“That man tried to rape me!” She pointed a finger at the drunk Duke. “He put his hands on me!”
“I beg your pardon, madame. I obviously made an error and thought this was my room,” he supplied, easily hiccupping as he went. “An easy mistake.”
He eyed the older woman and still didn’t understand what had happened. Where had Sophie gone to?
Sebastian wondered what in truth had occurred. Had Dorset thought this to be Sophie’s room? Would he have dared to try something?
Etienne and Leila had joined the group and Madame Necker saw the couple enter as well. The thought passed through her mind that she was all but running a brothel now. She would have to post guards in the hallway at her next country party.
“Indeed you did. You touched me and came into my room as only a husband should to a wife!” Eugenie cried, pulling her wrapper close.
The duke rolled his eyes and stumbled over the chair as he tried to place his hose on the other leg.
“Grand-mère, it is over. There is no harm.” Sophie tried to calm her grandmother as she looked over at the duke.
“There most certainly was harm. I saw that man as nature intended. Naked as the day he was born!” Eugenie sniffed.
“I assure you, madame, this was a grave mistake not to be repeated.” He touched his hand to his heart.
“There is no lasting damage, surely madame,” Madame Necker soothed.
“There might be to me,” murmured the duke as Marmontel stifled his laughter again.
“This is no laughing matter, monsieur,” Eugenie turned to Marmontel. “That man could have gone much further.”
“I highly doubt it,” the duke muttered, placing his one foot in a buckled shoe.
La Harpe and Marmontel left the room, laughing all the way down the hallway as Eugenie tried to preserve her dignity.
“I am fine, Madame Necker. You should be very careful the sort of people you allow into your home,” she bristled.
The duke snorted and picked up his other shoe. “Good evening, madame,” he said and made a slight bow, holding his shoe in one hand.
Eugenie turned red and pushed him out of her room. “Knave!”
Leila and Etienne left the room, as did Sebastian and Sophie. When Madame Necker had made certain her guest was calm, she left as well.
“Sophie?” Sebastian stopped her before she could go too far.
“Good night, monsieur,” she said briskly.
Sebastian sighed and watched as she walked away. Etienne was quick to return to his room before Leila could say anything. She heard the lock turn as soon as he was inside.
Etienne felt like a haunted schoolboy locking the door against the succubus. Yes, that is exactly what she is, he thought. A female demon who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men. An innocent woman hell bent on “gifting” her virginity to him whilst trying to get him killed. He must find a way to approach Sebastian.
Chapter 13
Sophie also locked her door once she was safely inside her room. She leaned against the door for support as she tried to recall the events of the day. Her grandmother’s embarrassing mishap had been the duke’s fault and assuredly the fault of too much drink on the duke’s behalf.
The alcohol he’d consumed had made him groggy and he had mistaken the room for his. Regardless, there was no harm done and she was not overly concerned. Her grandmother had a tendency to the dramatic.
She pushed away from the door and went over to the desk. The small candle was still on the writing desk next to her sheets of paper and the list she had compiled.
This is a dangerous list, he had said.
She looked over at the sheets that she had written. Now he knew who she was. He had discovered that she was the writer of the pamphlets. He would tell no one, she was certain of that. But it was still yet another person who knew and she didn’t like that. She also didn’t like him telling her what to do. She wanted to educate herself. Surely there was nothing wrong with that.
If, in her findings, something caught her mind and attention, she would write about it. Was he correct? Could such writing get her killed? Was it possible in such a refined and elegant place such as France?