“TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY THAT avails itself to touch him—discreetly, of course. On his hand, his arm, even his chest, anywhere you can reach and pretend, slyly of course, that it was an accident.”
As Vanessa listened to Monty, she tried to concentrate on what he was saying, not on the excitement that had started bubbling up inside her when she’d knocked on his door and entered his bedroom, anticipating that some of his lessons might involve touching, not just the mention of it.
Monty had taken off his jacket but otherwise was quite properly dressed. As was she, though not in her ball gown, and she hadn’t tied her hair back, had left it loose as she would for bed. She wasn’t wearing shoes because she’d had to tiptoe down the corridor to his room. And he’d offered her a chair while he paced in front of it, gathering his thoughts, just like a teacher. Frankly, she was disappointed. He hadn’t told her anything yet that he couldn’t have told her while they’d danced at the ball.
“His neck, for example,” he continued. “Perhaps he has a lock of hair out of place you can push back and graze the side of his neck with your knuckles as you do.”
“He has short hair,” she reminded him.
“So he does,” he said. “I suppose I was imagining m’self.”
She laughed, feeling a trifle more interested, and suggested, “Shall I try it now?”
“No, no, a few more instructions first before you practice—if I can survive the practice.”
She grinned and twirled a lock of her hair around her finger in a coy manner. “If you keep saying things like that, I might think you’ve lured me here for other reasons.”
He smiled. “Now that is a perfect remark for your target. Remember it when you have him at your mercy again.”
Was he joking? “I wasn’t thinking about him.”
He ran a hand through his loose hair in a frustrated manner before giving her a pointed look. “Yes, you were. You don’t want me to think otherwise or we won’t accomplish a bloody thing tonight.”
Her pulse began to race. He was doing it again, implying that she tempted him, yet keeping his distance. He didn’t really want to give these lessons, not when he continued to say or show that he wanted her for himself. He was being so utterly magnanimous in offering to help her in this way. She shouldn’t be making it harder for him.
She pursed her lips and sat back in her chair. “Do continue.”
He nodded. “Now if you find yourself alone with your reluctant fiancé, perhaps on a terrace, you can be bolder, move in close and give him that suggestive smile you demonstrated earlier. And remember to keep gazing into his eyes as you do it. Debutantes will look away, blush, display their nervousness in obvious ways, but you won’t be doing any of that, at least not with him.”
She chuckled. “I’m not sure I’ve ever done any of that.”
“No, you are certainly not the typical debutante. I suppose you have Nestor to thank for that?”
“My father,” she corrected.
“Really?”
She shrugged. “He allowed me to behave as I liked, not as I ought to.”
He smiled. “I’m not sure he did you a favor in that—well, as far as preparing you for normal situations. However, for your particular purpose, you are lucky to be accustomed to boldness and daring. You can be assured that Daniel might be beyond the pale in boldness, so you need to be prepared for that, which we shall address in a moment. For the last minor lessons, always modulate your voice when you’re with him. No matter how angry he might make you, don’t join the fight.”
“I’ve already been practicing that.”
“I’m sure you have. And you could compliment him if the opportunity arises, merely to disconcert him, but as it happens, women aren’t the only ones who like to be told how nice they look. Oh, and end your encounter before he does, just walk away from him without looking back. If he wants you, that will leave him wanting you more.”
“That’s the problem, he doesn’t want me.”
“Yet. But don’t leave if it will make him think you’re angry or shocked by him. That will just make him assume he’s won the ‘you can’t have me’ game.”
“Is it a game to him?”
“Probably not. As I said, by all accounts, he’s too jaded.”
“Are you?”
He grinned. “Not in the least.”
“Do you know why he is?”
“Not exactly, but it would be my guess that over a decade of debauchery has something to do with it.”
She frowned thoughtfully. “But that can’t be the only reason why he steadfastly refuses to marry when he is his father’s only legitimate heir.”
“If there is a deeper reason you will need to ask him, but I wouldn’t advise doing so when it could backfire and incite his rage—and I really don’t think you want to deal with an enraged Rathban.”
She had to agree because her family had been sundered by an enraged Rathban. But Monty added, “There is actually another factor that might account for his confirmed bachelorhood, one similar to my own.”
“Oh?”
“An abundance of heirs, well, at least in my case. My siblings have already given my parents a number of grandchildren, giving me the perfect excuse to steer clear of a wife.”
Lucky you, she almost said sarcastically, but the last thing she wanted to do was show disappointment in regard to his own confirmed state of bachelorhood. So she merely rejoined, “But Daniel doesn’t have siblings, does he?”
“Not that I know of, but he has first cousins, the children of his uncle John Rathban, two of them male, one already married with children.”
“Yes, I met them at the Rathban ball.”
“For pride’s sake, Lord Albert undoubtedly still wants his own son to be his heir, but the word around town is that after his brother’s death, he became a second father to his nephews, so he most certainly does have other options.”
“Well, that’s interesting. So I am not really Albert’s last resort.”
Monty laughed. “You could never be a last resort, sweetheart.”
He did it again. She was sure he didn’t even mean to do it, the flattering words just tumbled out of his mouth.
And he continued, “Now for the lessons that require privacy . . .”