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“Because you are a lady of noble birth, Aphrodite.”
“And you are a gentleman of noble birth. Why are you permitted to understand these things before having a wife?”
“Who told you I understood them before having a wife?”
“Do not take me for a fool, Evander! I may not know much, but I know that if there had been no encounters with a woman, you would not have ended up with a wife! For you surely know that despite your many promises to me, there were no…interactions!”
He paused as my breath rose and fell. We stared at each other.
“Or maybe you are right, for I truly do not understand. Maybe the answer is you simply did not wish to have me. And that is fine, for I no longer wish to have anything from you, either, Your Grace.” I curtsied to him before turning to leave.
“Aphrodite, wait—”
“Aphrodite?”
I froze when I saw Silva. “Is everything well?”
“Quite,” I said, quickly taking her arm and rushing to get away.
“Aphrodite, what happened?” she whispered. “Did he—”
“Nothing, I swear. Please don’t say a word to anyone!” I begged.
She frowned, examining me.
“Please.”
“Very well. Thankfully, I did not return inside without you. The footman informed me you had not left the garden. Did anyone else see you?”
“No.” I shook my head, though I did not know for sure.
“Calm yourself. Eyes will be on us,” she directed.
“I look uncalm?”
“You do not look yourself.”
I did not know what that meant. But I tried to push away everything that occurred within that garden.
Everything.
5
Aphrodite
I managed to gather my wits until we returned home.
I survived the lecture from my mother, who now added dancing lessons to the things I would have to learn “most urgently.” I could only do as I always did and agree, wishing for the stillness of night to allow me time to reflect. I wished to think rationally, but as I lay upon my bed now, I could not escape the vision of that couple in the bushes. He kissed her as if he were trying to devour her flesh—and how eagerly she sought to be devoured. Did it not hurt? The way he grasped her like a beast would—grunting and breathless. As I remembered more, I felt a sort of pain that was not pain. I remembered the way he took her nipple into his mouth, and the thought caused my own to tighten.
It was maddening.
Can you not see you are aroused? His voice shot through my mind, and it made me tremble. I had not realized that we’d had our first conversation in years, and he’d spent it mocking me and insulting my intelligence. I leapt out of bed and grabbed my robe and the candle from beside it.
How dare he laugh at me!
I crept into the library and did not stop until I grabbed a Latin dictionary and settled in at my father’s desk. The moment I sat down to open the book, the door flew open.
“Aphrodite?”
