“And you want to enslave Haviland.”
“I don’t wish to go that far with the earl, merely rouse his ardor. I think you could advise me on how to achieve it.”
Drew found himself unable to stifle his amusement. “You truly are unique, Miss Loring.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “I doubt you mean that as a compliment, but no matter. I don’t mind that you have a low opinion of me, as long as you are willing to help me.”
He didn’t have a low opinion of her in the least. On the contrary, he was intrigued by her, even fascinated. He also liked that she was so refreshingly honest. But that didn’t mean he wanted to have anything to do with helping her snare Haviland for her husband.
When he hesitated, she made a tsking sound. “I think you must be afraid of me.”
“Afraid of you?”
“Yes. You are still concerned about compromising me. But I told you, you needn’t worry. I wouldn’t marry you under any circumstances.”
“I am not afraid of you, darling.”
“Then you should have no objection to teaching me what I need to know. You are reputed to be a magnificent lover. I would think you would want to prove it.”
His body’s response to her lighthearted words was quick and intense: His loins abruptly tightened.
“Are you challenging me, Beauty?”
“I believe I am.”
Her musical laughter rippled through him. Drew stiffened, not liking the way arousal made itself felt in his groin.
When he didn’t automatically take up her challenge, she took another tack. “Don’t you realize it is in your self-interest for me to attach Lord Haviland?”
“How do you conclude that?”
“So Lady Freemantle will cease hounding you. As long as you stay here, she will keep pushing us together. But we can foil her efforts if I acquire Haviland as a suitor. She won’t want to spoil my chances with him if he is truly courting me.”
Roslyn’s disarming smile affected Drew more than he cared to admit. She was intent on getting her own way with charm, much like Marcus’s minx of a sister. He could see Eleanor making such an outrageous request of him.
“You want me to tutor you in how to captivate Haviland so he will be eager to court you?”
&
nbsp; “Yes, and so I can make him fall in love with me. I would be very grateful. And you would be doing Marcus a favor. He would be pleased if I could secure the earl for my husband. Marcus wanted to marry us off to perfect strangers, you know, when he first assumed our guardianship.”
Drew shook his head in wry disbelief. “I must be daft to even consider it.”
“But you want to,” she pressed.
He couldn’t respond with a denial. He had to admit he sympathized with her situation. Roslyn hadn’t deserved the difficulties she’d faced for the past four years. And it was certainly true that Marcus wanted to see her wed so he could cease worrying about her.
“I will have to give it some thought,” Drew said at last. “I am no authority on feminine arts of seduction.”
“But you know what appeals to you…how a woman could captivate your interest.”
I know how you could captivate my interest, Drew reflected silently. Judging from her wide-eyed innocent look, though, Roslyn had no idea how lascivious his thoughts were just now. How he wanted to lay her down and remove her gown very slowly, kissing each luscious creamy inch of her body…
Drew shook himself, focusing on her request. His mouth curled sardonically as he debated. He recognized the irony of helping a scheming debutante lure a man to his matrimonial doom when he himself had always been so set against marriage. Yet it was a novel prospect, teaching a proper young lady to be an ideal mistress. Besides, if he had to remain in Chiswick to keep an eye on the Loring sisters because a highwayman was menacing the district, instructing Roslyn would make the time pass faster.
He had no intention of going beyond the bounds of real propriety, of course, for in all honor, he couldn’t compromise the ward of his best friend without unwanted consequences.
To his surprise and amusement Drew found himself nodding. “Very well, I will give it a shot.”