To Seduce a Bride (Courtship Wars)

“I know,” Roslyn agreed wholeheartedly. “I was her target last night and again this morning. You were right about her wanting to pair me with Arden. It was mortifying in the extreme.”

“Well, I don’t intend to remain here to become Winifred’s hapless victim,” Lily said, coming to a decision. “I mean go to London and stay at Fanny’s lodging house. She has room, and she has asked my advice in dealing with two of her friends who operate the house. I don’t know if I can help them, but I would like to try.”

Roslyn stared at her in surprise. “You intend to hide out in London in order to elude Winifred’s matchmaking schemes? Are such drastic measures really necessary?”

Lily returned a wry grimace. “I am beginning to think so. If I can’t be found, then I needn’t worry about any unwanted suitors, do I? I cannot stay here in Chiswick, obviously. And no one will think to look for me at Fanny’s place, including Marcus. You know he would not approve of my intimacy with her scandalous friends.”

And Lord Claybourne will never find me there either. Relieved by the notion, Lily suddenly thought of another way to throw the marquess off her track and instantly felt more cheerful. “I have it! You can tell Winifred and anyone else who inquires that I have gone to Hampshire to visit friends at our old home.”

Roslyn’s brows drew together in puzzlement. “Why would you want her to think-”

She cut off her sister, not wanting to admit how irresistible she found the marquess. “Please, Rose, just humor me this once.”

Roslyn’s gaze became searching. “Lily…is there more you aren’t telling me?”

“Not at all. Don’t worry about me, dearest. It is nothing I cannot handle.” Lily smiled reassuringly before adding under her breath, “I simply have absolutely no intention of allowing any man to court me, let alone wed me.”

She had held that adamant view since she was sixteen, Lily reflected when eventually she left her sister and went upstairs to her bedchamber to unpack her valise and then pack again for an unexpected visit to London.

She’d sworn she would never let herself become so vulnerable-to be helplessly trapped in matrimony, at the mercy of her husband’s whims, unable to escape. If a woman married, she legally belonged to her husband; she was his property to treat as brutally as he pleased. She would never give any man that power over her, Lily vowed.

Nor would she ever give her heart away, only to have it cruelly crushed, the way her mother had done in her first marriage, and as Arabella had done in her first, short-lived betrothal.

Thankfully, Arabella seemed to have a genuine chance for love and happiness with Marcus now, Lily admitted to herself, remembering the gentleness in their hands when they touched each other, the tender look in their eyes when they shared loving glances. And her mother professed to have finally found happiness in her second marriage with her French lover, Henri Vachel.

As far as Lily was concerned, however, marriage was an odious word. She doubted she would ever overcome her lack of faith in men.

And she didn’t need anyone but her sisters and her friends to be happy. She was mistress of her own life and content to stay that way forever. She knew what she wanted for her future, and it was not being shackled to a husband who would hurt her and betray her and use his power against her and make her so miserable that she cried into her pillow every night, the way her father had done her mother.

And now that she had her own modest fortune, Lily reminded herself, she could indulge in her long-held dreams. From the time she could read, she had pored over history tomes and geological maps and expedition accounts, in part as a way to escape her parents’ battles. She had longed for the day when she could take control of her life; when she could fulfill her desire to travel the world and explore unknown lands and experience new adventures.

Oh, she might have someday liked to have children to love and cherish, but she would leave that to Arabella, and perhaps Roslyn. For herself, Lily was satisfied with teaching at the Freemantle Academy for Young Ladies, molding girls on the cusp of womanhood to stand up for themselves, despite their merchant-class origins, and providing them with skills to compete in the haughty world of the ton.

She had few duties at the Academy during the summer term, however, since most of the pupils had returned home to their families. So this was an ideal time to go to London-in more ways than one.

Most definitely she would be glad to escape Lord Claybourne’s unwanted attentions. And she would find it very satisfying if she could help Fanny’s fellow Cyprians solve their financial problems.

Just as gratifying, Lily reflected with a small frisson of pleasure, she would be starting a brand new chapter in her life. Now that the wedding celebrations were finally over, she could begin charting her own course for a life of freedom and adventure.

By the time Tess arrived and joined Lily in her bedchamber, she had written a note to Fanny, which she’d sent off to London by messenger, and had nearly finished packing.

“Roslyn doesn’t seem to have suffered from her ordeal, thankfully,” Tess said, taking a seat in a side chair. “But she tells me you are planning an excursion to London.”

“Yes,” Lily replied as she rummaged through her wardrobe for the final items she would need for an extended stay. “I mean to leave this afternoon.”

“Surely that is a bit rash-fleeing home so you can escape Lord Claybourne’s attentions.”

“Not at all. But in truth, I have another very good reason to go. Fanny is in a bit of financial difficulty.”

Tess frowned. “What sort of difficulty?”

“It is a matter of gambling debts, although not Fanny’s. This past spring two of her oldest courtesan friends lost enormous sums at the Faro tables, and the gaming hell owner is demanding repayment now. Fanny is trying to keep her friends out of debtors’ prison, or worse.”

“You are speaking of Fleur and Chantel?”

“Yes. They took Fanny under their wing when she first came to London eight years ago, so she is not about to abandon them.” Lily glanced back at Tess. “I didn’t want to mention their troubles to Roslyn, for then she would feel obliged to get involved, and she deserves to rest after all her endeavors. But I hope to help Fanny myself.”

Tess’s frown deepened. “And you intend to stay at Fanny’s rooming house? Lily, that place is little more than a home for lightskirts, run by two famous Cyprians.”