Page 10 of Seducing the Marquess (Lords and Ladies in Love 1)

Ever solicitous, he immediately regarded her carefully. “Of course, my dear. In fact, I would enjoy nothing more than some time alone with you in the garden.” He took her hand and, instead of placing it on his arm, he intertwined their fingers and led her across the room to the French doors, stopping briefly along the way to speak with other guests. The intimacy of the contact warmed her, reminding her of their courting days. Once they left the heat and noise of the ballroom, the cool air revived her, and she immediately felt better. Hand in hand they strolled down the steps to the garden below.

“If you are not well, I am not amiss to leaving, but you do seem to be enjoying yourself,” he remarked.

“Yes, it has been fun. I believe I needed only a bit of air.”

They passed the fragrant rose garden, the balmy air sweet with the scent. Devon spotted a small wooden bench under a silver birch tree and led her to it. “This will give your poor feet a rest.”

She moaned with relief as she settled on the bench. It was nice being out here in the garden with Devon. They hadn’t done much of that when he was paying her court. He had always been so careful of her reputation.

He placed his foot on the bench alongside her, leaning his forearm on his leg. “Have I told you how lovely you look tonight?” His eyes captured hers with an intensity she’d never seen before. Eyes that she would have preferred drift to her bosom remained on her face. She sighed inwardly. Sometimes it was taxing being married to a gentleman.

She raised her chin and smiled. “I thought you disapproved of my gown.” My goodness, was she flirting? She’d never been good at the games most debutantes played. Flirting, eyes over the top of her fan, head tilting, slow smiles, saucy head shakes. But now she felt powerful, as if she could actually hold Devon’s attention.

“All I disapproved of was the attention you would receive from other men.” He used his knuckle to raise her chin. “You are a married woman, after all.”

And you are a married man.

“And The Ice Queen,” she snapped.

He studied her for a minute. “I never liked that appellation.”

“Do you deny it didn’t present some appeal?” She raised her chin, amazing herself at her impertinence.

“It never appealed. I thought it crass and unfeeling.”

“You do not see me as cold?” She had to push. If she were going to change things between them, she needed more than the book. She had to encourage Devon to see her as a warm woman.

“No, my dear.”

Then why won’t you make love to me the way you do your mistress?

Tears filled her eyes, which she attempted to hide by turning her head.

Devon dropped his foot to the ground and extended his hand. “You do not seem yourself. Perhaps we should return to the ballroom.”

She hopped up so fast she almost tumbled forward. “Yes. I find my gown has left me quite chilled.”

Drat the man. Why was life so different for men and women? That fact had always annoyed her. Why had Mama made her sit inside, doing embroidery, practicing watercolors and the pianoforte, when she’d wanted to be outside with her brother, running free? She’d begun to question why the good lord had given her a brother with whom she could not play.

As the only daughter, she had been constantly watched, criticized, instructed, chaperoned, and made to feel her only worth lay in securing an advantageous marriage and producing children for a husband who would never love her, since marriage was a business arrangement.

Husbands were free to continue drinking, gaming, and keeping mistresses, while wives did nothing more than change prisons and jailers. The one time she’d voiced her opinion on the matter to her mother, she’d been sent to her bedchamber with no dinner and a stern warning to accept life the way it was.

She’d made her debut and her shyness, deemed hauteur by the ton, had immediately shackled her with that horrid name. Nevertheless, after two Seasons, she had dutifully accepted the man who had offered for her, not sure if it was a blessing or a curse that she’d fallen in love with him. He always treated her with respect, but like that rebellious young lady sent to her room to ponder her fate, she wanted more.

Hopefully, with the help of the book, she would have just that.

Chapter Three

“An accidental peek at a woman’s ankle can be more alluring than her naked body.”

Secrets of the Bedchamber, p. 23

“My dear, you must stop by one afternoon and see my roses. The garden is absolutely delightful.” Lady Ravenshaw’s long face glowed with pleasure, turning her unattractive countenance into something almost pretty.

Eugenia sipped her now cool tea and nodded in the woman’s direction. She and her mother, Lady Clarendon, had been paying Lady Ravenshaw an afternoon call, something she did every other Wednesday. Eugenia’s thoughts drifted away from her hostess’s harangue on the difficulty of maintaining a decent gardener, while she pondered her life. Something she’d never questioned until she’d found that book last week.

It disturbed her to realize that not only was her married life one of expected events, she’d even arranged her social calendar the same. She and her mother called on their friends on the same days each week, accepted calls at her and her mother’s home on the same days. They discussed balls, parties, clothing, on-dits, gardens, and everything except what had become Eugenia’s new interest.