An Invitation to Seduction

by Lorraine Heath

  “I’d have the same feelings as you, Prissy,” Lady Anne acknowledged. “But Richard possesses an incredible love of the sea. He has four yachts, and a smaller sailboat that a couple of men can manage. He loves to design, then hire men to build his boats.”

  Was it possible that Kitty was the only person he’d ever told about his fear of the sea? Or had he lied to her in order to gain her sympathies? No, she couldn’t see him plying her with falsehoods. With her, he’d simply revealed a part of himself that he’d never exposed to anyone else. Although it really wasn’t simple at all.

  Draining her glass, she wondered if he was correct about the bond that seemed to draw her to him, him to her. Did it go beyond a heated look, a sensual caress? She’d so easily confessed that he frightened her, found she’d been able to mention sensual yearnings and lust…

  She’d never so much as truly kissed Farthingham, and they’d certainly never discussed how their bodies felt when the other was near.

  “More wine?”

  Startled, Kitty almost lost her seating on the ledge. Lady Anne had the bottle poised for pouring.

  “Yes, please.” Watching the liquid cascade into the glass, Kitty remembered how she’d wanted to pour her body into Weddington.

  “You are ever so lucky to have caught Farthingham,” Lady Priscilla said.

  “I quite agree,” Kitty murmured, and sipped more of her wine.

  “You’re not having much luck with Freddie, are you?” Lady Anne asked.

  Lady Priscilla shook her head. “Not really. He’s lots of fun, but I gather he’s not really interested in me.”

  “He’s a fool if he’s not,” Lady Anne said, and Kitty heard the defense of her friend in her voice.

  Kitty had friends, but she’d spent considerable time traveling the world, experiencing so many wonderful things that she’d never really taken time to develop any deep and lasting friendships. Except for Farthingham. She supposed that he was her one true friend. How truly fortunate she was that he would also be her husband.

  “Miss Robertson, may I ask you a rather personal question?” Lady Priscilla asked.

  Kitty laughed lightly. “If it’s going to be personal, don’t you think you should call me Kitty?”

  Lady Priscilla giggled. “Yes, I suppose so.”

  “Here, drink some more wine,” Lady Anne encouraged, leaving Kitty to wonder if they’d purposely brought her there to ask this “personal question.”

  Kitty drank and nodded. “Go on and ask.”

  “Well, we’re all aware that American ladies aren’t chaperoned quite as closely as we are over here.”

  “Not chaperoned at all usually,” Kitty acknowledged.

  Lady Priscilla and Lady Anne exchanged quick glances before they both focused all their attention on Kitty, making her decidedly uncomfortable.

  Lady Priscilla took a deep breath. “Have you ever been kissed? I mean truly kissed?”

  The heat suffused Kitty’s face and traveled down to her toes. She nodded quickly.

  “What was it like?” Lady Priscilla and Lady Anne asked at the same time.

  Kitty released a small self-conscious laugh. “I don’t know that I can describe it.”

  “Please, do try,” Lady Priscilla pleaded.

  Kitty released a deep breath. “Well…it was very much like being here. Warm. Misty. Like drinking too much wine—so the warmth travels outward as well as inward. It’s like feeling lethargic and energetic at the same time.” She closed her eyes, remembering Weddington’s mouth moving provocatively over hers. It had made her want to touch forbidden places in forbidden ways. She opened her eyes. “It’s enjoyable.”

  “I’m positively certain that it was enjoyable,” Lady Priscilla said. “Farthingham makes everything enjoyable.”

  Kitty downed her wine as though it were water. Should she confess to these ladies that it wasn’t Farthingham who had kissed her or allow them to believe it was? And if they said something to him…

  “You won’t mention what I said will you?” she asked.

  “Absolutely not,” Lady Anne said. “Everything said within these walls remains within these walls. Isn’t that right, Prissy?”

  “Oh, absolutely. Not a single word to anyone.”

  “More wine?” Lady Anne asked.

  Kitty laughed. “Absolutely.” She waited while Lady Anne opened another bottle and poured another generous amount into everyone’s glass before posing her question. “Lady Anne, I recall a conversation in the coach on the way to the opera…something about a young man holding your heart. Has he never kissed you?”

  “Oh!” Lady Anne pressed her hand to her mouth and her shoulders curled forward as she glanced shyly at Kitty. “I’ve never even spoken to him.”

  “Nor he to her,” Lady Priscilla said.

  “He does address me when our paths cross,” Lady Anne said curtly.

  “And yet he holds your heart?” Kitty asked.

  “From afar,” Lady Anne assured her.

  “She doesn’t even know his name,” Lady Priscilla said.

  Although the warm water had made everyone’s face turn pink, Lady Anne’s darkened into rose with embarrassment. “He is an assistant to one of Richard’s solicitors. I see him from time to time when he delivers messages or papers.”

  Kitty contemplated the first morning she’d encountered Weddington and how she’d been drawn back to the same spot the next morning, her initial disappointment because she hadn’t spotted him again, her conflicting feelings when he’d suddenly appeared. Did something indefinable but recognizable exist between people?

  “Lady Anne—”

  “You must call me Anne.”

  She smiled. “All right. Anne. This gentleman…if you’ve never engaged in conversation with him, why are you certain that he has the potential to hold your heart?”

  She shook her head quickly. “I’m silly, aren’t I? I don’t know why I feel as though it’s so. I’m sure Richard is right. I should be looking among the aristocracy for a husband. And perhaps if I got to know the fellow I would find him rather unsuitable, and yet something tells me that I wouldn’t.”

  “He’s your soul mate,” Lady Priscilla said with a sigh. “So you recognize that part of him that speaks to you, even though he never actually speaks to you.” She giggled. “That was a profound thought, wasn’t it?”

  Anne laughed. “No! It was silly. I think you’ve had far too much wine.”

  “Hardly. Pour me some more.”

  While Anne did the pouring, Kitty dared to ask, “Anne, why has your brother not taken a wife?”

  “My mother has been asking him the same thing for years now. She’s quite beside herself with worry. After all, he has no brother to inherit the title should an accident befall Richard. It is a mystery as to why he has not yet shown any interest in getting married.”

  Only he had shown interest…to her. Proposing in her garden.

  “Perhaps he is waiting for a woman to want to marry him,” Lady Priscilla offered.

  “I should think that wouldn’t be a problem,” Lady Anne said, clearly in defense of her brother.

  “He’s not what I’d call classically handsome,” Lady Priscilla said.

  “Well, no,” Lady Anne reluctantly admitted.

  “And he’s not exactly…jovial.”

  “No, he’s not,” Lady Anne said.

  “And he tends to be domineering.”

  Lady Anne nodded. “Indeed.”

  She appeared to be remarkably sad, then she brightened. “He dances well.”

  Kitty burst out laughing. She couldn’t help herself. Perhaps she’d had too much wine, but she’d sat there listening to their inconsequential descriptions of the man. Abruptly she quieted under their direct stares.

  “You don’t think he dances well?” Lady Anne asked, clearly offended.

  Kitty had to swallow another bubble of laughter. “I think he dances marvelously.” She shook her head, her mind swirling. A combination of the
wine and the warm water was loosening her tongue, and she seemed to have no power to hold back the words.

  “You say he is not classically handsome, and I say that I have never seen a man who portrayed such”—she thought of him that first morning by the sea—“magnificence. A power that is evident the moment your gaze falls on him.

  “You say he’s not jovial, and I’ll admit I’ve never heard him erupt with bold laughter, and yet I sense in him that he finds joy in ensuring that others enjoy life. The wagers with Farthingham…Farthingham’s prize should he have won was always so much more valuable than what Weddington would have gained. And yet I think he was more inclined to accept the wager because Farthingham so enjoys wagering.

  “As for his domineering attitude, would you truly want a man who couldn’t exhibit power, influence, and control to inherit the family’s titles? In many ways, he reminds me of my father. He possesses a determination to succeed. Call it competitiveness or the inability to settle for less than one deserves, but it’s not a negative attribute. I find it incredibly appealing when a man will strive to achieve.

  “I’ve found your brother to be thoughtful, considerate, and dependable. He does not play when responsibilities call him. He places his obligations first, and in so doing, he places his family above all else. I find him admirable.”

  With their eyes wide and their mouths agape, both ladies stared at her.

  “My Lord,” Lady Anne finally said. “If you have such flattering comments to say about my brother—with such conviction—I can well imagine that you’ve placed Farthingham, the man you intend to marry, on a golden pedestal.”

  Kitty suddenly felt ill. A result of too much wine, she was certain of it. Otherwise, she might have to admit that the roiling in her stomach was caused by her fear that they’d ask her to expound on Farthingham’s virtues, and the only thing she could think to say was that he was fun, and he made her feel safe.

  Chapter 15

  “I do believe Cook has outdone herself this morning,” Richard said as he began to cut into the slice of ham on his plate. “Everything smells incredibly delicious. Don’t you agree, Anne?”

  From her place at the table, his sister shook her head and pressed a hand to her mouth. All three ladies were a bit off-color that morning. Seaweed green. No doubt a result of their excursion to the bathhouse.

  He’d been standing by the window in the billiard room, waiting for Farthingham to take a shot, when he’d heard the commotion outside. He’d excused himself and followed the whispering, giggling ladies to the bathhouse, then kept watch to make certain no one disturbed them.

  They’d stayed so long he was surprised that they hadn’t shriveled up into nothing.

  “Miss Robertson, are you certain that I can’t fetch you a helping of eggs? Cook seasons them with some sort of rare spice, so they have a most distinct ?avoring that makes them a delightful gift to the palate.”

  She gave him a scathing glare that might have sliced a lesser man to ribbons. “No, thank you. The tea will suffice.”

  “Well, if you happen to change your mind, I’ll be only too glad to fill a plate for you with all the varied offerings designed to make a person’s mouth water.”

  Narrowing her eyes at him, she pressed her fingers to her temples.

  “Whatever is wrong, my sweet? Did something you ate during dinner not agree with you last night?” Farthingham asked.

  “I suspect something following dinner agreed too much,” Richard said.

  “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Kitty asked.

  “I don’t enjoy that you’re miserable, but I certainly don’t mind goading you about your foolishness.”

  “I feel as though Freddie and I have been left out of something quite important,” Farthingham said.

  “I believe the ladies spent a bit of time at the bathhouse last night. How much wine, Anne? Two bottles, three?”

  “Four, if you must know.”

  Scoffing, Richard shook his head in amazement.

  “I suppose you’ve never drunk to excess,” Kitty stated.

  “Actually no. I prefer to keep my wits about me.”

  “But wine makes it easier to talk,” Anne said.

  “I’ve never noticed you having difficulty talking,” Richard said. “Too much wine can loosen one’s tongue, which is not the same as making it easier to converse.”

  “I disagree. I’m certain without the wine, Kitty never would have confessed that Farthingham is an amazing kisser,” Lady Priscilla said.

  “Prissy!” Kitty snapped.

  Horror washed over Lady Priscilla’s face. “Oops! That was supposed to remain our little secret, wasn’t it? I’m dreadfully sorry. Truly I am. I simply forgot.”

  “I don’t mind having my talents revealed,” Farthingham said, placing his elbow on the table, his chin in his palm. “Not at all. I’m quite pleased to know, my sweet, that you take such pleasure in my wooing of you.”

  Kitty looked as though she wanted to die on the spot, and Richard was certain it wasn’t simply from the ill effects of having finally gone to bed in the wee hours before dawn with too much alcohol in her blood. She pushed back her chair. “I’m going to lie down.”

  “Will you be up to going out on the yacht this afternoon?” Richard asked.

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  As she walked from the room, Anne stood. “I think I shall return to bed as well.”

  “And I,” Lady Priscilla said.

  Once the ladies were out of earshot, the gentlemen passed glances among themselves, shaking their heads, and smiling.

  “Perhaps we should postpone taking the yacht out,” Farthingham suggested.

  But Richard was anxious for Kitty to see his fine vessel. “We’ll go after lunch. They should be all right by then.”

  “Four bottles of wine among the three of them? No telling what else they confessed,” Farthingham speculated.

  Richard wondered if Kitty had mentioned his kisses as well as Farthingham’s, or had she found his to be easily forgotten? More importantly, was it Farthingham’s amazing kisses that kept her tethered to him? It was a notion Weddington hadn’t considered. Perhaps Farthingham did have the skills required to bring her passions to the surface. It wasn’t a thought he much liked having.

  The Fair Lady was moored in the harbor of the small port town where Kitty and her family had vacationed only a few weeks earlier.

  Weddington had gone ahead of them to see to readying the vessel and had helped her and Farthingham board his yacht as soon as the small rowboat used to get them to the yacht had drawn up alongside the much larger ship. The others were still getting themselves ready, promising to arrive soon, not nearly as anxious as Kitty was to be under way.

  While she walked slowly from stern to bow, inspecting the ship, she sensed Weddington scrutinizing her as he followed. Wishing Priscilla had kept her mouth tightly sealed regarding the kiss, Kitty wondered if Weddington suspected it was his kiss she’d described to his sister and her friend and not Farthingham’s. Although she imagined no reason existed for him to suspect that he alone had kissed her passionately, she’d prefer for him not to realize that she’d spent a good deal of time reflecting on his mastery of seduction.

  “What do you think, my sweet? Impressed?” Farthingham asked, as they reached the bow and came to a stop.

  She darted a glance at Weddington, who stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze focused intently on her, almost as though he held his breath in anticipation of her answer. “It’s lovely,” she finally admitted.

  Weddington acknowledged her statement with a barely discernable bowing of his head, while Farthingham took her arm with such excitement that she would have thought he was the one responsible for the magnificence of the vessel. “Let me show you belowdecks. That is where you’ll find the true beauty of this yacht.”

  “If Weddington doesn’t mind,” she said.

  “Of course, I don’t mind,” Weddington said. “Make yourselves at h
ome. Once we shove off, we’ll be serving tea to the ladies on the deck.”

  Tea for the ladies—as though ladies were incapable of doing anything more while on board than sit and sip. It was a commonly held belief that Kitty’s lingering headache was no doubt causing her to resent.

  Tugging on her arm, Farthingham left her with no choice except to leave Weddington standing where he was, gazing after them as Farthingham escorted her down the dark wooden stairs into the main saloon. Intricately carved paneling greeted her, along with rich burgundy velvet-covered chairs and sofas. Exquisite tables and collections of tiny porcelain and marble figurines decorated the room.

  “Are you even more impressed now?” Farthingham asked.

  “I was quite impressed before. Everything is so beautiful.” And rivaled her father’s yacht in magnificence. Because they traveled on the water to such a great degree, he’d had the interior of The Lone Star designed with comfort, convenience, and appreciation in mind so that it was a pleasure to live on board. Kitty thought the same could be said of The Fair Lady.

  “The library is through that passageway, and on the other side is a room where guests sleep. But through here”—he took her hand and led the way—“is where the master sleeps.”

  Although much smaller than the bedchamber she was using at Drummond Manor, the room was not that much different. A four-poster bed dominated the room, its comforter the same as the one that covered the bed she’d slept in for a few hours the previous night.

  “I thought we might use the yacht for a wedding trip,” Farthingham said quietly.

  An image of her and him nestled within that bed jumped into her mind, and just as quickly he slipped away and Weddington replaced him. She felt the heat suffuse her face. She and Farthingham would share a bed. Of course, they would. She would find it most pleasant and enjoyable. “Weddington might have a thing or two to say about that,” she said.

  “Not really, since the yacht is ours.”

  Kitty turned to stare at him as though he’d lost his mind. “What?”

  “It’s ours,” he repeated. “Weddington is giving it to us as a wedding present.”