The Courtesan's Secret (11 page)

The Duke of Calbourne was as fascinated by her as any man, which is to say, he would have seduced her if she gave any indication at all that she was interested in his particular brand of seduction. Unfortunately, she had not.

Yet.

Calbourne, having conspired only slightly with Sophia this very week to get his closest friend married to Sophia's daughter, was under the rather slippery impression that he and Sophia Dalby were friends of a particular sort. Namely, friends who would one day become lovers.

Naturally, things being what they were and events proceeding as he hoped they would, Calbourne had lost no time in telling Sophia about the wager regarding the Melverley pearls as they pertained to Louisa Kirkland, Dutton, and Blakesley.

He rather suspected that someone was going to find himself married very soon. As long as he was not the lucky man, Calbourne was very much intrigued to watch Sophia manage things from a safe position. And he was in a very safe position regarding all things matrimonial. Calbourne did not seek a wife as he already had produced one perfectly satisfactory heir in the person of his seven-year-old son, Alston.

If there was one particular skill at which Sophia Dalby particularly excelled it was in arranging wives for men who were not in the market for wives. Just look at what she had done in a matter of days to his friend Lord Ashdon, who had been minding his own business on a Monday and found himself married by Thursday.

Chilling bit of management, that.

"You are intrigued by this news, are you not?" Calbourne asked, crossing his legs as he sat on one of the yellow salon's more sturdy chairs.

"Very," Sophia said softly. "It is endlessly fascinating to watch what a man will do to possess the particular woman of his choosing. Do you not find it so?"

Given that he had told her of the pearl wager in the hopes of finding his way into her bed, Calbourne felt the sting of indictment in her remark rather more than he would have liked.

Being a duke, he was not at all accustomed to feeling stings of any sort whatsoever, and he fully intended for it to stay that way. Even if he and Sophia did find themselves tangled in the sheets at some future date, he was not going to allow himself to be manipulated or insulted or any of the other things Sophia Dalby was wont to do to a man. There was no time like the present for making that singular point very clear to her.

"But, of course, it is always the woman who does the choosing in these matters," Sophia said pleasantly, her dark eyes shining with mirth, cutting him off before he had even begun to lay down the ground rules of their association. "Not that most men realize that, naturally. But
you
realize that, don't you, your grace? It is your most enchanting trait, as you must surely know."

He knew nothing of the sort. He was somewhat dimly aware that Sophia had redrawn the lines of their relationship, insulted him, and complimented him all in the same breath. He found himself in the odd position of wanting to agree with her. And that is exactly what he did.

She was a most confounding woman. Perhaps he did not want to be tangled in her sheets after all.

"I daresay I understand completely what Lord Dutton hopes to achieve by such a tawdry wager," Sophia continued languidly. "He is a most forward man, is he not? As for what Lord Henry Blakesley was thinking, well," she said with a slow smile, "his actions must speak for themselves. I don't know what his mother will do when she finds out. Surely Dutton will bear the brunt of responsibility for instigating this shameful wager, putting a gently reared girl's reputation in peril. Of course, one could argue that Blakesley went along with it quickly enough," Sophia said silkily, "but from your description, it sounds as if he did it to protect the girl from harm, as you have in alerting me to the sordid details of this ill-conceived wager. Lady Louisa must be protected from callous and opportunistic men, must she not? And who better to see to her protection than a duke of the realm? And, of course, a woman well-versed in protecting herself from opportunistic men." Sophia laid a white hand against her equally white bosom; Calbourne followed the movement of her hand to her breast and found his gaze ensnared. Sophia smiled over a sigh. "Would that be a correct interpretation, your grace?"

He was being managed. He could feel it.

He didn't like it one bit.

"Completely accurate, Lady Dalby," Calbourne said softly. One did not get to be a duke by being manhandled by anyone, even a very seductive and entirely too clever woman of extremely uncertain, but entirely intriguing, reputation. "I thought you would be able to . . ." He paused.

In point of fact, he wasn't entirely certain what he had thought. He hadn't thought much beyond the desire to tell Sophia the current state of affairs regarding the Melverley pearls. She
did
have something of a sliding interest in them as they had been almost directly responsible for Caroline's quick marriage. Yes, pearls had been the weapon in that particular courtship. It was not too far afield to think they might again play a part in the London Season of 1802.

"You flatter me," Sophia said, rescuing him from any attempt he would have been forced to make to finish a thought that was unspeakable. He appreciated her effort. Dukes did not go about mismanaging simple things like pearl necklaces and private wagers. "An activity I find especially appealing." Sophia smiled slowly and touched the dangling pearl earring in her left ear with the tip of her finger. It was the most devilishly erotic gesture he had seen in a week and he could not possibly have explained why.

Calbourne recrossed his legs. Firmly.

Sophia smiled more fully, lowered her gaze, and relinquished the pearl.

"Certainly, your chivalry is to be admired," she said. "One hardly expects less of a duke, yet expectations so rarely bear the desired fruit. How thrilling it is to find that the fourth Duke of Calbourne exceeds both desire and expectation."

For a man with a most comfortable chair, he was becoming damned uncomfortable.

He was entirely certain that Sophia was responsible; as a duke, he was not in the habit of being uncomfortable.

"But I must confess to you," Sophia said, tilting her head in thought, "I simply cannot allow things to stand as they are."

"I beg your pardon?"

" 'Tis simple enough, your grace. I simply cannot allow this wager to continue for, what was it? Three days?"

"That it is what they eventually agreed upon, and not without some disturbance, I assure you. I suggested a fortnight, Dutton proposed a week, and Blakesley insisted upon three days."

"Yes, he would," Sophia said with a half smile, her gaze lowered momentarily to her lap. "And I do agree with him in theory. In practice, I must do all I can to deliver Lady Louisa from such coils as you rash men have set upon her."

"I have done no such thing," Calbourne said.

"Of course you have not, not
actually
, yet you are deeply involved as a sort of referee, are you not?"

"It is a simple wager, Lady Dalby. You have made more than a few of your own, have you not?"

"Caught out, I see," she said, grinning fully at him. "I have been guilty of such, and I daresay will be again, but dear Louisa must be saved, must she not? Only think of my reputation if I do nothing to save her."

"Save her, Lady Dalby? There is no force at work here. The lady will do what she will do. She either will pursue her pearls or she will not. What's to be done?"

"What indeed?" Sophia said on a soft and feminine sigh of docile acquiescence. "You put it most clearly and most brilliantly. Of course, everything you say is true. The lady will, most reliably, do what she will do. Indeed, I have no doubt at all that Louisa Kirkland will do what any woman would do in similar circumstances."

Strangely, it sounded slightly sinister when coming from her mouth, but then that was true of much of what Sophia Dalby said. She had an odd way of phrasing things at times.

"She will be at Hyde House tonight?" he asked.

"I believe she was invited."

"Dutton and Lord Henry will be there as well. It should prove an entertaining evening."

"I'm quite certain it will be," Sophia said softly. "I wonder, your grace, if you would be interested in a private wager?"

"Of what sort?"

"Of the friendliest sort," she said, shifting her weight so that suddenly her legs were outlined beneath the fragile silk of her gown. Calbourne shifted his own weight in direct response. "I will wager that Louisa Kirkland will make her choice and make it obviously by tomorrow night. Three days... nothing of this sort requires as much as three days to decide."

"So quickly?" Calbourne said slowly, studying Sophia and learning nothing. "You think she will make her choice known by tomorrow night?"

"I think, your grace, that she will make her choice known by tonight, if one measures the length of a night by the dawn," Sophia said with a polite smile. "I'd rather err on the side of prudence, hence, until tomorrow night. Is it a wager?"

"Done," he said.

"And shall we not include the naming of the gentleman?"

Sophia said. "I think you men do, at times, put too much upon what is your fluxuating allure and not nearly enough upon the unchanging beauty of a pearl necklace. But I am likely biased in my views, you will allow."

He certainly did allow. A woman who had made a tidy sum on collecting pearls and other items from men would see things differently, but Louisa Kirkland was no courtesan.

"You think she will prefer Blakesley over Dutton?" he asked.

"Blakesley has the pearls, does he not?" she answered with a smile.

There was plainly no possibility of Louisa choosing any other but Dutton; she had been doing so for two years and there was no reason for her to change her mind now. It was equally obvious that her pearls had been sold out from under her by her father, and none knew that fact better than Louisa. There was simply no getting them back now, no matter who had them.

"Done again. I will back Dutton. The terms?"

"Not money," Sophia said, rising to her feet, "for that would be too crass by any measure. Shall we say an intimate dinner at Cal-bourne House?"

"I would be delighted," he said, bowing crisply. "If Lord Dutton attracts the lady's interest in the next twenty-four hours, I shall host an intimate dinner at Calbourne House." Where Sophia would be the only guest. A very tidy win, if Louisa behaved as she had reliably done for the past two years.

"And if she chooses elsewhere by tomorrow night, then I shall host an intimate dinner, you being the guest of honor. This gives every appearance of being a wager I cannot lose," Sophia said, smiling up into his eyes. He returned her smile fully. There were many things said of Sophia Dalby, but the one on which all men agreed was that she was charming company.

"Nor can I, Lady Dalby. I shall see you at Hyde House tonight?"

"Your grace, you will most assuredly see me at Hyde House tonight. It promises to be a most entertaining evening, does it not?"

Again, Calbourne could not help but note that there was a slightly sinister, one might even say provocatively malevolent edge to Sophia's question. Most odd.

LOUISA, looking as enticing as she possibly could in a gown of fine white muslin with a daringly low décolleté, because Lord Dutton required daring décolletés, entered Hyde House for the second time in a single week. It was something of a coup. While hundreds were invited to a Hyde House assemblie, only a few were ever invited to celebrate the Marquis of Iveston's birth. This was her first time doing so. Amelia, dressed in ivory silk with a cunning design of indigo beading at the hem, was at her side, looking equally triumphant.

Tonight, they would achieve their purposes. Louisa would finally ensnare Lord Dutton, and Amelia would entice whatever eligible duke happened to be about.

It promised to be a spectacular evening.

"I suppose I shall have to comment on the wallpaper again," Mary said, none too quietly.

Louisa turned to stare over Aunt Mary's head and shared a subtle grimace with Amelia. Mary, Lady Jordan, was very short.

"You wouldn't think a room needed to be redone every year," Mary continued, fussing with her jade necklace, green being a color that did not suit her at all, "but when one has money, I suppose one must find ways to flaunt it."

"I'm sure I shall," Amelia said pleasantly, arranging her simple necklace of sapphires and diamonds, a combination that suited her to perfection. Naturally. One did not go about attracting the attention of a duke by wearing the wrong color.

"I'm sure I don't know what money is for if not to enjoy spending it," Louisa said. "I expect to have a spectacular time in spending Dutton's money."

"Darling," Sophia Dalby said, entering their company and their conversation without a moment's hesitation. Louisa had not even seen her coming. "While a woman must be aware of a man's financial strength, she must always refrain from discussing such things in public. While a man likes to have a fat purse, he does not want his value to be based upon it."

"I would never...I meant no such thing!" Louisa said in a hushed voice, looking behind her to see if Dutton or anyone who knew Dutton had heard her. Which was ridiculous, really, for who didn't know Dutton?

"But, naturally, it must be considered," Sophia said, continuing on as if Louisa had not spoken. "Isn't that so, Lady Jordan?"

Aunt Mary, who had married for love and married badly, simply scowled at Lady Dalby in response.

Mary and Sophia, from what Louisa could gather, had entered London at almost the same instant. That Sophia had clearly worked things to her very prominent advantage was not something Mary enjoyed contemplating. It should not have been so. Logically, it should not have been so.

After two years in pursuing Lord Dutton, Louisa was increasingly aware that logic had very little to do with anything, particularly men and marriage.

"But, of course," Sophia continued, moving their small group by slow degrees through the crowd at the door of the blue reception room, "it is quite clear to me that Lady Amelia understands this very well. How wise of you, darling, to have grasped the situation so fully while so young."