Page 40 of How to Start a Scandal

But now her body knew. And it craved.

Oh, how it craved.

But hers was a secret that must be guarded no matter the cost. She pressed her lips together to savour the memory of his mouth and nodded.

Seth backed away and stared hard at her, his eyes deep pools of reckless emotion. ‘I shouldn’t have kissed you.’

His words plunged into her like a dagger. ‘Please don’t,’ Violet said.

‘Don’t kiss you?’ The corner of his mouth lifted.

Lust was so hot in her blood, it was difficult to breathe, to think. ‘Please don’t regret it.’

He closed the distance between them once more, but did not pull her back into his arms. ‘Selfishly, I could never regret it. I only want to ensure your reputation remains intact.’

Her reputation was a sham hidden behind a veneer of reticence. She was a fraud. But she couldn’t say as much aloud. How could she confess such shame?

He stroked his thumb down her cheek, tender and affectionate. It was all she could do not to close her eyes and lean into the caress.

‘How is it you’re not yet wed?’ he murmured.

He had asked her that before. She shifted her weight, unsure of what to say. How did one explain the lack of interest in marriage when in her heart that was exactly what she had wanted? Once upon a time, long ago, before she’d met Lord Fordson. She’d longed for someone to love her wholly and completely and without condition, who truly thought she was beautiful and made her feel the way Lord Fordson had with his lies.

Seth’s hand fell away and he backed away to give her more space. ‘You’ve had suitors, though, surely.’

‘I prefer the company of spinsters,’ she replied staunchly. It was a prim response, one meant to discourage further conversation on the topic. But Seth was a man unlike any other, especially since his return.

‘What if a man did wish to court you?’ he asked. ‘Would you still prefer the company of your fellow wallflowers?’

Violet’s breath caught. Did he mean to ask if he might court her? If so, how was she to answer such a request?

‘I suppose it would depend on the man,’ she stammered.

He tilted his head in concession. ‘That’s a prudent response.’

The sun had begun to sink into a bed of fluffy clouds overhead and cast the sky in myriad hues of purple, blue, pink and orange.

‘I have a rather odd question to ask you,’ he said suddenly.

Violet’s heart nearly seized in her chest. If he meant to ask if he could court her, would she agree? One was not courted by a man without the intention of marriage if they were compatible.

And what if they were? What if he asked for her hand in marriage? He believed her to be pure.

It was too much. A tension gripped her chest and air was suddenly difficult to draw in.

‘May I ask it?’ he asked.

She nodded even as her pulse raced faster than Hedgehog fleeing a new fashion accessory.

Seth took a breath, paused in apparent contemplation, then opened his mouth and continued with what appeared to be a difficult question to compose.

Violet’s whole body went stiff as he finally spoke. And it was not at all the question she had expected. In fact, it was almost worse.

‘What do you know of a courtesan who instructs young ladies?’ Seth queried.

‘A courtesan?’ Violet squeaked.

‘Yes, apparently there is a woman named Lottie who instructs the ladies of the ton on seduction or something of the like.’ Seth cleared his throat. ‘It is rumoured the women who go to her marry quickly as men are eager to wed those women who have received such edification. Is this true?’