“Of course I have not forgotten,” Chantel retorted. “It was simply a figure of speech. Or perhaps you are merely jealous that I have found a beau after all this time?”
Fleur made a scoffing sound. “Of course not! I don’t begrudge you a beau, darling. Especially not one who is old and fat and creaks when he bends. Poole wears more corsets than I do.”
When Chantel’s expression turned miffed and pouting at the same time, Lily hastened to intervene, expressing her delight at the success of the soiree-which fortunately sent the courtesans off into raptures about how splendid the evening had been and detailing which pupils had garnered the chance to improve their circumstances and move up in the world of the demimonde.
By the time Fleur and Chantel finished breakfasting and exited the dining room together, they were fast friends again.
Left alone with Ada, Lily sent up a silent thanks that they had been too busy last evening to notice her absence or her failure to return to the drawing room. She did not want to have to confess the wanton, scandalous things she had been doing with Lord Claybourne in her bed during the final hours of the soiree.
Thus, her thoughts were greatly distracted when Ada spoke.
“Lord Claybourne seems quite taken with you, Miss Loring,” Ada commented.
“Why do you say so?” Lily answered absently as she sipped her coffee.
“He won’t so much as look at any of us girls when you are around…nor when you are absent, either.”
“I wish he would look at someone else,” Lily muttered in a low undertone.
“Truly?” Ada’s tone held surprise. “You want him to look elsewhere?”
Realizing she’d spoken her thought aloud, Lily looked up to find Ada watching her shrewdly.
“Most women,” Ada pointed out, “would rightly sell their souls to have the attention of such a magnificent man.”
Feeling her cheeks warm, Lily occupied herself with spreading marmalade on her toast. “Perhaps, but I am inclined to keep my soul for my own.”
“I heard that his lordship wants to wed you,” Ada added leadingly.
“So he claims, but I don’t want to wed him.”
“You don’t want to be a marchioness?” Her eyes widened as if she couldn’t comprehend such a sacrilege. “I would give up my new protector in the blink of a pig’s eye if I thought I had a chance at winning Lord Claybourne’s patronage.” Then she sighed. “But I would never poach another girl’s man. At least not one who has been so good to me, as you have been, Miss Loring.”
“Lord Claybourne is not my man, Ada,” Lily assured her.
A calculating gleam lit Ada’s eyes. “Then you would not mind if I tried my hand at attracting his notice?”
Frowning, Lily wondered how she would feel if the beautiful young courtesan tried to seduce Heath. She would not like it at all, she decided. But then, she didn’t have the right to prevent Ada from pursuing him, nor did she even want that right.
“I have no claim to him,” Lily repeated.
“Then if you truly don’t mind…I may give it a try. Not that I have much of a chance of succeeding. Most gents are not so hard to seduce, but Lord Claybourne is said to be a splendid lover. I’ve heard tell he can make a woman weep with joy. It won’t be easy to pleasure such a man, or persuade him to take me on, not when he can have any woman he wants.” Ada tossed her head. “But if I cannot do it, then no one can.”
Lily had to agree with her assessment. With her fiery hair, lush curves, and earthy beauty, Ada should appeal even to a jaded nobleman of Heath’s discriminating tastes, especially since Ada had learned to temper her vulgar mannerisms over the past month and her speech now sounded almost genteel when she worked at it. Heath might well be attracted to the sensual young siren.
“I expect you are right,” Lily said with a faint smile.
Ada dimpled. “And if I can’t, I fancy it could prove his devotion to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why, just that if his attention can be turned to me so quick, then you’ll know he won’t be faithful to you in the long run. ’Tis better to know a man’s stripes before you throw your lot in with ’im, I always say.”
“True. My father was an inveterate rake, and I have no desire for a husband who is anything like him.”
Lily found her mouth curling at the remembrance of her father’s libertine ways. She doubted Heath was much like her profligate father, but if he readily gave in to the temptation the lightskirt presented, it would indeed prove he didn’t want her all that much after all.
And in truth, if Ada could seduce him, Lily rationalized, it could solve her own problem of his courtship. If his carnal needs were filled by someone else, he was less likely to be lusting after her.