Page 50 of Pride, Prejudice & Wicked Pleasure

He started. Never had he been asked such a bold question. She was more impertinent than Miss Elizabeth, but perhaps, protected by her guise and the security of anonymity, she allowed herself more freedom. It would not surprise him to discover in Miss Elizabeth an irreverence to all which others would pay excessive worship. In that, he and Miss Elizabeth might be kindred spirits, for he, too, distrusted exaggeration and sycophants.

He answered, “That would be in the eye of the beholder, mademoiselle.”

She pursed her lips in thought. With the glow of the fire upon her, she presented a lovely vision. It had been but days since he had undressed her and felt the softness of her skin beneath his hands. The blood coursed stronger through his veins.

Straightening, he took a serious tone. “You are new to Trenwith House. I know Mrs. Trenwith to have advised you on the need for discretion. You ought trust no one but the mistress of the house.”

“I have no intention of bringing suspicion upon myself or anyone here.”

“Who knows of your presence here?”

She tilted her head at the tension in his voice. “Mrs. Trenwith, naturally. Mr. Singh showed me in. Sally assisted with my toilette. You.”

“Anyone else? Members of your family? Friends?”

“No.”

Her answer relieved him only a little. “What of your prior visits here?”

“It might be known that I have called upon Trenwith House by others beyond whom I have named, but it is not known what I do here. I was assured the confidentiality of our activities will not be breached.”

“The past is an imperfect predictor of the future.”

He sensed her eyes narrowing at him from behind her mask. “Is this all part of your seduction?”

He stiffened. “Even the most diligent can overlook innocent details. If you should be discovered, you would be ruined.”

“I am aware of the consequences,” she replied grimly. “The effect upon my family and my sisters weighs upon me more than what I should suffer.”

His ears perked. He could not resist asking, “Have you many sisters?”

“Yes. Perhaps it is unfair of me to risk their standing to indulge my own selfish desire for knowledge…and pleasure.”

“It is a very dangerous risk. If your sisters are unmarried, their futures might be forever impaired.”

She lowered her gaze to her hands and was silent for a moment. “And you? Do you have family?”

“I do.”

“Do you not risk your own reputation and theirs?”

“The consequences are graver upon the fair sex, but I am cognizant of how exposure might harm my family.”

She looked at him. “Then why do you do it?”

He wanted to ask her the same, but she had beaten him to the query. “I felt fortunate to have, myself, received an ‘education.’ My instructor did much to ease the anguish and shame I felt of the lust within me. I am indebted to Ab—to Trenwith House.”

“And you are fulfilling your obligation as an instructor?”

“Not only did my experience vanquish my torment, I have become privileged to a whole new understanding of humankind.”

“That is what I seek, though my sentiments are not as noble as yours.”

Remembering he wore a wig, he resisted running a hand through his hair. He was all too tempted to dissuade her from continuing her ‘education,’ but it would be the height of hypocrisy to deny her the enlightenment that he had been granted and a betrayal of the mission dearest to Abby, whose views were radical in the extreme but had at their heart good and selfless intentions.

“I can tell you are a gentleman. Are there not others who can fulfill your role?”

“I am persuaded by Abby, not many.”