“It turned out, however, that Monty never even sent the note!”said Henrietta in a hushed whisper.“It was Leith!He knew his hand—from school.”
“That’s dreadful,” Beatrice said, her stomach sinking.
“He was very young,” said Catherine.“They all were.I believe Olivia blames herself nearly as much.She says that she should not have gone flying off without speaking to Monty first.It was a ghastly thing to do, but he was not the only one who made mistakes.And we have all moved past it now.”
“That’s very generous of Lord and Lady Montaigne,” Beatrice said.
She remembered what Leith had told her about his best friend.That he hadn’t bedded a woman in the intervening thirteen years.He had waited, with no promise of her return, for that long.
“It’s very romantic how they found their way back to each other,” Catherine said.“But perhaps I think so because my love story with John was not so different, in a certain way.Although I promise that Leith did not try and tear us asunder.”
“Yes, my brother nearly ruined you in a garden, if I remember correctly,” Henrietta said, dryly.
“That is far from true,” Catherine said.“We shared a kiss—or, well—” the duchess blushed “—a little more than a kiss, perhaps.But we were even more foolish than Monty and Olivia.We knew where to find each other all the while and still it took us a long time to find our way back together.”
“Ugh, a euphemism if I ever heard one,” Henrietta said.“My brother is a beast.He brought Catherine back to Edington Hall as my tutor!Imagine my surprise when I realized that he was secretly engaged to herandshe was technically our sworn enemy.Our sworn enemy whom he had clearly been tupping—”
“Henrietta!”Catherine exclaimed.“Really!”
Henrietta laughed, meeting Beatrice’s eye.“My brother is a terrible hypocrite.He nearly killed Trem when he realized thatwehad been precipitating our wedding vows.”
Beatrice’s head was swimming from all of the new information—about these ladies and their own love stories, but mostly about Leith.
“But that’s not why I started on this train of thought,” Henrietta continued.“I was not trying to talk of the past.I wanted to know if he is different with you.Because it is hard for me to imagine him—well, enjoying a woman, if you understand me.He has always been a rake, so called, but he is the least rakish rake I’ve ever met.”
Beatrice smiled.She could understand now why Leith didn’t care for Henrietta.Her analysis was rather near to being correct and she doubted that Leith appreciated her perspicuity.
And in answer to this question, she could only be honest.
“Oh.”She smiled.“Yes, he’s very different, I would wager.He does have formal manners at first, but those fall away quite quickly.”
“No!Truly!”Henrietta exclaimed.“La, I cannot imagine it.”
Beatrice nodded.“He is a very passionate man.The most passionate I have ever been with.”As she said the words, Beatrice realized that they were true.Yes, she had been with men who were more exuberant than Leith.But his passion was clearly immense, especially given that he had to overcome his persistent scruples and anxieties about the bedchamber.
“He doesn’t like messiness.That is true.But he can’t help himself anyway.”
A shiver ran, unbidden, down her back.She wished, suddenly, that they were already back at his town house in St.James’s.It seemed that she could not get enough of him.And with their time together so short, she hated to think she was wasting a moment.
“It’s a unique combination.”
The two women were silent for a moment.They each were staring at her, their mouths slightly agape.
Finally, the duchess managed to speak.“That sounds—wonderful.”She paused, looking down at her hands, and then back up at Beatrice.“And I must say, Miss Salisbury, if he is bringing you here, then you must be very special to him.Perhaps it isyouwho are the unique one.”
At these words, Beatrice’s heart skipped a beat.
Did she want them to be true?
She didn’t know.
She didn’t know what she felt for this man.
Or what he felt for her.
All she knew was that she couldn’t get enough of him.
The rest of the evening passed very pleasantly.Beatrice had been nervous that she would find his friends and their wives to be formal, judgmental aristocrats, but the reality was far different.Not long after her exchange with the ladies about Leith, the conversation became general.The men were very kind to her, both courtly and deferential.
