“That is one way to put it.” Charlotte grinned. Elizabeth was thrilled. Her friend had never looked happier.
Once Dotty and Louisa had embraced Elizabeth as well, they passed around the glasses of champagne and arranged themselves on the sofas.
Elizabeth smiled broadly as she glanced at Charlotte. “I did wonder if your original plan to wait until summer to marry would last.”
A bright pink glow infused her cheeks. “I discovered I was as unable to wait as the rest of my family. There are still a few weeks left in the Season. Do you have any prospects?”
“I have had my eye on one gentleman,” Elizabeth said slowly, knowing that Lord Harrington was not a favorite in this circle. “And, as you are no longer on the market, he is looking in my direction.”
“Harrington.” Charlotte’s lips pressed together and the corners turned down. Elizabeth nodded, not sure she wished to hear what her friend would say. “You must put him through his paces before you agree to wed him. He is entirely too sure of himself.”
Indeed he was. It was as Elizabeth had thought. He had treated Charlotte in the same manner. Or had he? After all, he had been away for several weeks and had only just returned. “I tend to agree. At least, he used to be very sure of himself. He had a bit of a shock when he realized that you were betrothed to another gentleman.”
“I hope you’re right.” Charlotte gave her a dubious look. “How is he behaving toward you?”
How to explain it? “He has been attentive in a strangely cool fashion.” Elizabeth told her about the one dance per event and single carriage ride. “I often feel as if I am being interviewed for a position, as he never asks about what I enjoy. If I touch on anything personal or even the theater, or something like that, he changes the subject to the position with Sir Charles. I simply do not know what to make of him.”
“Make him show you he cares,” Louisa said in her forthright manner. “And do not allow him to break your heart.”
That had been exactly what Elizabeth had been concerned about. She was so very attracted to him that she was afraid—despite doing her best to look at him objectively—she might fall in love with Lord Harrington. If he did not return her regard, she would end up being miserable. “The infuriating thing is that I would adore living the life he has to offer, but I cannot marry a man I do not, or could not, love.”
“Nor should you,” Charlotte said. “Trust me when I tell you that there is nothing better than loving a gentleman and having him love you in return. I cannot imagine having relations with a man I did not love.”
“Relations?” Elizabeth was not at all sure what her friend meant.
“Oh, dear.” Dotty sighed. “Has no one ever told you what goes on between a man and a woman?”
Elizabeth’s cousin, Lavvie, had made some subtle hints, yet from what Elizabeth could gather from what her cousin had said, it was horrible and painful. Since her cousin had left Town and might not ever return, she was still in a state of ignorance about what went on between a man and a woman. Asking Aunt was out of the question. “Not precisely.”
“I was afraid that might be the case. I discovered it quite inadvertently, but once Dominic and I . . .” A blush infused Dotty’s cheeks. “I will just say I was glad to have the information.” Dotty glanced at Louisa.
“Yes, well.” Louisa also blushed. “Grace told me, and it was very helpful.”
“If no one objects”—Dotty looked at Charlotte and Louisa who shook their heads—“we shall tell you what you can expect.”
The next several minutes proved to be more illuminating than Elizabeth would have thought possible. Who would have thought that men and women became so—so intimate? “The man actually enters the woman’s body?”
“Have you been to Lord Elgin’s museum?” Dotty asked.
Elizabeth did not understand what the marbles had to do with anything. “Yes, my cousin took me there earlier in the Season.”
Louisa scrunched her lips and her brows drew together. “Did you notice that the male statues have a dangling bit between their legs?”
Thinking back, Elizabeth had noticed and had asked her cousin, but Lavvie rushed her through without ever answering. “Yes.”
“That grows much larger,” Dotty said. “And that is what he will enter you with.” Elizabeth opened her mouth to ask where, when her friend continued. “Where you bleed from during your courses.”
She must have look appalled because Louisa said, “It only hurts once, and after that it is really very enjoyable.”
Dotty eased Elizabeth’s mind by adding a few other things she could expect to experience with her potential husband. Some of which she had trouble believing. “He will really put his tonguethere?”
The two married ladies nodded, while Charlotte turned bright red.
When they had finished, a faint line creased Dotty’s brow. “Do you have any questions?”
“Not at the moment.” As far as Elizabeth could tell, her friends had been extremely forthright in explaining things. “Thank you. I now know how I must proceed.”
If nothing else, the discussion made her determined to ensure Lord Harrington—or whomever she married—loved her before the marriage.
