Theodora closed her eyes as she grazed her thigh with her palm. She let out a soft sigh. An image of the Scarlet Duke crossed her mind, tempting in every way.
Her breath came faster, Her thighs pressing together instinctively. She felt her body awakening, tingling, yearning?—
“No! Absolutely not.” She pulled her hand back, picked up the book, and snapped it shut with a loud thud.
Theodora sat upright and yanked her skirts down to her feet. Her cheeks burnt from shame.
“This is absurd,” she muttered, swinging her legs off the bed. “Utterly absurd.”
She paced to the window, pressing a hand on her heated face.
“Foolish girl,” she whispered to herself. “You are conducting an experiment, not indulging in fantasies about a man you cannot stand.”
She inhaled sharply as her eyes darted to the letter on her desk.
“Especially not that man.”
Theodora flung the scandalous book onto her bed and glared at it as though it had personally offended her. She would be sure to complain about it at their nextCorset Chroniclemeeting.
Despite her denial, her heart still raced, her lips still tingled, and her traitorous, illogical body still hummed with the memory of the Scarlet Duke.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and shut her eyes.
“Get a hold of yourself, Theodora Dowell!”
* * *
“You are late,” Anna announced, lifting her brows. “Have you been conducting experiments again? Or perhaps reading something… enlightening?”
She winked at her, but Theodora ignored the jab and took her seat.
“Speaking of reading,” she said, pulling her gloves off with more force than necessary, “I must express my profound disappointment in the novel you all insisted I examine.”
Evelina nearly choked on her tea. “Oh dear. What did you think of it?”
“What did I think?” Theodora repeated, incredulous. “I think Mrs. Pennington ought to be arrested for corrupting the minds of impressionable young women.”
Maria snorted. “It is hardly corruption. It is entertainment.”
“It is nonsense,” Theodora declared disgustingly. “Utter nonsense. The heroine swoons every third page, the hero cannot seem to keep his shirt on, and the descriptions…” She shuddered. “They are entirely unrealistic!”
Anna grinned like a cat who had cornered a mouse. “Unrealistic? My dear Theo, you sound as though you have conducted a comparative study. Is the experiment going well?”
“The experiment is going well but not in the way you assume,” Theodora snapped.
Evelina leaned forward, eyes sparkling with shameless curiosity. “But you said the scenes were unrealistic. How would you know, dear sister?”
Theodora froze.
Anna gasped dramatically. “Oh, I am very curious to know how she knows too.”
“Surelysciencedoes not have you clued in on every aspect of the experience,” Maria added.
“Your secret will be safe with us; you do know that? Unless of course it is too scandalous and you may have to marry your…specimen.” Evelina grinned at her.
The excitement amongst them was palpable and heat crept up Theodora’s neck. “I simply meant that the book exaggerates. It is melodramatic, overwrought, and entirely improbable.”
“Improbable?” Evelina echoed, her brow arching. “Theo, darling, you turned the color of a ripe tomato when you said that.”
