Page 36 of The Lady’s Sweet Revenge

“Do you know what that is?” he asked.

“You said I could ask the questions.”

“My apologies. Yes. I have.”

She bit her bottom lip and then asked, “What is a brothel?”

This earned a laugh and he stopped walking for only a moment.

“It is where men can go to purchase the company of a woman for a set amount of time for a particular purpose. Namely pleasure.”

Harlow gasped without wanting to. She didn’t want him to think she cast judgment in any way. What he did was not her business.

“And you paid a woman for pleasure?”

“That is a personal question.”

She might have argued but she didn’t want to waste any time.

“Do the women enjoy it?”

He frowned. “I would guess they do for certain customers, but not all of them.”

Harlow swallowed and thought of all the men that overflowed the ballrooms in town and how she would feel if she had to touch them all. Some were quite detestable, while others were not a struggle to look at.

“Have you ever been in love?”

“That is also personal. But no. I thought so, once, but I was mistaken.”

“What do men truly want in a woman?”

“That depends on what he wants her for. For marriage, he would likely want a partner. Someone who is witty and would make the harder parts of life easier. Also, she would need to be a good mother to his children. If he was looking for someone to dally with, he would not need to be so choosy. Someone beautiful and eager. That’s about all that is necessary.”

“Is that why men seem disagreeable to marriage? Because the attributes are in juxtaposition to one another?”

“Are they? I know women who are all the things I mentioned. My friends have already married them. But they do exist.”

She nodded.

“What does it feel like? Sexual relations.”

The man fairly sprinted the dozen or so feet to the bottom of the stairs, with Belle chasing after him. When he reached the first step, he turned with a bright smile on his face.

“I’m sorry, but the questions are over per our agreement.”

“You cheated,” she said while shaking her head.

He gasped, “How dare you impugn my honor, my lady.”

She rolled her eyes at his theatrics and pointed to the stairs. “Let’s go. I’m starving.” She had gained a great deal of knowledge on her walk with the earl, but she still had much to learn.

The more she considered it, the more she wanted Reese to be her teacher.

But how?