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The remainder of the evening was silent; the mansion was trimmed flawlessly by dinner time. Duncan appeared with another tumbler of scotch and informed The Lord that dinner was ready. "The dining room has been prepared for the arrival of the Lady's family. So Ms.Lilith asked to have the meal served in the bedroom," the butler explained.
"Thank you, Duncan." Lord Thorn patted the butler on his shoulder. "I know she was difficult today, and I appreciate your patience. There is a special bonus in your pay bucket. I have allotted a few extra days of leave, too," Christopher stated with a smile. He downed the drink and handed the glass back to the butler.
"Milord, thank you. Will you need anything else this evening?"
"Make sure everyone is on their best behavior and know that the rest of the family will be very demanding like my wife. Please instruct the staff accordingly. Her relations should be arriving soon."
"Yes, Milord," Duncan bowed and left.
***
Lilith waited in the bedroom for her husband. She was still angry at Christopher for how he treated her in front of the servants. She could hear his shoes clicking on the marble floor as he neared their bedchamber.
"Good Evening Lilith," said Christopher in a chipper tone as he gave her his best boyish grin. He went to kiss her cheek, and she turned away from him.
She hated when he was like this, acting as if nothing had happened. It bothered her that he could control her emotionally with his charming demeanor. Which usually ended up with him bedding her afterward. She was determined not to let him influence her with his male magnetism.
Christopher was tall and had a solid muscular build. The man's shoulders were twice as broad as she had ever seen. His hair was black as a crow's feather, eyes a smoldering grey, and the face of a God with a sharp nose and strong jaw. The Lord's waist tapered to a V that extended to his powerful sinewy legs. He was an Adonis. Lilith moaned, 'why did he have to be so handsome?'
She shook her head and pulled herself back out of her thoughts.
Lilith raised her nose in the air with a haughty attitude, crossing her arms across her chest, and replied to Christopher's greeting, "What is so good about it?"
Lord Thorn knew this was about to be a long night. Lilith was furious, and he was the target. He sat at the table, pulled the cover off the dishes, and poured himself a glass of wine. Christopher started with the vichyssoise. It was creamy and delicate on the tongue.
"You should eat, he said to Lilith." She ignored his remark and fidgeted with the front of her skirt. He could tell she had a lot to say, none of which he really wanted to hear. But he needed to eat before they got into it.
"I'm not hungry. You humiliated me today!" She said the words in a sulky voice like a pouting child.
He would not respond. Christopher had had enough of Lilith's childish behavior. He was going to correct it tonight. If she were going to act like a child, he would treat her as one.
"Well? Don't you want to say something to me?" Demanded Lilith.
Christopher narrowed his gaze at her and raised a brow. "No, not at the moment, I'm eating, and you should consider doing the same, or I will feed you myself." He grinned at Lilith mischievously. "I doubt you like it when I do."
He watched from the corner of his eye as Lilith tried to find a way to get under his skin to start the fight. "You need to stop threatening me like a child." Came the response.
"Then stop acting like one." The Lord's voice was cold.
Lilith scowled. She knew not to push him or call his bluff. He really would follow through on his threat and hand-feed her. She picked up the cover on her plate and saw the pheasant with wild rice. Lilith took her fork, fluffed the rice, and slowly ate. She figured out he would not converse with her until dinner was over. Lilith waited patiently to pounce on Christopher once he finished his meal.
When he had his fill of food, Lord Thorn got to his feet and began to undress. He removed his jacket and tie, laying them on the chair.
"Oh! No, you are not getting undressed until we talk." Lilith glowered at her husband standing in front of her.
"I'm getting comfortable so we can talk, my dear." Christopher had unbuttoned the top two buttons on the shirt that showed the bronze skin of his chest.
"I know what you're doing; It will not work this time, Christopher." she glanced at him sideways. The mansion was getting cold, and the weather was expected to be snowy and very frigid over the holiday. Lilith had turned to the fireplace to keep warm and distract herself from his disrobing.
"What exactly am I doing, Lilith? Christopher asked in a sultry voice, his lips turning to a grin.
"You're trying to coax me into the bed. It's how you try to get out of speaking with me." She said in a harsh voice.
"Alright, Lilith, what's bothering you? I'm here to listen and talk it over. No tricks." He sat down on the wingback armchair to listen to his wife. Christopher gave her his full attention.
"As I said right before dinner. You humiliated me today and made me look bad in front of the servants. Now it will set a precedence for them not to take me seriously and obey my orders."
Lord Thorn sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face. He was too tired to deal with any more of her silliness, "Lilith, you humiliated yourself. You didn't even treat the staff with basic dignity, ordering people around like animals and insulting them. If they don't appreciate you, it's from not respecting them in the first place. Drop your superiority complex and treat the servants better. You'd be surprised how much could be accomplished with a bit of compassion."
Lilith turned away from the fire to look at Christopher. "You should take your own advice. You didn't treat me with dignity when you admonished me in front of everyone today." She raised her eyebrows as she spoke to her husband.
"I'm no longer going to talk in circles with you, Lilith. Is there any other topic we need to discuss? If not, I'm going to bed. Your family will be here soon, and I'd like a bit of rest before they arrive." Christopher sat up in the chair and waited for her response.
"Yes, there is something else I'd like to address with you. We've been married for three years and still don't have kids. My youngest sister had her first child a year after marriage. I'm the only one with no children. We discussed this before marriage, and you agreed we would have kids."
Christopher remained silent for a moment. Lilith could tell he was thinking about how to answer her.
"I never agreed to children, Lilith, you spoke of it, but I never said we would have kids. I can't have children. Due to an injury when I was young. Not to mention, you have to sleep in the same bed more than once a month to conceive." Christopher watched the look of shock on his wife's face with his rebuttal.
Lilith sat down in the chair. He could see the pain on her face. Tears began to drip down her cheeks. "You lied to me. I would never have married you if I had known about this." She said while staring at the floor.
"I didn't lie," Christopher said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You never asked once asked me about this. Kids are not suitable for us anyway. You are a very selfish narcissist, and I'm too busy with work and running the estate. A child, for you, would be a novelty, an object to satisfy what you believe motherhood is about. Not someone you would love and nurture. A nanny would have to step in and raise the child in the end. I would never want this for our offspring." The Lord was blunt with his answer.
Lilith sobbed into her hands, hanging her head down, and tears flowed freely from her already reddened eyes. She couldn't see, and Christopher did not come to console her. "Why are you so cruel? What did I do for you to treat me in this manner?"
Christopher sat impassively gazing at his wife. "You changed, Lilith. You have become mean-spirited and indifferent, only worrying about your needs and don't care who you hurt. I have no love for you, and it's been that way for a while. I only tolerate you. Quite frankly, I'm disgusted by you. I have a problem, though, because I promised to take care of you till death do us part. I intend to keep that oath to the bitter end. We will coexist in a loveless marriage. I hope that was the answer you were looking for. Now, If you will excuse me, I'm going to retire for the night."
He rose from the chair and began to walk to the bed. Lilith leaped up from where she sat, grabbed a knife off the dinner plate, and lunged at Christopher. He swiftly dodged her attack and wrestled her to the bed.
***