The School for Brides (14 page)
Read The School for Brides Online
Authors: Cheryl Ann Smith
I
t felt odd to think of her as anything but Miss Black. “You did have a choice, Eva. A single no, and I would have released you. Yet, you kissed me and undressed me as eagerly as I did you. You cannot say I forced you.”
t felt odd to think of her as anything but Miss Black. “You did have a choice, Eva. A single no, and I would have released you. Yet, you kissed me and undressed me as eagerly as I did you. You cannot say I forced you.”
After a pause, she slowly shook her head. “You did not force me. I came to your bed willingly.”
Thank God. He rose to his knees and knelt in front of her. He drew her up off her rump until they were face to face. “If you ever come to my bed again, it will be because you want me, not for any other reason. I will not use your debt to manipulate you again. You and your mother will always have a home.”
Not touching, they looked into each other’s eyes. He watched a procession of raw emotions flicker through her. He wanted to take her into his arms and make love to her again and again, until she had no more regrets. He wanted to make love to her until he no longer saw Miss Black, the spinster who upended his life, in her, but the elusive Miss Winfield—Eva—who hid from the world. He wanted to know every inch of the woman behind the spectacles and wig.
He wanted her, the beautiful courtesan’s daughter.
“I think I shall call you Nicholas, Your Grace,” she whispered finally as she spanned a hand in the center of his chest. “Your Grace seems too formal for this situation.”
Nicholas grinned as she wrapped her arm around his neck and drew him down to the bed.
N
icholas tucked a hand behind his head and the other around Eva. Her explosive passion had both shocked and delighted him. Even now, as he listened to her breathe, her soft hair tangled beneath his shoulder, it was impossible to believe Eva Black and Evangeline Winfield were one and the same.
icholas tucked a hand behind his head and the other around Eva. Her explosive passion had both shocked and delighted him. Even now, as he listened to her breathe, her soft hair tangled beneath his shoulder, it was impossible to believe Eva Black and Evangeline Winfield were one and the same.
How easily he’d been tricked. He’d been so angry with her since their first meeting; he’d refused to see beyond her costume. He wanted so much to punish her, to bring her to heel, to make her beg for mercy.
But it had been she who had knocked him senseless.
A virgin? A courtesan’s daughter had been an innocent. Had he known from the first, would it have made a difference? Perhaps. But they were beyond regrets. She’d been thoroughly made love to. There was no taking these moments back, nor did he desire to. He wanted her just as she was now, soft and pliable beside him in her sleep.
The question now became what he was to do with her. Certainly, taking her innocence had satisfied his desire for revenge. He’d ruined her more effectively than purchasing her debts ever could. He should free her. Yet, somehow he knew it would not be that simple. She’d crawled under his skin with her beautiful amber eyes and surprisingly passionate nature.
If she agreed to continue their arrangement and become his courtesan in truth, would she be satisfied to remain in the background when he married?
She helped courtesans escape their protectors. It was impossible to imagine she would be satisfied to live her days as one of them, lounging about in a scandalous gown on a settee, awaiting his pleasure while reading some inane poetry book.
The idea broke a smile across his face. He imagined her outrage and the scathing words she’d use when expressing her refusal. Though he’d spent only a handful of hours in her presence, he knew enough to know she wouldn’t be pleased with the offer to become a kept lover.
In the darkness he studied the soft angles of her lovely cheekbones and slightly pointed chin, but came up with no solution. Perhaps he should think on it in the morning, when her thigh was not draped over his and a breast was not pressed against his ribs. How had he ever found her plain and uninteresting?
It was nearly impossible not to plot to keep her as his mistress when she was so near.
Eva shifted in her sleep and let out a small sigh. Nicholas tucked the quilt over her breasts, less for worry she’d catch a chill than for his own desire for rest. The generous globes were all too tempting. And he was spent.
I
t was early the next morning when Nicholas’s carriage took her home. It was just before dawn, and the black sky was fading to gray as Eva leaned back on the seat, worry furrowing her brow.
t was early the next morning when Nicholas’s carriage took her home. It was just before dawn, and the black sky was fading to gray as Eva leaned back on the seat, worry furrowing her brow.
She had been made love to three times during the night and was immensely satisfied by the encounters. For those stolen moments, she would never feel regret for her loss of innocence. As for the duke, the repercussions of her actions in his arms weren’t so clear. He’d opened up emotions and sexual desires she’d always intended to keep buried until her death.
Outwardly, though she looked the same, inside she’d changed. She was no longer innocent. She’d lost her virginity to a man who was everything she hated: arrogant, vengeful, and a duke. His wealth and power were enough to send her diving under the nearest bed and away from gossips. And her willingness to allow him to love her, time and time again, troubled her greatly.
The future she’d plotted for herself did not involve marriage, so there was no risk of a husband discovering her lost innocence. And since she had no intention of ever returning to the duke, unless he’d gotten her with child, their interactions were concluded.
To continue to see him was to risk not only a baby, but her heart, if she was foolish enough to fall in love with this man who would never love her.
She’d seen what her mother had given up to love her father; hidden away from the world, never able to claim him fully as hers. Though Father did love her mother deeply, there were rules they both had to follow.
Eva knew Nicholas could never wed her, and she would not be satisfied to live in the shadows of his wife and children.
Thus, she would continue her life as it was, and put Nicholas behind her. And now and then she’d think back to her night with the dark duke, and be warm with the memories.
After instructing the coachman to let her off behind the town house, she walked through the garden, enjoying the last few moments of solitude to collect herself. When Harold opened the kitchen door, a scowl on his face, she walked past him without a word, to find refuge in her room.
Eventually, she would face his scorn, but for now, she needed to sleep.
T
he color is delightful on you, Sophie. You look lovely,” Rose said, laughing as Pauline spun Sophie around for inspection. The day dress was green with a respectable lacy neckline and a froth of lace circling the short, puffed sleeves.
he color is delightful on you, Sophie. You look lovely,” Rose said, laughing as Pauline spun Sophie around for inspection. The day dress was green with a respectable lacy neckline and a froth of lace circling the short, puffed sleeves.
“You are the lovely one, Rose,” Sophie said, staring at Rose in the mirror. The change in Sophie after a few short days had been unexpected. She had lost some of the hard lines on her face, and smiled more often.
Rose’s enthusiasm for life had proved infectious, and not even the hardened Sophie and Yvette were immune. Yvette occasionally entertained them with a racy story and became somewhat of an older sister to Rose, Pauline, and Abigail when they needed advice.
Eva handed a cream-colored dress to Yvette and listened to Rose and Pauline chatter about patterns and fabric with Abigail, who was stripped to her chemise. Rose was clad in pale blue, and the two women were indeed stunning in their new frocks.
Madame Fornier and her assistants scurried about, eager to show the latest fashions as they envisioned a large sale. Eva had planned to take her ladies shopping the day before, but drenching rain kept them inside. So they’d spent the previous afternoon going over topics one discussed over tea and at parties, and of course, current events.
Eva wanted her ladies ready for any social situation.
Her wandering mind, and unsettled nights, kept her from fully focusing on anything but the most mundane tasks. In spite of her best efforts, she could not get His Grace out of her thoughts. She’d tossed on her bed last night, feverish and aching for his body. She could not walk down the street without hoping for a glimpse of his handsome face.
“What do you think of this one, Miss Eva?” Abigail asked. Eva snapped back to attention. The dress was pale yellow with tiny matching flowers at the neckline. “The dress is pretty, but the color makes your skin sallow.” Eva moved over to a table and picked up a bolt of deep burgundy fabric. “If Madame can make the same dress in this color, it will be perfect.”
Abigail smiled. “Miss Eva is right. I will take this in the other color.”
Eva smiled back at the girl. Even Abigail had begun to blossom from her deep shyness and reserve to show a quick wit. She’d quickly become a favorite. Eva hoped to make her a match with one of three men she’d selected of similar temperament. Abigail would make any of them a fine wife.
All the women had something to offer a suitor. Eva already had several men in mind to introduce to Rose and Yvette. Once she had a firm grasp of her courtesans’ personalities, it was just a matter of making introductions to the suitors, then letting attraction take over.
While the women stripped for the next selection of gowns in the private fitting room, Eva wandered the shop, fingering fabrics and trimmings. After the women had discovered the joy of garments made of fabric one couldn’t see through, giving up their courtesans’ gowns had not been difficult.
A flash of black caught the corner of Eva’s eye. She turned to see a tall, caped figure slip into a room at the back of the shop. She looked around for Madame Fornier, but the dressmaker seemed to have vanished.
Curious, Eva walked to where the man had disappeared, and gingerly peered around the open doorway. A gloved hand shot out and grasped her by the wrist. Before she could cry out, she was jerked inside the storage room, and the door was closed behind her.
“Let me loose,” she whimpered the instant she recognized the spicy scent of her captor. “Your Grace?”
In the dim light seeping under the door, Eva molded to his body as he swept his hat off his head with one hand and circled her waist with the other. “Were you expecting someone else?”
He turned to press her back to the wall and bent to hungrily claim her mouth. Heat rocked Eva as she wrapped her arms around his neck and tipped her head to a better fit. She let out a low moan of sheer happiness as Nicholas kissed her breathless.
When he finally lifted his head, her heart threatened to leap from her chest. She knew she should push him away, yet she hadn’t the will to do so. He was warm and hard, and she longed to feel him naked above her, plunging into her body. If not for the inappropriate setting, she’d have tossed up her skirts and let him have his way with her.
“Why are you here?” she whispered, clutching his coat. “Someone might have seen you. Do you plan to ruin me?”
“That was my intention,” he teased. “I knew your curiosity would bring you to me.” He tipped his head and nipped her ear. “I saw your carriage and planned only to walk past. My solicitor is two doors down. When I saw you through the window, I was drawn inside.” He lowered his hand to caress her rump. “I could not resist a bit of fondling.”
Oddly, she found his admission pleasing. She arched a brow. “You must be familiar with the shop, Your Grace, to find this room. It is somewhat hidden behind the shelves.”
“I have been here once or twice.” Doubtless, with previous lovers. He sucked her earlobe.
Eva giggled quietly and leaned her head back to allow him access to her neck. Her wig slipped and blocked his advance. He groaned and lifted his head. “I hate how you hide your hair, Eva. Why do you feel the need to do so?”
Eva released him and settled back against the wall. “You would not understand, Your Grace. Your life has been open to the world since your birth. I am not so lucky. I need to keep my two worlds separate. Miss Black belongs to the courtesans and Miss Winfield belongs to me.”
“Interesting. You hide only from your courtesans?” He lifted her face with his fingertips and peered into her eyes. “I know about your mother’s history. Is that the real reason why you hide behind Miss Black?”
Eva lifted her head. “You know?” She bent and slipped out from under his arm. She faced him, frowning. “How could you know?”
She felt sick. All the years of hiding the truth, and the duke had discovered her deepest secret in a few days. She crossed her arms protectively. “Oh, yes. You made it your mission to discover all about me so you could drag me though the gutters and ruin my life.”
“Eva”—his voice turned stony—“I would never expose your secret, despite my vengeful plotting. I ended the investigation as soon as I recognized Charlotte’s name.”
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