To Seduce a Bride (Courtship Wars)

Heath’s jaw hardened. He couldn’t stop thinking about that haunted pain in Lily’s eyes when she’d confessed about threatening her father in order to save her mother from assault. He remembered seeing that same look last week when Lily had chased O’Rourke from the house, brandishing a statue at his retreating back. And when she’d flung herself against the gang of bullies in the alley to defend a mongrel dog.

It also explained why she’d insisted on kindness as a qualification for the candidates he invited to the soiree. And why she was so irate about the injustice done to some of the young women she’d taken under her wing here at the boardinghouse. And why she’d put herself out to help two of them escape a life of prostitution by finding them respectable jobs in her own home.

Lily’s actions reflected her ferocious desire to protect the weak and helpless, which touched Heath with tenderness for her.

Yet after learning about her father-after witnessing the pain in her eyes and hearing it in her voice-Heath finally realized just how difficult a task he faced, trying to win Lily’s hand in marriage. She would never let down her guard because she was afraid to give herself to any man, lover or husband.

He would have to teach her about tenderness, about intimacy, about trust, that much was certain to him. She was like a wild woodland creature, cautious, wary, in need of coaxing, of gentling.

He’d made a start last night when he’d held her in his arms, Heath decided. He would wager half his fortune that Lily had never felt such emotional closeness with a man before him.

He’d never felt that kind of shared tenderness, either, and he knew it was very special.

At the memory, Heath closed his eyes momentarily, recalling the naked feel of her pressed into the curve of his body, her warmth, her fragrance. He knew instinctively that Lily’s passion was something he alone could kindle-a thought that gave him primal satisfaction. But he wanted more than merely to control her body. Much more.

He wanted Lily for his wife.

Attaining that goal, however, would be the biggest challenge he’d ever faced. The decision to marry him had to be Lily’s. He couldn’t force her to accept him. She would have to take him for her husband because she wanted to.

And very likely, the only reason she would want to was if she loved him enough to overcome her doubts and fears about him.

Which meant he must strive to make her fall in love with him.

Heath frowned darkly in contemplation. Perhaps using his sexual prowess was not the best way to win her heart after all. Nor was wooing Lily with marriage in mind. As long as she felt pursued and hounded by his courtship, she would keep her defenses unassailable.

But what if he were to back off his campaign? What if he were to cease pursuing her?

Admittedly, he could benefit from a respite himself. Every morning he woke with a painful arousal that wouldn’t cease. And each time he touched Lily, kissed her, held her, became more and more tormenting. If he had to endure another chaste night with her, making love to her without really making love to her, he feared he wouldn’t be able to hold back. He would give in to his fierce desire for her and make his possession irrevocable.

But if he retreated, Heath mused, perhaps he could bring some discipline to the fire in his senses and manage a semblance of control over his hunger.

It seemed a very wise step to avoid any further sexual intimacy with Lily at least. And an even wiser step to stop wooing her for now. To give her time to sort things out for herself instead of constantly pressing her to marry him.

Meanwhile, Heath thought, slowly nodding with resolve, he would use the opportunity to determine how to earn Lily’s trust and respect, to show her a better, more admirable side of his character, so she would have no doubt that he was utterly and completely different from the kind of man she despised and feared.

Chapter Twelve

It is very strange. He seems to have abandoned the game.

– Lily to Fanny

It surprised Lily when she saw nothing of Heath the following day. He had called on her so regularly that she expected him to continue the same pattern. Yet she didn’t hear a word from him on Wednesday, not even a note.

She heard nothing from him on Thursday, either, and was greatly puzzled to learn that he had invited Fleur and Chantel to share his box at the theater that evening without even mentioning the invitation to her.

Lord Poole was to accompany them, Lily discovered. Since the night of the soiree, the viscount had practically lived at the boardinghouse, and was obviously enamored of Chantel-a development that delighted the aging beauty and warmed Lily’s heart.

Having declined Heath’s invitation to the theater once before, Lily could hardly object to being excluded this time, but when he arrived to collect the courtesans, he said barely a word to her.

Fleur and Chantel didn’t seem to notice, they were so excited about the treat Lord Claybourne was offering them. They bustled about the entrance hall, laughing and chattering gaily as they collected wraps and fans.

When they had gone-after telling Lily not to wait up since they were to dine at a fashionable hotel after the play-the echo of their gaiety made the house seem rather quiet.

Her spirits sinking as a consequence, Lily wandered into the drawing room in search of something to read. She felt at loose ends now that the soiree was over, since her time was much less occupied. Oh, she was still teaching lessons to several of her pupils at their request, but the urgency was gone for most of the girls, at least those who had secured new protectors.

Seeing a copy of the daily newspaper, The Morning Post, lying on a table, Lily began skimming the pages. Fleur and Chantel subscribed to both the morning and evening papers, since they liked to pore over the society and fashion sections. Normally the items about books, Parliamentary proceedings, foreign news, and shipping reports interested Lily, but just now they failed to hold her attention.

Instead, she kept wondering if Heath had abandoned his courtship of her. Perhaps he considered their game not worth finishing, given that she’d made her position about marrying him so clear.