Page 20 of Tutoring a Lady into Sin
“And I think we both can agree that was a mistake,” he said as he tried, unsuccessfully, to wipe the mud and grime from his hands.
“But was it so bad, really?” she asked, and he turned his head to stare at her.
“What are you saying?”
She heaved a forlorn sigh and scooted closer to him. “Did you pull away just now because you truly believed what we were doing was reprehensible or…or is it me?”
“You?” he questioned as he gave her a befuddled stare.
“Yes,” she cried, “me! You see the way Percy reacts to me. I cannot…am I not…What is wrong with me, Phineas?”
“I have no idea what you mean,” he said as he continued to gaze at her. Christianna’s cheeks had turned scarlet, and her hands were trembling.
“What do all the other ladies have that I do not?” she demanded.
“I cannot think of a single thing,” he assured her.
“But there must be something,” she insisted. “I have seen the way Percy talks to other young ladies. And I have noticed the way they bat their eyelashes and purr their words.”
“There are many kinds of beautiful women in this world, Christianna. You are unlike the others, that much is true. But that does not mean you should change your ways.” Phineas paused and wiped his hands on the grass behind them. “You must find your own strengths and use them to your advantage.”
“My strengths?” she asked as her eyes widened hopefully. “What do you see as my strengths, Phineas?”
“I…I…” He fumbled with his words as he tried to answer the question. “I am sure I do not know.”
“But you are a man,” she retorted, “and I wish to learn how to flirt with men.” She stopped talking for a moment and lifted her hands so she could cover her red cheeks. “Perhaps I should have learned how to do this long ago. Maybe, before agreeing to marry someone like the duke, I should have found ways to educate myself. I know his reputation. I should not have thought that I would be able to turn his head without first readying myself.”
“You do not need to turn Percy’s head,” Phineas said comfortingly.
“But I do,” Christianna persisted. “I do not want to disappoint him…once we are married. Already, I feel like he is pulling away from me, and I never really had him to start with. Won’t you…won’t you show me what to do?”
“Me?” Phineas questioned as one of his hands floated to his chest. “You want me to…?”
Christianna nodded enthusiastically. “I do not know why I did not think of it before. You are an excellent teacher, and we already have an agreement between us.”
Phineas shook his head and stood abruptly. “I agreed to speak to you about my profession, in terms of medicine and….”
She got to her feet as well and stood just an inch away from him. He could practically feel the scorching heat as it rolled off her body in waves. “Phineas, I asked you to tutor me before because I was interested in learning more about medicine. That much is true. But now, I am asking you to help me again.”
“And what is to be our subject?” Phineas inquired as he took a step away from her.
“You will…you will teach me how to flirt with men…how to seduce them.”
“No,” he responded at once. “That is not possible. I will not disresp—”
“But you must help me!” Christianna demanded. “You are the only one I trust, and if you do not assist me, how will I ever be the wife your brother expects me to be?”
“I am not sure this is logical,” Phineas said as he searched her agitated features. Her bright eyes were wide, and the colour was still heightened in her cheeks.
“But I cannot go on this way,” Christianna replied. “You know…you can see how much it hurts me every time Percy looks at another woman. I am not asking you to do anything untoward. I just want you to show me how I might attract him…as the others do.”
“I see,” Phineas murmured, “so…no more kissing?”
“I am sorry if, in doing that, I made you feel uncomfortable,” Christianna said as she reached forward and laid her hand gently on his forearm. “I have never kissed a man before, and you were so close and….” She let her words trail away as she looked up at him and fluttered her eyelashes.
He laughed. “Are you trying to flirt with me right now?”
“Oh,” she groaned. “Am I really so very bad at it?”
