Secrets of Seduction (Legendary Lovers 3)

“I have given Rachel the bedchamber adjacent to mine. Poor soul. But I do like her gumption in defying her brute of a husband.”

“So do I,” Skye agreed.

“Tomorrow we will begin work on her disguise and shop for a proper wardrobe for her, but for now I will loan her some of my gowns. She is more my size than yours.” They were of similar heights, but her aunt’s figure was plumper with a thicker waist.

With those details settled, Isabella wasted no time in expressing her curiosity. “So, my dear, I am on pins and needles to hear about your romance with Hawk. What have you determined thus far?”

Skye winced. “I am convinced he is my match, Aunt Bella.”

“So you are compatible in mind and body and heart?”

“In many ways, yes, I believe so. I felt sparks of lightning from the first moment we met, just as you predicted. When I am with him, I forget how to breathe. And yet we have an undeniable connection beyond the physical. He makes me yearn for something deeper.”

“How far have you progressed in the physical realm?”

Skye felt her cheeks flushing at her aunt’s plain speaking. “Farther than I expected. You were right. Passion with a special lover is amazing. But as for my dream of finding true love with Hawk? He is very likely wed to the Guardians, so nothing I say or do may matter.” She explained his reason for choosing Miss Olwen, then sighed. “Even if I could persuade him to fall in love with me—which is questionable—we may have no future together.”

“And on his part? What does Hawk believe?”

“I had to confess about Kate’s theory. He thinks the notion of us being legendary lovers is absurd.”

“Still, you did well to tell him the truth.”

“I know. ‘Honesty is imperative for love to grow.’ Weren’t those your exact words? If you have other secrets of seduction to share, I should very much like to hear them.”

Isabella pursed her lips thoughtfully. “For now, my best advice is to strive for patience, my dear. You cannot force love, particularly with a man so emotionally scarred as Hawk. He must learn to love again, and you are the perfect woman to teach him.”

“I will do my best. Perhaps I can claim some progress. Since we first met, he has become less reclusive and a trifle more open about his feelings. But it is supremely frustrating to be so helpless.”

They spoke for quite a while longer, with Bella offering consolation and inspiration and Skye explaining her immediate plans, starting with the arrangements for dinner and Hawk’s severe dislike of his own dining room, then catching up on the other Wilde family members and Skye’s hope for Uncle Cornelius’s reunion with Rachel.

The last thing Aunt Bella said before leaving to change her own attire was for Skye not to lose heart—just the encouragement Skye needed to bolster her resolve.

Following her aunt to the door, she gave Isabella a fierce hug. “I cannot tell you how glad I am to have you here, dearest auntie.”

“I know, darling girl. But never fear, we will not fail.”

Upon shutting her bedchamber door after her aunt, Skye marveled at how much lighter her spirits felt after their coze. In her campaign to win Hawk’s heart, she had needed to call in reinforcements, and there was no better general in the war of love than Lady Isabella Wilde.

Skye had not looked forward to the evening ahead, but it turned out to be more pleasant than she’d anticipated. At her insistence, they took supper in the drawing room, with the various dishes laid out on a side table, much like a buffet supper at a ball. Skye claimed that not only was the dining room too formal for the four of them, it still needed to be cleaned and made habitable. Additionally, the warmth of the hearth fire made the drawing room more appealing.

From Hawk’s sharp gaze, she knew that he knew what she was doing: protecting him from his dark memories. She also wanted to make his newest guest feel at home, so thankfully he refrained from chastising her and actually joined in the effort to make Rachel’s first evening as comfortable as possible.

After supper they played cards. There was no music, for the pianoforte was dreadfully out of tune, and Skye decided that singing would be too effusive. But in the future, she intended to introduce music as well as charades and other parlor games and perhaps poetry readings to the evening’s entertainment.

When it was time to retire to bed, Rachel’s grateful-if-weary smile was all the reward Skye needed, yet Hawk also seemed more at ease than before.

In fact, the next two days proceeded better than Skye could have hoped for. She kept a close eye on Hawk, but the new aura about the castle seemed to have a positive influence. He spent most of each day out in the stables or in the meadows riding and training his new stallion to escape the noise from the construction, which at times was deafening. Skye stayed busy setting his home to rights, wearing her oldest gown and a muslin headscarf, not only supervising the servants in cleaning, but performing a myriad of other tasks. Aunt Bella and Rachel pitched in and were especially helpful in deciding whether to replace or refurbish the furniture, carpets, and wallpaper and in discussing the best fabrics and colors.

Another accomplishment was the disguise to better conceal the baroness’s former identity. The henna dye arrived from Macky by special messenger, and Isabella set to work transforming Rachel’s hair from gray-streaked brown to an attractive shade of auburn, so she could abandon the turbans. Carefully applied cosmetics—particularly kohl to make her eyes appear more exotic—also created a much different look from her miniature portrait.

On the afternoon of the second day Skye had to deal with another big obstacle. She was upstairs with Rachel and the housekeeper, inventorying linen, when one of the new footmen announced that Lord Cornelius Wilde had arrived and was awaiting her in the library. Her pulse suddenly quickened in anticipation, but Rachel went rigid with fear.

Skye offered her a heartening smile. “Pray continue with the inventory, Mrs. Donnelly. I will send for you when the time is right.”

If the time is ever right, Skye amended silently as she hurried downstairs. She still had a great deal of persuading to do.

She had asked for her uncle to be shown into the library for a reason. It was where the dedicated scholar was most comfortable, for one thing. Additionally, he would consider it criminal that the leather-bound tomes had been neglected and allowed to gather dust and mildew for a decade.