Kate Pearce - Educating Elizabeth

Gervase drew breath and checked to see if Miss Waterstone was attending. She nodded politely as if to encourage him to proceed.

"I'm willing to settle a lump sum of money on you if you promise to leave me in peace."

He frowned. He hadn't meant to say that. It sounded as though she were an unwanted nuisance or as if he were trying to buy her off. He held out the letter he had struggled to draft for the past hour.

"I intend to settle five thousand pounds on you." He paused for her reaction but there was none. He raised his eyebrows, quill poised over the inkwell. "That is not to your liking? I promise you that the money will be held in your name and cannot be touched by your stepfather. Surely, it is sufficient for your needs."

Miss Waterstone bit her lip and gave a small shake of her head. Gervase lowered his pen and drew in a slow breath.

"Miss Waterstone?"

"I'm sorry, Your Grace, but I don't feel that any sum of money, however generous, will give me back my ruined reputation."

Gervase went still as visions of blackmail and deceit flooded his senses. "Go on."

She leaned forward in her chair, hands clasped. "As you have already remarked, too many people will know by now that I've spent at least one night in your house without adequate chaperonage."

Gervase shrugged. "So?"

"So, if I appear with a dowry at my disposal, people will talk. You are known as the biggest rake in London-"

"And Paris." Gervase couldn't help himself.

An answering smile flickered across Miss Waterstone's face. "And Paris. I apologize for underestimating your renown, Your Grace."

He bowed and let her continue, his interest piqued.

"I imagine you will next suggest that I pose as a widow. I'm four and twenty and it would not be unreasonable to suppose that I had been married before." She made a face. "But I'm such a poor liar and I would hate to begin a new life based on a deception."

She raised her lovely, candid eyes to his. "How would I face a man I loved and wished to marry without telling him the truth? And how would any honorable man feel about taking on one of your cast-offs?"

Gervase had nothing suitable to say to that. He suspected his belief that for most men the size of her dowry would definitely outweigh her possible lack of virginity would fail to convince her.

"Anyway," Miss Waterstone took in a deep breath. "I don't want your money, I want your expertise."

Gervase stared at her, his quick mind for once caught unprepared. "My expertise?"

"I can't go home, I won't take your money without earning it, and I refuse to end up walking the streets. I wish you to teach me how to become a high flyer." She wrinkled her brow and looked at him a trifle anxiously. "Is that the correct term for a courtesan or a high class mistress? Forgive me; I'm lamentably ignorant on the subject."

Gervase could only stare at her until she began to blush. "You wish me to instruct you in the role of a prostitute?" He gave a short humorless laugh and pointed down into the square. "My dear, if you wish to learn that trade, go and loiter in the back streets behind my house for ten minutes. I can guarantee some man will be willing to enlighten you."

He allowed a few seconds of absolute quiet to elapse, broken only by the ticking of the Sevres clock on the mantelpiece.

He slammed his palm on the desk. "You are a lady! Don't be such a fool."

She colored a little but her gaze remained on his. "I don't understand your hesitation, Your Grace. We are agreed, are we not, that you are the greatest rake in two sovereign nations? Who better to instruct me than you?" She sat back in her chair, hands folded in her lap and waited, the picture of propriety.

Gervase got up and walked to the window. He stared down into the windswept desolation of the square. Was she mad? Despite his instant refusal, a worm of interest slithered into his mind and beckoned him with all its unsavory possibilities. If any man could turn the shy, uptight Miss Waterstone into a courtesan, it would be him.

He swung around to face her. "And what of your relatives, Miss Waterstone? Don't you think that they might object to having a prostitute, high flying or not, in the family?"

"I've very little family left, Your Grace. My father's relatives refused to have anything more to do with us when my mother remarried and it is not as though I've made my debut in society."

Gervase wondered why she hadn't had a London Season. Had the family's finances always been precarious? Was that why Mr. Forester was involved in so many dubious activities? It might be in his best interests to keep Miss Waterstone close.

He continued to stare at her as his fertile brain worked on several schemes to manufacture her a new past. She had no idea how easily he could grant her wish. He crossed the room, pulled her to her feet, and placed his fingers under her chin.

"Elizabeth." He used her first name in an intimate attempt to undermine her. "I almost took your virginity. I forced you. How in God's name do you expect me to believe you are not afraid of me?"

She met his gaze head on. "Of course I'm afraid of you, but I'm more afraid of allowing you to buy me off as if I've somehow disgraced myself. I would rather work for my money."

He brushed the corner of her mouth with his thumb and her lips parted as she swallowed. With deliberate intent, Gervase took possession of her mouth, his tongue thrusting deep. He waited for her to recoil but although she didn't respond, she didn't fight him either.

He gentled the kiss, using his years of expertise to draw her into his mouth, to make her react. He curved his hands over her hips and drew her close until he could feel the frantic pounding of her heart. When he released her, she tried to move away, but he caught her elbow.

"You are either very brave or very foolish. I'm damned if I know which."

She rested her forehead against his waistcoat. "Don't you understand? If I can learn to bear your touch, after what you did to me, then I believe I will be able to bear any man's."

Gervase breathed in the sweet smell of her skin and fought the temptation to explore how far she would bear his touch before she panicked again. He retreated behind his desk to cultivate a more business-like manner.

"I need to think about this. If you are set on this madness, I will expect complete obedience from you, do you understand?"

Elizabeth almost smiled as she dropped into a stately curtsey before she headed for the door.

Gervase waited until her hand rested on the door handle. "This is far from being settled. I will require your presence at dinner tonight and we will discuss how we wish to go on."

Elizabeth paced the luxurious bedroom the duke had allotted her, scarcely aware of its sumptuous comforts and warmth. She bathed and a maid appeared and arranged her hair in an artful knot of curls that tumbled around her shoulders. The silent maid also laid out an evening gown that Elizabeth knew was not hers. Before she could question the girl, she retreated with Elizabeth's patched underclothes and only other gown over her arm.

Elizabeth's tension mounted as she walked an endless square around the border of the fine Turkish carpet. What had she done? It had seemed a fine and heroic thing, to offer herself on a platter to the duke. But now, after hours of lonely contemplation, her certainty had disappeared.

She picked up the ice-blue gown and held it against herself. The ripple of silk felt light and supple under her fingers compared to her homespun woolen dress. Her reflection showed that the gown was the right length. She almost smiled. Trust the duke to have accurately gauged her measurements.

After a moment of indecision, she stepped into the dress and slipped her arms through the tiny puffed sleeves. The bodice fastened at the front in a series of delicate mother-of-pearl buttons. Despite tugging and pulling, her unrestrained bosom overflowed the embroidered blue bodice. She searched for a shawl or lace fichu to cover her exposed skin but found nothing.