Page 39 of Temptations of a Wallflower
“You’ve always had a scholarly bent,” Marwood decreed. “Only this time, you’ll be studying something useful.”
Jeremy shot him a dry look, then shook his head. “I’d no idea seduction was such an art.”
Marwood raised one finger. “Depend on it, my lad. It’s not a truncheon but a sword, to be wielded only by the most skilled men and women. It shows you the measure of my esteem for you that I consent to share this advice at all.”
Jeremy inclined his head. “I am deeply honored.”
“As you should be,” Marwood said solemnly. Then spoiled the whole effect by grinning. “I don’t want to overload your brain and bollocks with too much information at once. I think this is a good starting point.”
“Let us hope so,” Jeremy remarked, rising. He shook hands with Marwood. “My many thanks for the gift of your knowledge.”
“Pleasure is my business,” Marwood answered. “Well, it was. Now I concentrate all my business on one woman.” But he said this with obvious devotion to his bride.
Jeremy’s head swam with the surfeit of knowledge and experience imparted to him by his cousin. But if anyone knew the dance of the sexes, it was Marwood, a certified dancing master.
Marwood gave Jeremy the address in Bloomsbury, as well as the secret knock and code for the door, then escorted him toward the foyer.
Jeremy stepped back onto the street, but his buoyant enthusiasm soon faded. It was one thing to feel the giddy possibility of sex and seduction when safely ensconced in his cousin’s study. Quite another to put it into practice. In a short time, he’d visit this secret club and test out his newfound knowledge. His notebook rested in his pocket, heavy with importance. It was a notebook that only his eyes would ever read.
He was truly in it now, the darker realms of the senses and animal hungers. His life had split in two—he wasn’t simply a vicar anymore. He was a vicar with a clandestine mission to infiltrate a secret hedonistic society. It thrilled him to contemplate doing something so dangerous, so outside the realm of his circumscribed life. Here was the freedom he’d been forbidden—risky, delicious freedom. He could take a step closer toward discovering the Lady’s identity, while pushing the limits of his own existence.
He fervently hoped Lady Sarah didn’t find out about any of it.
Chapter 11
The following night, I set off in my pursuit of Jacob Clearwater. I left the village and plunged into thick woods, guiding my horse into a deep vale. Ahead, shielded by trees, I saw an old stone ruin, overgrown with ivy and full of secrets, like a sorcerer’s lair.
Someone was within, judging by the glow of a fire. I left my horse behind and crept forward on foot. Peering through one of the windows, I beheld Jacob’s den. But no one was within.
Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind by muscular arms. “You took a hell of a chance, coming here,” a familiar voice growled in my ear. Excitement thrummed through me as I managed to turn around.
“You have something that I want,” I said, then kissed him . . .
The Highwayman’s Seduction
She didn’t recognize herself.
Sarah stared into the mirror, and a stranger gazed back. A liberal application of cosmetics had transformed her face, making her appear more angular, older. She had taken extra care to change the shape of her mouth with lip rouge, since that was the most visible part of her visage. A gold silk mask covered her upper face, obscuring it from view.
If someone recognized her tonight . . . the consequences would be disastrous. Unmarried virgins didn’t escort themselves to secret masked gatherings. She did, though. Starting tonight.
The clock on her mantel chimed just midnight. Fortunately, her mother and father had spent the evening at home and had gone to bed an hour earlier. In a state of nervous excitement, Sarah had pled a headache and stayed in her room. With her parents entirely certain that she was abed, she could creep out of the house without detection. It was a fast run down the back stairs, through the mews, and to the waiting carriage. She just needed to be fleet of foot and pray the servants kept their silence. They had all been persuaded with money into complicity, including the coachman. Thank God for her additional income as the Lady, which helped her afford the numerous bribes.
Her pulse throbbed. Could she do this? Over the past few days, she’d taken special precautions—even selecting a false name should anyone ask. Between her disguise and careful planning, she ought to be untraceable. But there was always a possibility of detection.
She stood back from her mirror and paced to the mantel. The carriage waited for her. But it wasn’t too late to back out. She could remove her cosmetics, doff her mask and cloak, and climb into bed with none the wiser.
Yetshewould know that her nerve had failed her.
Thiswas her chance to live a life like her characters’. To be as bold and daring as Lady Josephina. As Sarah had always longed to be if given the chance. If she stayed at home, would she look back on this moment with remorse? Raking herself over the coals with what might have been?
The night outside was thick and dark, the moon obscured by a haze of clouds. It was precisely the sort of night for assignations and adventures.Heradventure. At last.
Before any more doubt could shackle her, she grabbed her cloak, pulled up the hood, and drew open the door to her room. She made certain the hallway was clear before shutting her door and slipping down the silent darkened corridor. Her dancing slippers barely made a sound on the carpet or when they padded softly down the stairs.
With only a few lights burning dimly, everything in her home was shrouded in shadow. More than once she’d gone down to the library in the middle of the night when the rest of the house had been asleep, but that had felt entirely different from tonight. At worst, if she’d been caught in the library, she might have received a mild scolding from her mother about catching a chill. Yet if her parents saw her this evening, completely disguised, sneaking out of the house—she’d never have a moment’s freedom again.
But she wouldn’t turn back. Not now.
