“I doubt I can summon the tender emotions you consider so crucial.”
He thought himself incapable of love? Kate wondered. “Even if you cannot form a strong affection for your wife, you could attempt to elicit hers. For a union to be successful, a meeting of hearts and minds is invaluable.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“If you want your wife to care more for you than for your fortune and title, you will have to win her heart.”
“And just how do I manage that?”
“Well…you could start by wooing her.”
He was silent for a moment before responding unexpectedly, “I think you should teach me.”
Kate gave him a questioning glance, and Deverill explained, “You are the expert in romance. You know how an Englishwoman wants to be courted, and what she wants from a suitor.”
It puzzled her, why Deverill would ask her to tutor him when thus far he had resisted her efforts to change him more than superficially.
When she didn’t reply, he pressed her. “Who else can I call on for help? No one else would dare to take me on.” Seeing her continued hesitation, he added, “How difficult can it be?”
“To convert a vexing American privateer into the ideal suitor who can win an English lady’s heart?” she said lightly. “Exceedingly difficult, I would imagine.”
“Taking you to France will require a great deal of time and effort. You could make a small effort in return.”
“I already am making an enormous effort,” she pointed out indignantly, before spying the warm laughter in his eyes. “You are hoping to make me feel guilty, aren’t you?”
“I am appealing to your sense of fair play.”
A chortle escaped Kate, even as she questioned her own common sense. She couldn’t believe she was actually considering teaching Deverill how to woo his potential bride.
“I suppose I could show you a thing or two,” she said cautiously.
“Good. We can begin this morning, once I escort you home.”
Her exasperation returned. At her first hint of yielding, he had taken charge. “Nell has a fitting for her wedding dress this morning and won’t be free until this afternoon.”
“You don’t need to hide behind your chaperone’s skirts. Moreover, I am meeting your brother at Brooks’s club this afternoon.”
“I will need a chance to think on it.”
“Well, think quickly. As you said, we have very little time before the Season ends.”
At the reminder, Kate relented. Maura would likely be home this morning, even if Nell wasn’t. And the introduction of Lady X into the equation added urgency to her task of finding Deverill a suitable bride who would value him for himself.
“True. And we could review my list of candidates. You should be prepared to encounter any of them at the ridotto this evening. Very well. We can begin when we conclude our ride.”
The smile Deverill gave her was potent enough to curl her toes. At his intimate look, she couldn’t deny the jolt of excited anticipation that shot through her—
Kate brought herself up short as all her defenses shouted “Beware!” Teaching him to romance her peers? Whatever had possessed her to agree? Clearly she needed to have her wits examined.
Dragging her gaze from his, she directed her eyes straight ahead. Even more than her fierce attraction for Deverill, her tangled emotions made her far too vulnerable.
No, Kate thought, steeling herself for the engagement to come. She would have to take great care if she hoped to remain unscathed. Otherwise, she could be in real danger of resuming her former idiotic romantic infatuation.
Maura and Ash were out, Kate learned upon arriving home, yet she led Deverill to the drawing room anyway. Surely she could handle him for a short while.
When he was seated on the sofa, she gave him a copy of Debrett’s Peerage. “You should study this to familiarize yourself with the ranks of nobles and knights.”
Then she pulled out her list of potential candidates and settled beside him in order to review the names. “Here are the ladies I have identified so far.”