Secret Lessons with the Rake

by Julia Justiss

  Though she should consider it, she realised. If she truly didn’t wish to live alone the rest of her life, she should consider it carefully.

  And she would, she promised herself. Later. When she no longer had the delight of Christopher’s company.

  Before she could steer Lady Vraux’s thoughts in another direction, Christopher said, ‘With your friends about to arrive, shall we delay that conversation for another time? Who have you invited to this gathering, Mama? If I know who I’ll be facing, I can better arm myself to resist.’ He looked over at Ellie. ‘And win my teacher’s approval.’

  After Lady Vraux revealed the names, Christopher laughed. ‘I’m surprised you got Alice Fairchild here. Didn’t you ruffle her feathers recently by stealing one of her admirers? Henderson, wasn’t it?’

  His mother shrugged. ‘I admit, she can be tiresome, always thinking I’m vying with her for masculine attention. I’m not her rival, nor have I ever been.’

  When Christopher lifted a sceptical eyebrow, she continued, ‘To be a rival, one must wish to compete, and I don’t. I am simply—myself. If that interests a gentleman, he seeks me out, and if the attraction is mutual, a relationship may develop. But I never invite adulation.’

  She didn’t need to, Ellie thought. Her beauty, wit and allure drew men to her. As Christopher’s charm, good looks and intelligence would draw the attention of these rival matrons. And soon, the attention of an eligible bride—who would claim him and carry him away for good.

  ‘So how did you inveigle Alice to come?’ Christopher asked, pulling her from those reflections.

  ‘Told her you would be present,’ Lady Vraux said with an arch look. ‘She’s always had a tendre for you, even before she married Malmonsey—as surely you know.’

  ‘Since—up until now—I’ve carefully avoided unmarried maidens, I did not know. Although she has been rather flirtatious on the few occasions I’ve encountered her since her marriage,’ he admitted.

  ‘I told her you’d just ended your most recent liaison, and were feeling restless, so I invited several of the most charming ladies of the ton to entertain you.’

  Christopher groaned. ‘So I’m to play a man on the prowl? That’s the role I’m trying to abandon!’

  ‘No, hear me out. You’re to focus your attention on Ellie. Believing you are trying to win her as your next chère amie, they will each try to entice you to favour them instead.’

  ‘Ah, giving me practice in resisting their charms. Try what they may, being able to focus on Ellie will make resisting them easy,’ he said, turning to give Ellie the full force of his most intimate smile.

  Her mouth dried, sensation spiralled in her stomach, and she stopped breathing for so long, she felt dizzy. If he had held open his arms, she would have walked right in.

  She felt her face heat as she forced herself to look away. She was supposed to be accustoming herself to watching him entice other women—not falling victim to his charm herself. She could only hope Felicia’s seductive matrons were experts at their art, and Christopher as susceptible as his mother believed.

  A knock at the door brought the butler, who ushered in the ladies. Although all three had attended some of the more rakish entertainments at which she’d been present, she wasn’t on intimate terms with any of them.

  Ellie had to admit they were all dazzling.

  First to walk in was Lady Malmonsey. Tall, with masses of black hair intricately arranged beneath an enormous bonnet, she wore a fashionable gown whose wide, lace-trimmed shoulders were cut low enough to display a tempting expanse of pale skin, while the belt at the skirt emphasised her narrow waist. Although she made her curtsy to Lady Vraux, her large green eyes immediately sought and lingered on Christopher.

  Behind her came Elizabeth Falconer, an exquisite blonde with a sultry mouth and huge deep blue eyes, her assets also displayed in a gown cut lower at the bodice than was usual for day wear. Bringing up the rear was Jane Dalrymple, a redhead whose flame-coloured tresses were rumoured to reflect her fiery character in the bedchamber.

  If Christopher could resist this trio, his eventual wife would believe him a saint.

  He turned from Ellie to bow to them, as the ladies exchanged curtsies.

  ‘Welcome,’ Lady Vraux said. ‘I’m so pleased you could all join me. Billings, will you bring tea? I believe you all know my son, Christopher, and my friend, Ellie Parmenter.’

  As the guests added their chorus of greetings, Ellie watched Alice Fairchild measure with a narrowed gaze exactly how close she stood to Christopher. ‘Nice to see you, Miss Parmenter—or shall we call you “Summerville’s Sweetheart”?’

  Since the question was patently rhetorical, while Ellie gritted her teeth at that reminder of a time she tried hard to forget, the Countess walked over to link her arm with Christopher’s. ‘So good to see you, too, Christopher. And available, I understand?’ she added in a murmur.

  ‘Always available to compliment a beautiful lady,’ he replied, artfully removing her arm from his by taking her hand to kiss. ‘So to be in the presence of so many is...dazzling.’ He stepped away from the Countess to gesture around the room.

  Mrs Dalrymple sidled up next, making sure she positioned herself to give Christopher a good view of her décolletage. ‘So nice to see you again, Mr Lattimar. Though I’m sure you are doing great work in Parliament, it’s very selfish of you to spend all your time there, leaving us poor females bereft of your company. One hardly ever sees you at a rout or a ball. Promise me that will change.’

  ‘With such charming partners to dance with, I shall certainly have to give that idea some consideration.’

  Mrs Falconer approached him, too. ‘Come, Mr Lattimar, won’t you take a seat beside me on the sofa? We can become better acquainted, and I can pour for you when the tea arrives.’ She held out her arm.

  Though he took it, once he’d steered her to the sofa, he detached himself. ‘Since it’s clearly impossible to choose a partner from among so many beauties, I must return to my first love,’ he said, and seated himself beside his mother.

  Ellie followed them and, exchanging a rueful look with Lady Vraux, chose an armchair beside the hearth, a safe distance from the struggle.

  For struggle it was, each lady vying with the other to engage Christopher in conversation, and after the tea arrived, to pour him a cup or offer him refreshments. Mistresses of seduction they all were, too, for as they went about these commonplace tasks, an entirely different conversation was going on, spoken in gliding touches of his hand when offering a tea cup, a finger drawn slowly across parted lips to remove an errant crumb, and provocative glances from sultry eyes. If she had any desire to become a more proficient courtesan, Ellie thought, she need only study the moves of these ‘respectable’ matrons.

  But while he bantered with them, accepted tea and biscuits, Ellie noted he withdrew his hand from those caressing fingers and looked away from both parted lips and heated glances. Sometimes to speak to his mother, but often, to give her a smile or a wink.

  The show went on a little longer, the matrons seeming determined not to desist until they’d received a more encouraging response. But to their ever more blatant movements and suggestions Christopher remained remarkably impervious, even when the outrageous Countess, who managed to manoeuvre herself so that his hand, after returning his tea cup to its saucer, grazed her bared shoulder, returned to his polite apology a look of such naked invitation, a libertine might have blushed.

  Eventually, the tea was finished and even Mrs Dalrymple could find no excuse to linger. Looking somewhat aggrieved, the trio thanked their hostess and departed, the Countess lingering on the threshold to glare at Lady Vraux. ‘For a man who’s supposed to be available, he looks rather taken,’ she announced, with a darkling look in Ellie’s direction before flouncing off.

  ‘Oh, dear, has our lesson ended up
making you enemies?’ Ellie asked, feeling a bit guilty after the angry Countess departed.

  ‘Not any more so than they were already.’ Lady Vraux gave her tinkling laugh. ‘In their ceaseless battle to subjugate every desirable man they meet, they’ve always viewed every other woman as the enemy.’ Turning to Christopher, she added, ‘I would rather worry that they may cast slurs on your manhood, after you remained remarkably unresponsive to every one of their lures.’

  ‘Ellie would say that would be an excellent outcome. If they spread the word that I’m incapable of being seduced, I may improve my chances of winning a wife.’

  ‘Better that message be spread after you’re wed, not before. I doubt even your Virtuous Virgin wishes to marry a husband who can’t...satisfy.’

  ‘Mama, you’ll make me blush,’ Christopher protested, reddening in truth.

  ‘I agree, it was well done,’ Ellie said. ‘The ladies offered you every encouragement, but you managed to resist all of it.’

  ‘Easy enough, when one has eyes only for one woman,’ he murmured, his caressing gaze capturing hers.

  The words sent a jolt of anticipation and delight through her before she realised it was essential she redirect their meaning. ‘Which you will have, once you’ve met your wife.’

  The sparkle in his eyes died. ‘Yes,’ he agreed with a sigh. ‘For my wife.’

  ‘Amusing as it was to hostess this little tête-à-tête, I must rest if I am to be ready for the Carrington ball tonight,’ Lady Vraux said, rising. ‘So good to see you both again.’

  ‘Thank you for putting up with my little scheme,’ Ellie said. ‘I hope Christopher found it useful.’

  ‘Useful indeed,’ he agreed with a look she couldn’t interpret.

  With a kiss to his mother, Christopher walked Ellie out. ‘So, I passed your test?’

  ‘Brilliantly!’

  ‘Can I see you home?’

  Visions of tempting proximity in a closed carriage flashed into her head, generating a wave of arousal. If she rode to Hans Place with him, she didn’t think she could resist kissing him—and more.

  ‘Better not,’ she said, hardly able to get the refusal past her lips as she battled the urging of her needy senses.

  He didn’t look surprised. ‘You’re probably right,’ he agreed, looking as regretful as she felt. ‘What have you planned for me next?’

  Suppressing a strong if illogical disappointment that he’d given in so readily, she made herself look forward, as he had done. ‘After today, I think you are ready for the ultimate test. I’m to ride with Sophie and several of her friends in Hyde Park tomorrow. Why don’t you join us?’

  His eyes widened with dismay. ‘You wouldn’t leave me alone with them, would you?’

  She had to suppress a chuckle at his panicked tone. ‘It’s not as if you’d be facing Genghis Khan’s ravaging hordes! Just several innocent misses. But, no, I wouldn’t abandon you to them.’

  ‘I’d prefer Genghis Khan’s ravaging hordes,’ he muttered. ‘At least I’d know how to handle them. But if you promise not to desert me, I’ll chance it. Besides, if you ride anywhere near as well as you play the pianoforte, I would love to see it.’

  ‘As for that, I’m equally out of practice,’ she admitted. ‘I promise to try not to fall out of the saddle.’

  ‘Another slice of your old life you preferred not to bring forward?’

  She glanced up quickly, though by now, she shouldn’t be surprised by his perception. ‘Yes. But more than that. Even though I knew if I rode early, I probably wouldn’t encounter anyone from the ton, I still didn’t want to risk being seen...in my new role. Especially at first, I almost never went out of doors. By the time I’d...accepted my changed status, I’d adjusted to no longer riding.’

  Something like anger rippled briefly across his face. ‘You should begin again.’

  ‘Perhaps I will. I always loved riding. Though I’m not sure a sedate trot through the park will be the same as galloping ventre-à-terre across the meadows at Wanstead Manor.’

  ‘Make it early enough, and you can gallop in Hyde Park. I’ll show you.’

  How she would like to ride with him! Share with someone who cared about her another lost delight of the past. A safe one to share, too, since they’d be separated from each other on their respective mounts, with no possibility of succumbing to the temptations offered by a closed carriage.

  Since she had to resist all the other things she’d like to do with him, why not allow herself this one?

  ‘I’d like that,’ she said, capitulating. ‘I’ll set the time early, and send you a note.’

  A smile of genuine delight lit his face. How easily she could lose herself, gazing into those turquoise eyes! As she stared raptly, the twinkle changed to something deeper, desire writ there as clearly as she felt it spiral through her.

  With a start, she realised she was leaning towards him, lifting her lips to his, and pulled back abruptly even as he took a step away.

  Merciful Heavens, if she was so beguiled she was almost kissing him in his mother’s front hall, she’d better only meet him on horseback.

  ‘I’ll get you a hackney,’ he said, giving her a sketch of a bow. ‘Until tomorrow, then.’

  Putting her hand to her chest to calm her stampeding heartbeat, Ellie watched as he walked down the steps and set off towards the hackney stand. Resisting the urge to call him back.

  He’d done a better job at his task this afternoon than she had at hers, she thought ruefully. She’d been proud at how cleverly he navigated the treacherous path of three beauties. And he had played well the part his mother had assigned, frequently glancing over and smiling at her, subtly telegraphing that his interest was fixed elsewhere. Felicia’s three temptresses had doubtless left feeling sure he intended to claim her as his next mistress.

  If only that were possible.

  Easy enough to resist others, when one only has eyes for one woman.

  You could have Christopher, if you but lifted a finger.

  Her fingers curled in her gloves as she resisted the urge to make their play-acting this afternoon real. But the emotions and desires heightened by that little scene didn’t alter the unchangeable facts of their respective positions.

  Desolation slicing towards pain stabbed at her heart, bringing tears in its wake.

  With a fortifying anger, she brushed them away and walked down the steps to the arriving hackney. Yes, she would meet him tomorrow, introduce him to the girls, and observe his behaviour. The excursion might well provide the proof she needed that he was ready to launch himself into Society.

  If her infatuation could not be squelched, better to get him out of her life as soon as possible.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The next day, in the early morning chill, Ellie rode her borrowed mount through the gates of Hyde Park. She’d felt unsteady at first, but the transit through the streets to the park at a sedate trot had given her time to adjust to the new mount and to being in the saddle again. She felt sure now she would not disgrace herself by taking a tumble in front of Christopher and the girls.

  Testing that resolve, she directed the mare down the first pathway and signalled her to a canter. And then she saw Christopher.

  She pulled up, feeling again that involuntary jolt to her senses and leap of joy in her heart, sharper, stronger than ever. And for once, for this morning, she would not try to suppress it. This might well be their last lesson, and she meant to enjoy every moment with him. Freeing herself of constraint, she let a radiant smile emerge as he trotted up.

  He gave her a smile just as joyous before he bowed to her from horseback. ‘You look magnificent astride, just as I’d imagined.’

  ‘Thank you, kind sir,’ she replied, her foolish heart exulting at his admiration. ‘Though the thanks should
go to your mama. When I asked to borrow a habit, she insisted on lending me her mare as well. What a sweet goer she is, so much finer than any hack I could have rented.’

  ‘Ah, yes, I thought I recognised the horse. Mama’s taste in habits and mounts has always been excellent. Shall we have that gallop, before the Mongolian Hordes arrive?’

  A trot was one thing, but a gallop? Not sure she was yet up to that, Ellie said, ‘I’m feeling more secure than when I started, but I’m not sure I dare yet attempt a gallop.’

  He turned the full force of his eyes on her, holding her immobile. ‘Sometimes one simply must dare.’

  Oh, how she wished she could!

  His gelding stirred, and he had to look away to control him. ‘We’ll start with a trot, and increase the paces gradually. You’ll be fine, you’ll see.’

  If she could not dare what she truly wanted, she could at least do this. ‘Very well, I’ll give it a try. But you must promise not to laugh if I fall!’

  ‘I promise to pick you up again, and no laughing,’ he said, tracing a cross pattern over his heart.

  It would almost be worth falling, to have a perfectly acceptable excuse to be in his arms, Ellie thought as she signalled her mount to begin.

  But as they directed their mounts through their paces on a long circuit of the park, Ellie found herself signalling the mare to a gallop as her love of speed re-emerged.

  The startled look on Christopher’s face as her horse surged past his spurred her competitive spirit. A joyous laugh emerging, she leaned low over her mount, urging her ever faster. Her heartbeat accelerating to match the pounding hoofbeats, she exulted in the wind buffeting her face, snatching at her hat, trying to tear her hair from its pins as the little mare flew along the pathway.

  They were still neck and neck as they neared the park gates. Laughing from sheer exhilaration, Ellie pulled up her mount. ‘Oh, thank you!’ she cried. ‘That was marvellous! I’d forgotten how marvellous it could be.’

  ‘You were fabulous,’ he replied, the fire in his eyes and the urgency of his expression proving he’d been as stirred by the gallop as she was. His excitement calling to her, she had the strongest urge to run to him, throw herself into his arms and kiss him in gratitude for returning this part of her life to her.