Page 31 of Sir Hugo Seeks a Wife
“And because you don’t want to be anyone’s mistress.”
“Again.”
“Again.But you’re not the green girl who ran off with George Foster.You’re twenty-seven.Surely a discreet liaison with a man you like and respect won’t harm you or your reputation.”
Shock nibbled at the edges of Athene’s bleakness.“Are you suggesting I take a lover?”
Sylvie sent her a considering look.“You’re lonely.”
“I’ve got you.”
“Yes.And I’ll always be your friend.But you’ve slept alone for ten years.Don’t you ever intend to find love again?”
“Love is a treacherous monster.”It seemed Sir Hugo’s liking for extravagant language was contagious.
“Not always.Not with the right man.And it’s clear you like Sir Hugo.”
Athene made a forlorn gesture.“He’s a likable man.”And a grown-up, which was more than she could say for her first lover.
“And he isn’t a bully.If he was, he’d never have left when you asked him to.”
No, he wasn’t a bully.In a strange way, all this would be so much easier if he was.“He’s too good for me.”
For a woman renowned for her elegance Sylvie did a good line in contemptuous snorts.“Rubbish.”
“Sylvie, are you trying to get me to accept a gentleman’s advances?When I came to work for you at the shop, you said I needed to watch my behavior.Any rumor of scandal could damage the business.”
“Did I?How very insufferable of me.”
Despite feeling like she wanted to turn her back on the world forever, Athene gave a huff of wry laughter.“Not in so many words, but I knew what you meant.”
Sylvie sighed with impatience.“I’m not talking about entertaining paying customers by the hour on top of my display counters.I’m talking about a pleasurable affair with an attractive, considerate gentleman who values you for the treasure you are.”
“That’s not what Sir Hugo wants.”
Another snort.“I don’t believe you.When you arrived here tonight, he looked at you the way Ivor Bilson looks at my hazelnut clusters.That man wanted to gobble you up in one bite.”
Athene struggled against recalling the heat in Sir Hugo’s gaze.It was impossible.“He doesn’t want me to be his mistress,” she mumbled.
“No?”
She sucked in an unsteady breath and put the risible truth into words.“He wants to marry me.”
Sylvie’s astonishment melted into a broad smile.“Bravo for him.My respect for Sir Hugo increases with every moment.”
Athene didn’t smile back.Instead she shook her head in despair.“I didn’t know you were still such a romantic.It seems unbelievable after all we’ve been through.”
Sylvie shrugged with a French panache that befitted her alter ego.“Sometimes the world delivers a happy ending.”
Athene frowned at her friend.“Not for women like us.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’ve done things that make us unsuitable to enter good society.”
“Society’s disapproval doesn’t mean the whole world is barred to you.”She paused.“Anyway, you’re hardly a scarlet woman.This is the first time you’ve shown any interest in a man since you left that drink-sodden bastard in Vienna.”
“You know that virtue, once lost, can never be restored.”
