Page 26 of The Duke's Vice

Charlotte leaned forward. “That’s exactly what I told Elizabeth.” She said with aplomb. Charlotte turned to the two maids. “Isn’t that exactly what I said, Elizabeth? Our Beatrice is always so curious, it’s from all of the reading she does.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” Her maid responded. Both Elizabeth and Candace looked sheepishly at Beatrice who pushed out a sigh of relief. It seems the topic of Beatrice’s interest in the midnight parties stopped there, with just her interest in them.

Charlotte sighed. “Anyway, I hear the Duke of Graham frequents that area often and some of those parties, well, I don’t want to shock your sensitivities, love, so we’ll just leave it at they are no place for a respectable young woman, or man, to be. So there.”

Beatrice shook her head. “Well, you won’t have to worry about me going there, Mama.” She failed to add that she can’t go without an invitation. She set her tea down and stood. “It’s been a very long day, I think I shall retire.”

She kissed her mother on her cheek and made her way up to her room with Candace following her.

Candace closed the door behind her and rushed to Beatrice’s side. “I’m sorry! Elizabeth’s the one who confirmed the information about the party, but you must believe me, I did not tell her you went, only that you had overhead a conversation andyou were curious. I promise, I would not betray your trust like that.”

Beatrice held her maid’s hands in hers. “I believe you and thank you. I was worried there for a moment. My mother can be very intimidating and very cunning when it comes to getting information on her daughter’s, so I appreciate you keeping this between us. I know your part in all of this weighs heavily on your conscience.”

Candace smiled and hugged Beatrice. “Thank you!”

Beatrice pulled away. “Would you mind helping me get ready for bed. It was quite the day and I want to put it behind me.”

While Candace helped Beatrice with her nighttime rituals she kept catching Candace’s look in the mirror.

“Something on your mind, Candace?”

At first Candace shrugged her off but after she helped Beatrice into bed she sat on the edge of the mattress.

“What were you two really talking about in the park? You seemed completely enraptured with the conversation and I didn’t know you had such an interest in birds.”

Beatrice feigned ignorance. “What can I say? Mama was right, the man is charming.” She smiled before rolling to her side,hoping to effectively shut down the conversation. She felt the bed lift as Candace stood and made her way to the door.

“Good night, Lady Beatrice.” Candace called as she closed the door.

Beatrice laid on her side, facing the wall, waiting for her maid’s steps to quiet. When she no longer heard them she flopped onto her back.

She ran her hands over her face. What a day! She rolled back onto her side, trying to find a comfortable position. She kicked her legs out, tucked them in, stuck one foot off the side, thought better of it and tucked it back underneath the duvet.

After what seemed like hours of tossing and turning she sat up.

“This is useless.” She pouted. Frustrated, she got out of bed and began to pace the room. She saw the corner of her new list sticking out of the book she hid it in. Seeing the list brought thoughts of the Duke rushing into her mind. Her body began to hum and tingle.

“Oh, that man.” She went back to pacing. “Who does he think he is deciding if I’m experienced or not.” Beatrice stopped in front of the mirror. Who was she kidding? She had virginal maid written all over her. Her only kiss was from Graham and the only men who have touched her in any way other than a familiar handshake were the men who danced with her and that was in a middle of a ballroom.

Her chest swelled with the memory of dancing with Duke. He had a way of making that feel scandalous even in a full room of people. She groaned. How was he able to make a regular waltz feel like an intimate dance in front of hundreds of people? How was he able to have a lasting affect her all this time?

Her skin began to itch and that low heat that had settled in her belly earlier in the day returned. She shifted her feet while she eyed the corner of paper. Her eyes drifted to the bed.

Do me a favor. Think of me when you do.

The duke’s seductive tone rang through her head causing her body to vibrate in delicious warmth. She shook her head. “No. This is ridiculous.”

She walked over to the bed when the friction of her shift along her skin shot a sensation of need through her. Beatrice stopped in her tracks, she’s never felt that before.

She made it back to her bed and laid down. She stared at the ceiling while her body cooled. Maybe if she just relaxed she could fall asleep and forget all about her conversation with the Duke. Unfortunately every time she shifted her body sprang awake, looking for something. She rested her folded hands on her lower abdomen. After a few moments of tapping her fingers against her stomach she pretended she had an itch on her inner thigh.

She huffed. She was being absurd. If she wanted to touch her body anywhere that was her prerogative, she didn’t needto pretend there was someone there she had to justify her movements to.

She squeezed her eyes shut. She felt silly arguing with herself. She should just touch herself to see what it felt like. If anything, if she ran into that blasted Duke again she could tell him she did it as further proof she isn’t as innocent as he perceived her to be.

Beatrice reached down and felt a wetness pool between her legs. Interesting. She brought it out from under the covers, it wasn’t her monthly courses.

Now, Beatrice is well read and she has read some books that dealt with human sexuality, although it was mostly contraband from friend’s parent’s library’s. Her one friend’s father is a surgeon. The textbooks she found in his library kept her awake for weeks. Some touched on sexual intercourse between a man and a woman but it was from a purely scientific perspective. There was nothing scientific about how Beatrice was feeling right now.

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