To Bed a Beauty (Courtship Wars 2)
She’d had high hopes for the evening. Until now she had never mingled with a company of lightskirts, and she was fascinated by what she had seen and learned thus far.
Indeed, until recently, Roslyn had rarely mixed with any sort of society during the past four years. Instead, she’d lived quietly in the country-at Danvers Hall near Chiswick, some half dozen miles west of London-with her sisters and their curmudgeonly step-uncle and guardian, the Earl of Danvers, who had grudgingly taken them in after their parents mired them in shame and scandal.
Four years ago their mother had run off with her lover to the Continent. Then their libertine father had promptly gambled away the last of his fortune and been killed in a duel over his mistress, which had ruined any last-gasp chances the Loring sisters had of making good marriages.
They had endured with fortitude the disgrace and rejection and poverty that followed. They’d even found a way to earn their own livings so they would no longer be at the mercy of their miserly step-uncle for mere sustenance. With the support of a wealthy patroness, they had started a successful academy to teach the daughters of wealthy merchants and industrialists how to be proper ladies and compete in the lofty, disdainful world of the ton.
But the lack of matrimonial prospects had struck Roslyn the hardest. Of the three sisters, she was the one who still secretly dreamed of marrying for love and having children. Although her birth and breeding were impeccable, being penniless and tainted by her parents’ scandals severely limited her choices.
Even more detrimental were her looks. She was widely considered the most beautiful of the three sisters, to her immense regret. Her golden hair and fine-boned features along with her tall, slender build made her seem deceptively delicate. That appearance of fragility, combined with her family’s disgrace and the lack of a strong male protector, had left Roslyn vulnerable to the unwanted advances of disreputable rakes and roues, and she’d suffered more than one mortifying proposition that entailed sordid debauchery rather than respectable marriage.
Just remembering now made her shiver.
Clenching her jaw, Roslyn stepped closer to the balcony railing to gaze down at the nearly empty lane below. She would never settle for becoming some man’s mistress. Nor would she ever marry for any reason but true love.
Which is why you resolved to take control of your own fate and find a husband who could share that elusive ideal.
Before she could act on her resolve, however, her pitiful prospects had improved significantly. Several months ago, their elderly step-uncle passed away and the new Earl of Danvers, Marcus Pierce, assumed their guardianship. Loath to be saddled with three impoverished almost-spinsters, Marcus had declared his intention of finding husbands for them all-which had precipitated a spirited battle with the eldest, Arabella, over their independence and resulted in an unexpected love match between her and Marcus.
Roslyn was overjoyed for Arabella…and grateful for her own sake as well, since Marcus had generously granted his two youngest wards their legal and financial independence so they could choose their own futures.
Roslyn had known exactly what future she wanted, only she wasn’t quite sure how to achieve it. Thus, she’d called on the experience and expertise of her childhood friend, Fanny Irwin, a once genteel young lady who had left home at sixteen to become one of London’s most celebrated Cyprians.
When they first broached the subject last week, though, Fanny had responded with consternation. “Surely you are not planning to take up the life of a courtesan, Roslyn?”
“No, not at all.”
“Good, because I have no intention of corrupting you.”
Roslyn smiled. “I don’t wish to be corrupted, Fanny. I simply want to learn your secrets…specifically how to make a gentleman enamored of me.”
“Whatever for?”
“Because I hope to make a respectable marriage before long, but I want my husband to love me first. It seems clear that gentlemen commonly fall in love with their mistresses but rarely their wives, so I concluded I should study the experts to learn how a mistress arouses a man’s ardor.”
Fanny stared at her for the space of several heartbeats before breaking into laughter. “I forgot how scientifically minded you are, my dear.”
“I am that,” Roslyn agreed amiably. “But regrettably, I haven’t the faintest notion how to go about developing the skills necessary to engage a man’s heart. And you are the most successful of all the Cyprians I know.”
“I am the only Cyprian you know,” Fanny returned wryly.
“True, but I could probably find someone else willing to instruct me.”
She gave a grimace. “Arabella would have my head if I allowed you to go to someone else. Do you have a prospective target in mind for your husband?”
“Actually I do. The Earl of Haviland. Do you know him?”
Fanny pursed her lips. “I have made his acquaintance. Haviland recently came into the title, along with a significant fortune, did he not?”
“Yes, and his country villa marches with Danvers Hall.”
“Is he in the market for a bride?”
“Rumor claims so.”
“And you wish to be considered a candidate for his hand?”
Unable to control her blush, Roslyn nodded. “From what I’ve witnessed these past few months, I think Haviland