CHAPTER1
Tavistock Square, London 1819
Lady Carenza Smythe-Harding put down her teacup and sighed. “There isonething I miss about being married.”
Her sister, Allegra, looked up from her embroidery. She sat close to the large window overlooking Tavistock Square to take advantage of the light. “Having someone to reach those high shelves for you and murder the occasional spider?”
“Those things are very useful,” Carenza acknowledged. “But I was thinking about something rather more … intimate.”
There was a snort from the other side of the fireplace, where their friend Olivia Sheraton sat, her slippers propped up on the fender in a very unladylike manner. “Like what exactly?”
“The … marriage act.”
“You miss Hector’s cock?”
“Olivia!” Allegra exclaimed. “How … crude!”
Olivia raised an eyebrow. “You know how long it takes Carenza to get to the point. I just thought I’d move the conversation along at a more interesting pace.” She took off her spectacles. “I can imagine that lacking an effective male member after being in an intimate relationship might be difficult.”
“And, for all his faults, Hector was very good at it,” Carenza admitted.
“He was a terrible womanizer, sister. He learned all those skills at your expense!” Allegra frowned. “You’re lucky he didn’t give you the pox!”
Olivia nodded. “She’s right about that, but if he gave you pleasure in your marriage bed, you were lucky.” She shuddered slightly. “I can’t say I enjoyed a second of Albert’s attentions. Not that he was able to perform very often, being so elderly and infirm.”
Allegra raised her hand. “Have you both forgotten I am a spinster? This is not a topic of conversation I am qualified to participate in.”
“Then perhaps you should listen carefully,” Olivia said. “It will help you not to make the same mistakes we did.”
“I don’t consider Hector a ‘mistake,’” Carenza objected. “I was delighted to marry him.”
“Because he charmed you and your parents into believing he was a gentleman of honor, when, in fact, he was a horse-mad, gambling man whore.” Olivia had always been a plain speaker. “Who shot himself in the head when his gambling debts outweighed what was left of his fortune, leaving you reliant on your father to give you a home.”
“Yes,” Carenza said. “Thank you for reminding me.”
“I’m sorry.” Olivia made a face. “I’ve done it again, haven’t I? Been too blunt. No wonder no gentleman wants to marry me.”
“Even with your substantial fortune,” Allegra said helpfully.
Silence fell as Carenza poured them all more tea. She was currently living in her father’s town house in London. He much preferred his estate in Norfolk and rarely came to the city. He’d been happy to let his younger daughter, Allegra, reside in the town house with Carenza as chaperone, claiming it kept the staff on their toes and the place less likely to be robbed.
Olivia was the first to start speaking again. “My experience of being a widow has been that many well-meaning gentlemen have offered to ‘console’ me. Has that not happened to you?”
“Married gentlemen, yes.” Carenza sighed. “I had to pour a glass of red wine down Lord Stratford’s coat last week to make him understand that I was not interested, and his wife is afriendof mine.” She frowned. “I just want a man in my bed.”
“You have staff,” Olivia pointed out.
“And I live in my father’s house, where most of the staff have known me since I was a child. I can hardly jump into bed with any of them.”
“They’d probably tell Father, too,” Allegra added. “He’d be extremely annoyed if he had to fire any of his old retainers.”
Carenza fought a smile. “He’d probably care more about that than about what I was up to.”
“What you need is the kind of man Hector was, but without the entanglement of being his wife,” Olivia said thoughtfully. “A rake, in fact. He will need to be discreet, free of disease, not demand payment—because then you would be veering into paid-companion territory—and not be after your name, notoriety, and, most important, your money.”
Carenza nodded. “Yes, and he can’t be married, engaged, or publicly courting another woman. He must be content with a few hours of my time at my convenience and nothing else.”
“A few hours?” Allegra frowned. “I thought a physical union took only seconds.”
