Stymied, he sat, contemplating the possibilities. If the thief had opened the book, he could imagine any of the three men borrowing it. The fake leather cover hid the real title of the book,The Illustrated Pleasures of Seduction. If he remembered correctly, it was on the frontispiece in bold lettering. He’d purchased the book as an example of the common practice of fake covers, or rather common among gentlemen. The men last night were all in their prime, each a number of years younger than himself. He could easily see them wishing to review the many illustrations. He firmly believed there was knowledge to be had in every book, and despite his experience, he’d found a few scenarios in the volume that he’d not tried and planned to. But why not simply ask to borrow it?
He tapped his fingers on his knee as he pondered the mystery. Envisioning the scene in the library from last night, he didn’t remember any of the men walking close to his desk. All four of them had lounged about near the fireplace, the main order of business smoking and drinking. The women had all repaired to the parlor by that time.
His fingers stilled. No. One woman had found the need to fetch her shawl before their dinner ended. “Lady Joanna?” He rose, placing his three fingers in the empty space on his shelf. Could she have taken his book? But why? To what end? Even as he tried to reconcile the idea, her words during their outside conversation floated through his mind.Of course, as long as one has the education needed to follow the logic to its correct conclusion, something most women of the peerage are denied.
He shook his head, unwilling to believe a lady of breeding would steal a book from his library. But even as he reviewed the lady’s frowns at dinner, her body language when he found her at her family coach, and her secret smile while conversing with his aunt, he knew.
Lady Joanna Mabry had absconded with his book on seduction!
He stared at the empty space on the shelf as he imagined her opening the book to read it…and laughed.
The absurd humor of the entire circumstance was too funny to ignore. His laughter grew until he fell back in his chair, holding his stomach. When his laughter finally quieted, he wiped his eyes, but couldn’t stop smiling. Lady Joanna readingThe Illustrated Pleasures of Seduction. He shook his head. Had she opened it yet? Did she know what she had? Somehow it seemed the appropriate punishment for her crime, a shock to her senses. His smile faltered. Or would she enjoy every drawing, anxious to know the feelings produced by the dog position and how they might be different from the reverse rider?
A snicker escaped him. She did say women were denied the education of men. Maybe now, she’d realize she didn’t want to learn what men knew, any more than he wished to know what ladies knew.
He sobered completely as his gaze moved to the empty space on the shelf. Still, there was the issue of her theft. Involving the authorities was out of the question. She seemed a forthright woman. He would make a call on the Mabry household on his visitations today. Maybe if he gave her the chance to confess, he could retrieve his book with no one else’s knowledge. He did not wish to be the one to have revealed the secret of false book covers to the female gender.
Turning back to his desk, he opened the ledger, but didn’t see the neat numbers running down the columns. Instead, his mind was filled with the image of Lady Joanna opening the book and fainting dead away.
Chapter Three
Joanna waited untilthe maid had added the final pin to her hair and left the room before she pulled outEducating the Feminine Speciesfrom its hiding spot at the bottom of the armoire. Ever since hearing that the Duke of Huntington had called on her while she was at the milliner’s shop, a sense of foreboding had dodged her heels. Unfortunately, there had been no time to see if the book contained some secret letter or memory, perhaps a pressed flower from the duke’s mother. That had occurred once before, only it had been a flower from a sweetheart, and she’d quickly returned the book with no one the wiser.
Setting the large tome on her bed, she clicked the clasp open and quickly thumbed the pages. It was easy to see there were many illustrations, but her most pressing concern was something of value between the pages. She wasn’t halfway through before the sketches caught her attention. “What was that?”
Stopping, she opened the page fully and stared. A flush filled her cheeks as she gazed upon a naked woman whose own hands were in the most inappropriate places on her body. Squeezing her eyes shut, she took a deep breath. She must have misconstrued the illustration. Why, she had no idea, but her mind must have seen something that wasn’t there. Convinced that was all it was, she opened her eyes prepared to view the illustration objectively.
It remained the same. It was exactly what she’d thought she’d seen. Slamming the book closed, she stared at it as if it were a wild animal. What was such a book doing in the duke’s library? What kind of feminine education did he think was important? Stepping away from her bed, she grabbed up her fan and proceeded to cool her face. Maybe it was an illustration of how to take a bath, as if a woman didn’t know how to keep herself clean.
A tap on her door before the knob turned had her jumping to stand in front of her bed to hide the book.
“Joanna, are you ready? Teddy is anxious to leave.” Mariel’s gaze swept over her as if to make sure her dress was in proper order.
“Yes. Yes, I’ll be down in a moment.”
“Very well.” Mariel smiled. “I do believe that Teddy hopes to come across Lady Elsbeth in the gardens. I told him that would most likely not occur. I don’t believe the duke is that open-minded.”
At the mention of the duke, she felt her cheeks heat again. “No, I’m very sure he is not. Tell Teddy I’ll be down straight away.”
Mariel gave her a knowing smile. “I’m sure you will since you and your favorite confection are the reason we’re going.” With that, Mariel exited the room, her very dark plum skirts sweeping through the door.
Joanna spun back toward the bed. Had the maid seen the book when she’d brought out her sapphire-colored dress? She couldn’t leave it in the armoire. Frantically, she looked about the room, dismissing one hiding place after another. Where would no one look?
With little time, she opened the chest at the end of her bed where additional linens were kept and buried the book beneath them. Tomorrow, she would be sure to move the book to her locked cupboard in the family library…or burn it. Even at the thought of having knowledge of any sort go up in flames, she reconsidered. Besides, she would be a hypocrite. The reason she’d been granted the locked cabinet was because Amelia, as a child, had been upset with her and threw one of her favorite books in the fire.
As she opened the door to leave, she swept the room with her gaze. It looked like it had when she’d entered. All appeared to be in its place. Satisfied the book was safe at least for the evening, she left. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Teddy strode through the parlor doors.
“There you are. I was about to send a maid up to find you. I know how you can get lost in a book.”
She swallowed as guilt over what she’d seen surfaced. “It’s a good thing you know me so well, but as it happened, I tore myself away to meet your rush to leave.”
Teddy, who sported thick light brown hair and a pale complexion couldn’t hide his own blush. “I only thought to speed you along to your tasty tidbit. You are the one who insists on going to Vauxhall only on the evening Monsieur Armand makes your favorite dessert.”
“Yes, but last month you weren’t nearly so eager.”
He had the grace to nod. “You are correct. There is a young lady who might be in attendance.” He straightened his paisley waistcoat as if a single wrinkle would make a difference in whether the young Elsbeth would find him acceptable.
That he couldn’t accept he made a dashing figure as it was with his tan breeches and light brown greatcoat was of concern to her. His reed thin frame was kept from being effeminate by his broad shoulders, but he was still young, younger than she, and she felt sure he’d fill out more in the coming years. “If the duke is a proper guardian, I doubt that you will see Lady Elsbeth this evening.” Sudden doubt about the duke’s true character made her pause. “What makes you think she’ll be attending?”
