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Authors: Lessons in Seduction
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intelligent dark eyes called Madame. Vivianna did not pretend she did not understand how that persuasion was to be affected—to kiss him and let him kiss her, to touch him and let him touch her. Employ her feminine wiles.
Except that Vivianna had never used her feminine wiles before. She did not even know whether or not she had any. She had always considered herself a bookish, serious girl, and that feminine wiles were for pretty little creatures who knew nothing about poverty and abandonment, and cared less. And yet Oliver Montegomery had looked at her as if he saw something in her that she had not known was there. Until now.
Persuade him.
Was it possible?
Vivianna had once heard a lecture on women and their imprisonment by society. The speaker put forward the idea that society expected women to appear pure, fragile, helpless, and always defer to the greater knowledge of their menfolk. And if they dared to be different, or worse, if they lived the sort of life a man might lead, then their reputations would be destroyed and they would be cast out. Out into the darkness that forever circled the bright light of polite society and was inhabited by the fallen women and the adulteresses and those who were too willful to be borne.
She did not believe it at the time— she was different and she had not been cast out. But now she realized that she was just as bound up in the rules as all theother women of her class and situation. Seeing those girls at Aphrodite’s had given her a glimpse into another world. Not that she wanted to be an…“abbess.” Was that what the hackney driver had called Madame? No, she didn’t want that. But neither did she want to marry a man like Oliver, just so that she could have him kiss her whenever she wanted him to. Men did not marry to gain such experience. There was an entire area of womanhood that she had never really thought about before, never imagined it was possible for her to enter unless she married.
It was all very intriguing….
But that would have to wait, Vivianna told herself, coming back to earth with a thump. Tomorrow she must call upon the Beatty sisters, to hear their grievances and discuss what they could do to save the shelter. Or, if worse came to worst, where they could shift the orphans temporarily. It was possible her friends had come up with a new plan, something that did not involve the use of “feminine wiles.”
A sharp pang of disappointment stung her, but before she could question it, the sound of raised voices elsewhere in the house interrupted her thoughts. It was Helen and Toby. Vivianna shivered. In haste, Helen had married a charming, handsome rake, thinking she could change him, and now she repented at leisure. Under no circumstances would she ever allow herself to fall under the spell of such a man.
Vivianna was up bright and early the next morning, despite her long journey south and her late and eventful evening. She had promised to go to Candlewood as soon as possible and see the Beatty sisters, and she knew they would be waiting for her. Poor Miss Gretaand Miss Susan, they must be beside themselves with worry.
She had dressed in another of her plain, practical gowns and was sitting impatiently while Lil tended to her hair, when one of her aunt’s maids came tapping upon her door.
“Miss, there is a gentleman to see you downstairs in the sitting room. Lord”—and she glanced at the card in her hand—“Oliver Montegomery.”
Vivianna felt herself go cold, and then hot. With a brilliance that had only previously been reserved for dreams, she recalled last night in the room at Aphrodite’s, and the feel of his body against hers, the warmth of his breath on her face, the brush of his mouth against her lips. I have an urge to lick you all over. Her breath caught and then resumed with a soft gasp.
Lil was staring at her accusingly.
“I…very well, thank you. I will be down in a moment.”
The girl bobbed a curtsy and retreated. For a
Except that Vivianna had never used her feminine wiles before. She did not even know whether or not she had any. She had always considered herself a bookish, serious girl, and that feminine wiles were for pretty little creatures who knew nothing about poverty and abandonment, and cared less. And yet Oliver Montegomery had looked at her as if he saw something in her that she had not known was there. Until now.
Persuade him.
Was it possible?
Vivianna had once heard a lecture on women and their imprisonment by society. The speaker put forward the idea that society expected women to appear pure, fragile, helpless, and always defer to the greater knowledge of their menfolk. And if they dared to be different, or worse, if they lived the sort of life a man might lead, then their reputations would be destroyed and they would be cast out. Out into the darkness that forever circled the bright light of polite society and was inhabited by the fallen women and the adulteresses and those who were too willful to be borne.
She did not believe it at the time— she was different and she had not been cast out. But now she realized that she was just as bound up in the rules as all theother women of her class and situation. Seeing those girls at Aphrodite’s had given her a glimpse into another world. Not that she wanted to be an…“abbess.” Was that what the hackney driver had called Madame? No, she didn’t want that. But neither did she want to marry a man like Oliver, just so that she could have him kiss her whenever she wanted him to. Men did not marry to gain such experience. There was an entire area of womanhood that she had never really thought about before, never imagined it was possible for her to enter unless she married.
It was all very intriguing….
But that would have to wait, Vivianna told herself, coming back to earth with a thump. Tomorrow she must call upon the Beatty sisters, to hear their grievances and discuss what they could do to save the shelter. Or, if worse came to worst, where they could shift the orphans temporarily. It was possible her friends had come up with a new plan, something that did not involve the use of “feminine wiles.”
A sharp pang of disappointment stung her, but before she could question it, the sound of raised voices elsewhere in the house interrupted her thoughts. It was Helen and Toby. Vivianna shivered. In haste, Helen had married a charming, handsome rake, thinking she could change him, and now she repented at leisure. Under no circumstances would she ever allow herself to fall under the spell of such a man.
Vivianna was up bright and early the next morning, despite her long journey south and her late and eventful evening. She had promised to go to Candlewood as soon as possible and see the Beatty sisters, and she knew they would be waiting for her. Poor Miss Gretaand Miss Susan, they must be beside themselves with worry.
She had dressed in another of her plain, practical gowns and was sitting impatiently while Lil tended to her hair, when one of her aunt’s maids came tapping upon her door.
“Miss, there is a gentleman to see you downstairs in the sitting room. Lord”—and she glanced at the card in her hand—“Oliver Montegomery.”
Vivianna felt herself go cold, and then hot. With a brilliance that had only previously been reserved for dreams, she recalled last night in the room at Aphrodite’s, and the feel of his body against hers, the warmth of his breath on her face, the brush of his mouth against her lips. I have an urge to lick you all over. Her breath caught and then resumed with a soft gasp.
Lil was staring at her accusingly.
“I…very well, thank you. I will be down in a moment.”
The girl bobbed a curtsy and retreated. For a
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