To Desire a Wicked Duke (Courtship Wars 6)

Since she had failed to bolster her flagging spirits, Tess eagerly welcomed the crunch of carriage wheels in the drive barely an hour later. A glance out her window confirmed her hope that Fanny Irwin had come in response to her panicked note.

Hugely relieved, Tess hurried downstairs herself to admit Fanny.

As expected, the courtesan had traveled here incognito in a plain, closed carriage, and wore a hooded cloak so as to keep her visit unremarked. Although Fanny appeared quite well-bred, dressing demurely in high-necked gowns of dark fabrics and wearing her raven hair pulled back in a severe knot, she couldn’t help looking like the exotic beauty she was.

After handing Fanny’s wet cloak to the housekeeper and asking for refreshments to be sent up, Tess led the courtesan back upstairs to the sitting room adjacent to her bedchamber.

“I came at once,” Fanny said, crossing to the hearth fire to warm her chilled hands. “Of course I will do whatever I can to help you, Tess. You have done so much for me and all of my friends, I can never repay you.”

The Cyprian was famous and expensive, Tess knew, but Fanny’s sharp wits and highly-tuned feminine instincts, even more than her sultry looks and lush figure, had brought her to the top of her overcrowded profession at the relatively young age of four-and-twenty.

She was trying to leave the demimonde, however. Her first Gothic novel had just been anonymously published, and she’d begun writing a second one, hoping to establish a new career that would allow her to marry for love as her close friends, the Loring sisters, had done.

Tess had actually fostered Fanny’s research for her current novel by introducing her to Patrick Hennessy, who had given them an intriguing tour of Drury Lane Theatre and shared delightful legends about the ghosts of long-dead thespians.

Once they were settled with a fresh pot of tea and biscuits to give them sustenance, Fanny got straight to the point. “From what I hear, Rotham will likely be a difficult husband to manage.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Tess murmured. “It is why I called upon you to advise me.”

Fanny had aided and abetted the Loring sisters significantly during their recent courtships, Tess knew. Her own cousin Damon’s wife, Lady Eleanor, had also benefited from Fanny’s expertise. And most recently, Madeline Ellis, the bride of Arabella’s close neighbor, the Earl of Haviland, had sought her help.

“Perhaps,” Fanny suggested, “we should begin with what we know about the duke. I understand he began sowing his wild oats at an early age.”

“Quite early.”

Most of Tess’s knowledge about her intended husband she had learned from society gossip and of course Richard, who had complained bitterly about his dictatorial elder cousin. But she gave Fanny an abbreviated version of Rotham’s past.

After his mother died giving Ian Sutherland birth, he was left to the tender mercies of his father, who was something of a wastrel as well as a libertine. Ian ran wild as a child, and after he was out of short-coats, persisted in breaking all the rules of gentlemanly behavior. Yet because he was heir to a dukedom, he was exempted from any serious consequences. Tess actually envied his freedom, even if she couldn’t always admire his rebel actions.

After inheriting the title, he’d continued regularly shocking the ton, even vying with professional gamesters in the worst hells. He had uncanny successes at the card tables—the luck of the devil, some said—and won huge sums. Then, through clever investments and ruthless business dealings, Rotham had transformed his winnings into an immense fortune.

“I have seen his skill at the gaming tables for myself,” Fanny said at the conclusion of Tess’s summary. “He is also known for his mastery over the fair sex, but reputed to be cold and distant when it comes to emotions. You will not conquer his heart easily, Tess.”

“I have no desire for his heart, believe me,” she vowed. “I only want to know how I can defend myself against him.”

“What precisely do you mean? You likely needn’t worry about your wedding night. I’ll wager you will find the pleasures of the marriage bed exceedingly enjoyable.”

Tess took a large swallow of tea for courage. “In truth, that is what I fear, Fanny. I don’t wish to give Rotham such power over me.”

Briefly she related how she’d fallen victim to her senses this afternoon when the duke had merely kissed her. She was still a little shocked by the intense passion he had made her feel. She wasn’t eager to surrender her body to Rotham either, even in the sanctity of matrimony, for carnal intimacy would likely make her that much more vulnerable to him.

“Sexual attraction is normal and natural,” Fanny assured her. “Especially with a man like Rotham. So perhaps you shouldn’t try to fight your responses, merely control them.”

“I would be elated to learn how to control them,” Tess said fervently.

Fanny smiled at her impassioned tone. “You should be glad he is a skilled lover, for it will likely make the consummation go more easily for you. But so the physical aspects of his lovemaking will not take you by surprise, I can tell you exactly what to expect from your deflowering and how to lessen the impact of his sensuality. Forewarned is forearmed.”

“Thank you, Fanny,” Tess replied in gratitude.

The courtesan eyed her thoughtfully. “Are you not the least bit excited about finally knowing the secrets of passion? I would be, were I in your shoes.”

She hesitated, looking down at her teacup. She had accepted Richard’s proposal of marriage with joy, yet if she were strictly truthful, she had never quite felt the kind of romantic ardor for him that she’d always dreamed of. Which had left her feeling a trifle guilty.

She felt a similar guilt now because she couldn’t help a delicious twinge of anticipation at the thought of becoming Rotham’s lover.

“I suppose I am, a little. But I dislike the thought of being at Rotham’s mercy. We may have to remain at Bellacourt for an indefinite period. Lady Wingate believes we should absent ourselves from town until the scandal fades—in fact, she suggested we consider going away on a wedding journey for a time. But I cannot contemplate being alone with Rotham for that long.”

When an idea struck her, Tess glanced back up at her friend. “I wish you could accompany me to Bellacourt after the wedding ceremony, Fanny. I could use your support and protection. I would ask Dorothy, but she is so meek and mild, Rotham would eat her for breakfast.”