fit of rage when asked such a question about his ex-wife, but because it was Anne, and because she already had some sort of magical power of him that he wasn't, at this moment, able to escape, he replied with ease, instead of frustration. She was curious, as was he, and curiosity never hurt anyone, did it? Plus, she had the right to know as his future wife, what would be allowed and what would be disallowed in their marriage. "That fucking whore…" he began, though his voice was surprisingly calm. "That stupid bitch, she went behind my back and slept with another man. Do you know who that man was, Anne?"
Anne shook her head. It could have been anyone! She knew very little of the story, only what her brother had managed to gather from Edward's own word and gossip.
"It was my fucking father." He said, his voice slightly louder now, but still relatively calm. He felt disgusted in himself, spitting out those words, it reminded him of the event and he hated to be reminded of it, but something about Anne's presence was making him calmer than normal, and he did not feel the usual rage he did when speaking of the generally taboo topic.
Anne opened her mouth a little, sitting on the edge of her seat. "That fucking whore!" Anne almost whispered, though due to her proximity to Edward, he heard her, loud and clear. She quickly covered her mouth, her cheeks going slightly scarlet in embarrassment. "Oh God, Edward, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let that slip out."
He let out a bark of a laugh, grinning at her. That had not been the reaction she had expected from him, at all. She felt like quite an idiot for having been embarrassed for her comment. If they were as much alike as she thought, then comments like that was something that would occur often. She uncovered her mouth and relaxed a little, chuckling as he laughed. "Don't worry Anne," he said, leaning forward to put a hand on her knee. It was probably meant to be a comforting gesture, but the minute his hand touched her leg, even though her gown covered her skin, Anne could feel all the hairs on her body stand up. "It was funny. You know, it's not often that I get to have a good laugh."
"I feel your pain." Anne sympathized, as she looked down at her hand, which was still on her knee. It seemed like some sort of magnetic force was pulling them together, and neither of them was strong enough to break from it. She had to pull her eyes away from his hand with all her might to look him in the eyes. "It's hard to find people with a good sense of humor these days. I suppose because my sense of humor is rather crude and -"
"And dry?" he asked, smirking as he cut her off.
She giggled. "Yes, and dry, you stole the words right out of my mouth, mister Seymour." We really are alike…she thought. We could be dangerous together.
"I liked it when you were calling me Edward." He said, honestly, his hand now stroking his knee. He had not even thought to do it, his body had initiated the movement on it's own. What has gotten into me? Too long without sex? Fuck, she's so, perfect for me, I can't fucking help it.
"I enjoyed calling you by name too, Edward." She replied. "However, I find that mister Seymour is sort of naughty, don't you?" She winked at him and felt her own heart begin to melt as he stroked her knee. The feeling that was coming over her was completely new. Anne was no virgin when it came to flirting with men, she had actually become quite practiced in it over the years, but she was, however, truly untouched by man. Edward's hand stroking her knee was quickly becoming a lot for her body to handle, and he wasn't even touching her bare ski- oh wait… now he was. He had snuck his hand up her gown a bit, and was not resting his hand on her bare knee. Oh dear God…
He chuckled as he continued to rub her leg from under her gown. She had basically invited him without actually inviting him, mentioning the word naughty and all. He could be naughty, and he could tell that she certainly could too. Today has been a gift from God! "It definitely is. I guess it's up to you then, call me what you want. If you want to be naughty, Anne…" he said, now on the edge of his seat too. He was whispering now. "I'll make sure you get what you want."
His hand was now beginning to stroke the bottom of her inner thigh. Anne could feel her legs beginning to tremble slightly at the thought of what would come after that. Well certainly nothing! We're in my drawing room, my brothers are home, and there are servants about! She thought, arguing with herself in her head. She did not believe it possible that they could go much further then this today but she was not sure how long she could last before they could. She almost blurted out, 'when's the wedding?' but she didn't want to seem overly desperate for his touch, not yet at least. She would give into him at the last minute, on their wedding night, right before they consummated their marriage. Just the thought was making her begin to feel a bit hot and heavy. She leaned her head close to Edward's, wishing that she had closed the door when she had come into the room. Even a little bit of privacy could have given them more freedom to explore their newly found attraction; she was dying to explore it. "I would like that very much, mister Seymour…" she whispered in his ear, her lips almost touching his earlobe. He could feel her breath on him as she spoke each of her words slowly. "Will that be giving you what you want, giving you what you desire, in turn?"
Edward felt like a dog, nodding his head quickly in response to her words. He began to stroke her inner thigh with more passion, and he wished that she had closed the door when she had come in. "You will be fulfilling my deepest desire, Anne. I want you, so bad." He admitted in whispers. He then looked her in the eyes, seriously. "I came her expecting to meet a good wife, one who was at least better behaved than my last, and I have found instead in you, my perfect match."
"I know…" Anne said, not knowing really what else to say. Edward had been married before, so he was good with this serious talk kind of thing, she wasn't as good at it. "Oh God, Edward, I know. We are so alike, I was expecting you to be horrid and bland, and you are not like that at all and, I want you too. I've never… wanted someone before, but now I can see that feeling, that of wanting someone, is not hard to distinguish." She put a hand on his arm and rubbed it, looking into his eyes. The need she had for him was getting a little out of control and they had just met, but they were seemingly meant for each other and it could be predicted that two soul mate's first encounter could get slightly out of control.
Edward was feeling more excitement than he had, probably ever. He knew for sure now that what he had with Catherine in the past was nothing. Nothing compared to what Anne and him would have in the future. They had only known each other for just under an hour and they already had found out they had everything in common, and they were also both already restraining themselves from ripping each other's clothing off. If we were anywhere else right now, we would be naked. Edward, with all his strength, removed his hand from her thigh, feeling her muscles shaking as he pulled away. If someone had walked by, well, it wouldn't have looked very good for either of them, so he had to cut himself off. Plus, he had more important things to do. He placed his hands on both of Anne's cheeks and pulled himself closer to her so that he could lay both his lips on hers. He ended their kiss for only a few seconds, letting the effect of their first kiss sink in, before pulling himself closer once more and putting his tongue into her mouth. He could not resist. Her lips were so sweet, and she was so wonderful. He let his one hand glide over her cheek to the nape of her neck. Her skin was so soft on his fingers, he could only imagine what the rest of her body would feel like…
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and both Anne and Edward were startled out of their kiss, sitting up straight in their seats, and leaning away from each other. Anne turned her head towards the door as she quickly threw her hands onto her lap. "Who is it?" she asked.
Her brother, Richard, then poked his head into the room. "It's me, I just wanted to see how everything was going?" He seemed completely oblivious to the fact he had just interrupted a very passionate moment between the two people that sat in front of him. He smiled warmly at both of them.
"Oh, Richard, things are…" Anne looked to Edward for a moment, and the back to her brother. "They're great." She said, even allowing herself to smile. I hope this soft side of me doesn't show all the time now, oh god.
Richard smiled at his sister, completely amazed to see her smiling. Had she not just been complaining and throwing things at him because this man was a Seymour? Clearly the Seymour's had some special tricks up their sleeves, or skills of some sort, because it seemed that Anne was truly happy, something Richard had not seen his half-sister be in some time. He did not respond to Anne yet, but instead, looked to Edward.
Edward could feel Anne's brother's gaze on him, and he looked at him for a moment with a cold expression. "Things are excellent." He said, nodding his head. He then stood up from his seat, and found Anne rising with him. He was still looking at Richard however, but his peripherals were on Anne. "I was actually just going to tell Anne I have to leave. I have some thing's to attend to at home."
"Oh, alright, well, I'll have them ready your horse then." Richard said, walking away from the room, leaving the two alone again.
"You're leaving?" Anne asked, her voice sounded a little upset.
Edward took her hand and pressed it to his lips and then, still holding her hand in his grasp, leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, and then, looking once toward the door before, on the lips. "Yes, I must go, but I will see you soon, Anne."
"Alright, if you must but, when is soon?" she asked, her heart pounding in her chest as she looked up at him under her eyelashes.
"When we will be wed; soon. Ask your brother, him and I will arrange everything and he will tell you." He told her. He kissed her on the cheek once more and squeezed her hand. "It will be as soon as possible, I promise."
Anne nodded her head, her heart pounding so heavily she could not bring herself to speak. She smiled softly at him and let him drop her hand, though unwillingly. She then eyed him carefully as he bowed to her, like such a gentleman, and then walked out of the room. She stood there for several minutes, until her brother eventually returned from outside and came in to find her completely speechless in the middle of their drawing room. He raised a curious eyebrow at her.
"What are you doing?" he asked, clueless still. "I see that you enjoyed the Seymour boy more than you thought?"
Richard's words awoke Anne from her daze and she turned her hawk eyes to him. "Perhaps." She said, neutrally. She was certainly not going to share with her brother the details of her interest in Edward Seymour. She preferred that he remained clueless in the situation. Anne began to walk towards the door, passing her brother without another word on the way out, leaving him speechless and confused.