To Bed a Beauty (Courtship Wars 2)

Tess remained thoughtful as she listened, but shook her head wryly at the conclusion. “So Winifred succeeded in her matchmaking after all. She has been trying to pair you with Arden ever since Arabella’s wedding.”

Roslyn smiled faintly. Tess had no fondness for matchmaking, since she believed matters of the heart were best left to natural courses. “Yes, but I cannot blame Winifred in this instance. My own weakness was at fault. I couldn’t resist him. So what do you think?” Roslyn pressed. “Was I right to accept the duke’s offer for a temporary betrothal?”

“I think,” Tess said slowly, “that under the circumstances, you had no other choice. And your rationale for remaining betrothed for the summer is a good one. You need to allow time for love to develop between you. It’s possible that love can blossom given proper encouragement.”

Roslyn was not surprised by her friend’s cautious optimism. Tess had a more positive view of love and marriage than any of the Loring sisters, since she’d sincerely loved her betrothed before his death at Waterloo two years ago. Her heart was only just now coming out of mourning, and she was debating whether to reenter the lists of the Marriage Mart.

“But,” Tess added a qualification, “from everything I have heard about Arden, it won’t be easy to make him fall in love with you.”

Roslyn made a face. “I don’t even mean to try. I would never think of overtly pursuing him. In the first place, he despises being the target for covetous females. And in the second, he is perfectly aware of the successful techniques of arousing a man’s ardor, since he taught me himself. He would know exactly what I was attempting.”

“But you could manage a more subtle approach.”

She shook her head. “I have no intention of trying to coerce him to love me. If he is truly serious about wedding me, he will have to take responsibility for fostering a love match himself.”

Tess looked amused. “You expect him to make all the effort?”

“Precisely. But like you, I doubt he is the least bit interested in a real love match.”

Roslyn had little faith that Drew would change his stripes so drastically. She might wonder, wistfully and foolishly, if he could ever come to love her, but she still believed he was too cynical to let himself give his heart to anyone.

“What will you tell your sisters?” Tess asked.

“I’ll tell Arabella about the betrothal, of course,” Roslyn replied, “but not the rest…not about my wantonness. Marcus still considers himself our protector if not our legal guardian, and he wouldn’t be pleased to know that I’ve been intimate with his friend. I’ll write Belle tomorrow at Marcus’s family seat in Devonshire, although there is no hurry, since they aren’t expected to arrive there until next week. They should still be touring the Lake District at present.”

“What about Lily? You know she won’t be happy to hear you are engaged to wed a man you don’t love and who might never love you.”

“I know.” Roslyn’s mouth quirked ruefully. “I think I had best make a trip to London and tell her in person, although I will have to be discreet. Lily wants everyone to think she is visiting our old friends in Hampshire. Only you and Fanny know otherwise.”

“That would be wise,” Tess agreed. She drank a swallow of wine before speaking again. “Would you mind if I asked a personal question, Roslyn?”

“Of course not.”

Tess hesitated, looking oddly embarrassed. “Was…passion as remarkable as Fanny says it is?”

Roslyn felt her own complexion warm as she recalled the incredible interlude with Drew in the cottage. “It was better,” she said softly. “I can understand now why Fanny forsook all her genteel upbringing and let herself be swept away by desire.”

Tess sighed. “I regret that I may never know that kind of passion. I almost envy you…” With a sharp shake of her head, she squared her shoulders. “But I promised myself I wouldn’t dwell on the past. And now I feel obliged to play schoolmistress for a moment.” She gave Roslyn a stern look, although her eyes held a glint of humor. “If you mean to become intimate with the duke again, you should take precautions.”

“Precautions?” Roslyn asked.

“Against becoming enceinte. If you find yourself with child, you will be forced to wed him, regardless of your feelings for him.”

Roslyn’s cheeks turned a deep shade of pink. “I confess, I had not given the matter any thought. Fanny never worried about such things.”

“Some women, like Fanny, cannot conceive easily, but others are more susceptible to breeding. There are ways to prevent a man’s seed taking root. You should ask Fanny about them.”

Roslyn nodded at the sage advice. For all her romantic sentimentality, Tess had always been rather levelheaded and practical.

“No doubt you are right,” Roslyn said. “But my being intimate with the duke should not be a problem in the future. I am determined it won’t happen again.”

Though looking skeptical, Tess merely sipped her wine.

Roslyn took a swallow of her own wine and silently renewed her vow not to surrender to her wanton desires again. It shouldn’t be as difficult as it had been the past two days. Now that she understood what she was up against, she could better guard herself.

She had let passion sway her when what she really wanted was love-and look at the quandary she was in now.

She would certainly not make that mistake again, no matter how irresistible the duke-Drew-was.