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“Probably not for long,” Melisande said, pushing the plate of biscuits toward her.
“No, probably not. You can’t save them all. Not if they don’t want to be saved. ”
For a moment Melisande busied herself with the teapot, pouring mugs of hot tea as Emma took the seat opposite her. “I don’t understand it. Why wouldn’t they be happy to get away from all that degradation? When there’s a decent way to live without having some man pawing you all the time, why wouldn’t you jump at the chance?”
A small smile curved Emma’s mouth. She was a beautiful woman, Melisande thought dispassionately. It would make a lot of sense if their names were switched. Melisande should be a raven-haired beauty; Emma should be the brown wren.
“There’s a surprising amount of pleasure to be had in bed. ” She took a sip of her tea.
Melisande made a sound of disdain. “I find that hard to believe. It’s not as if I hadn’t…as if I were still… I have experience, you know. ”
“Of course you have. ” Emma’s voice was soothing. “But you will admit, not quite as much as I do. ”
“We’re the same age,” Melisande said, knowing she sounded childish.
“You’re a century younger. Be glad of it, my dear. ”
“But you just said there was surprising pleasure to be had in bed. ”
“And you’ll find it. With the right man. ”
Melisande shook her head. “I don’t think so. And you’ve eschewed the company of men to live here, as well. Don’t you miss this purported ‘pleasure’?”
“What brought this up?”
“Nothing. Just something Violet said when I found her at Viscount Rohan’s. ”
“And that was?”
For a moment Melisande hesitated, and then she spoke. “She said she liked it. Now I could see that if one was to enjoy the act with anyone then Viscount Rohan would be the man…” The words were already out of her mouth before she realized how damning they were.
“He’s a very handsome man,” Emma agreed gravely, but there was still a twinkle in her eye. “All the Rohans are beautiful and wicked and irresistible. It’s only natural you would have a tendre for him. ”
“Not likely,” Melisande said, reaching for another biscuit. “As you said, he’s a handsome man—I’d have to be dead not to notice, and I’m not dead. That doesn’t mean I want to go anywhere near him. ”
“But the question is, are you tempted?”
Melisande hid her instinctive reaction. “Of course not! And I’m not the kind of woman Viscount Rohan gets involved with. Thank heavens!”
“Thank heavens, why?” Emma pursued. “If you’re not tempted then why would it matter whether he was interested or not?”
The very thought of Benedick Rohan turning those dark eyes on her with anything less than the annoyance or, at best, indifference, was enough to make her blood run cold. And hot. “When did you become such a matchmaker?” she demanded.
Emma smiled. “Seven years running a house of ill repute gives me a great deal of experience. I can tell when someone’s interested, and I can tell when it would be a good match. ”
“Well, I’m not interested. ”
“Of course you aren’t. ” Emma’s eyes were alight with merriment.
“You’ll see. Sooner or later I expect I’ll run into him again, and I’ll have a chance to prove I don’t care. Though I’m not going after Violet again. This is her last chance. ”
Emma shook her head. “She won’t stay. ”
“No. And Viscount Rohan is welcome to her. ” Melisande rose, yawning. “I don’t know whether I should go back to bed or give it up and dress for the day. ”
“You’ll dress for the day,” Emma returned. “You’re the most active creature I know—you’re bound to have a hundred things you could accomplish before noon. ”
“Am I that predictable?”
