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As she walked up the steps, Davis opened the door for her.
“Good afternoon, Miss Drake,” he said with a smile. “You’ve returned early.”
“Yes, Davis. Is my mother at home?”
“No, miss. She is paying a call on Lady Huntley.”
“Of course. Could you ask Mary to draw a bath for me?”
“Yes, miss.”
She withdrew to the safety of her room to wait for her bath. As she waited, she sat at her desk and pulled her list from its hidden drawer.
Introduce yourself to a man at a ball
Visit a gaming hell dressed as a man
Get foxed
Kiss a man
Get banned from Almacks’s
Learn to paint in oils
Race a carriage
Break a law
Seduce a rake
She picked up her quill and quickly scratched off number four. If only she could stop thinking about that particular number. In truth, it wasn’t her first kiss that she remembered so clearly but the second one. That dark, seductive kiss wouldn’t leave her mind. She wondered what would have happened if Simon hadn’t told her to go to bed that night. Perhaps she might have scratched off number nine.
The quill dropped out of her fingers, leaving a black ink spot on the paper. This plan might make her go mad. She most certainly could not seduce, or be seduced by, Simon Kingsley. Even if his kisses made her toes curl.
But she could get banned from Almack’s, and that was next on her list.
Today was Wednesday, so it was time to face the wrath of the patronesses. She supposed the only way to do this would be to insult one of them to their faces. It wouldn’t be difficult, even if she did so hate hurting people’s feelings. Or she could attempt to enter after eleven. Only she wasn’t sure if that would get her barred for the evening or the Season. She needed it to be the Season.
“Miss Drake, your bath is ready,” Mary called from the hall with a knock on the door.
“Come in.” Emma quickly put away her list and closed the drawer.
“Good afternoon, miss,” Mary said b
efore directing the footmen on where to place the copper tub. As they filled it with hot water, Mary pulled out her lavender oil and dropped some into the water.
“I am going to Almack’s tonight.”
“Very good, miss. I shall pull out your white muslin.”
White muslin. God forbid the unmarried ladies attempted to wear anything else to that place. “Thank you.”
She waited for the footmen to finish hefting the water upstairs as Mary went to the linen closet to pull out her gown for the evening.
“Come along, miss. The footmen have finished, and the water is cooling.” Mary waved Emma over by the bed to undress.
Finally, Emma sipped into the warm water with a sigh. If only she could sit in a tub with water that didn’t chill. She might stay in the water for hours. Instead, Emma quickly washed, knowing this water would not be warm far too long.
