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A gentleman never discussed such things, of course, but he knew that he and Rees were pretty much in agreement on the subject. They both liked wild and unruly women. In Rees’s case, the women seemed to have big voices to match their big chests; in his case, they just had to have a keen sense of humor. A way of moving and wearing clothing that was sensual. And an eye that met his across the room and said, clear as daylight, come to me.

Henrietta had the sense of humor—but nothing else on that list. She wore silk as if it were sackcloth, and moved as if her body were made of wood.

Of course, he could come up with a new list, one that included a frank honesty that took his breath away. A passion that was genuine, but limited to sensual gestures and silky garments. A way of laughing at him that was tender and intelligent and made him feel as if he was admired for himself. Not for his power in the ton, nor his physical attributes. Himself.

The whole train of thought made Darby feel as if ants were crawling up his back. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about a wife. Of course he had. He wanted a wife as much as the next man: that is to say, in a fuzzy, future-bound sort of way. He had a dim idea that perhaps his marriage could be better than his parents’ had been. It would be best to feel affection for one’s spouse. And to be able to enjoy spending time in each other’s company.

Yet until he met Henrietta, he had never visualized spending years of his life with one woman. He’d also never considered the pleasures of introducing a woman to sexual pleasure. He tended to bed seasoned women, as adroit in their bedroom affairs as they were in the management of household staff.

But with Henrietta . . . things could be different. Fool for Love

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A sharp knock on the door brought Slope with a note from Esme.

You were seen kissing Henrietta; I think it would bebest for all if you did not join us for tea today. Best for all if I returned to London.

Best for Henrietta if I never saw her again. Except how could such a sensual woman live her entire life without a man? A memory of the way her tongue danced around his made his body stiffen again.

But Esme’s note settled the burning question of whether he should join the sewing circle downstairs. He would leave for London as soon as it could be arranged.

< 22 =

A Council of War

The ladies were gathering up their sewing baskets, as Slope carried off a smallish stack of hemmed sheets (there had been too much excitement for proper concentration on needlework). Henrietta gratefully rose to her feet, but Esme reached up and grasped her hand.

“May I borrow your stepdaughter for an hour or so?” she asked Lady Holkham.

Henrietta said, “No!” rather more forcefully than she meant to.

“Not for dinner,” Esme said, sending an unspoken message to both women that Darby would be present at dinner. “My dear friend Lady Perwinkle and her husband are arriving for a brief visit, and I would be most grateful for Henrietta’s help with preparations for a small dinner in their honor. Of course, this will be a very small, sedate dinner, since I’m in mourning.”

Henrietta looked as if she were going to refuse again, so Esme put a hand on her belly. “It is difficult to find strength these days,” she said sadly.

“Henrietta will help you however she is able,” Millicent Fool for Love

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assured her. “I will send the carriage back for her in an hour or so, shall I?”

“Well,” Esme said as she closed the door behind them. “So you and Darby have nothing in common, hmmm?” Her eyes were sparkling with laughter.

“I can’t marry anyone,” Henrietta said awkwardly. She was afraid that she would burst into tears if she explained the situation.

“I’ve been meaning to speak to you about that,” Esme said, plopping back heavily onto a couch. “I gather you can’t be married because it is inadvisable to undergo conception of a child due to your hip, am I right?”

“Exactly,” Henrietta said. A lowering depression seemed to be sitting in her chest. She shrugged. “After my stepmother explained the situation to Darby, he quite properly withdrew his proposal—if he had ever had the inclination to make it.”

“Of course he had the inclination. Gentlemen—and Darby is a gentleman—do not plaster a woman against a carriage in the broad daylight unless they have matrimony in mind. At least, if the woman in question is a lady.”

“Well,” Henrietta said dully, “I suppose it is a coup that Darby thought to marry me.”

Esme leaned forward. “I am going to be utterly frank, Henrietta.”

Henrietta nodded.

“What I am going to say is absolutely unheard of in polite conversation, but believe it, it is practiced regularly. There are ways to limit one’s offspring, and I don’t merely mean abstaining from a shared bed.”