Page 48 of Tempted
She took a seat and folded her hands in her lap. Her father’s face was so grim, it took all her courage to meet his eyes. Tina felt guilty. Not only was Patrick devastated, her parents would be heartbroken, while she herself was almost unscathed.
“The clans o’ Kennedy and Hamilton will no’ be joined in matrimony,” he said heavily. “Arran has informed me his son must wed the queen’s lady, Nan Howard.”
Elizabeth, in dismay, demanded, “Why?”
“Because he’s put a bairn in her belly,” Rob said baldly.
Elizabeth was in shock.
Tina said low, “I’m so sorry, Mother. I only wish for your sake it was the other wedding that had been called off.”
Elizabeth’s face lit with a ray of hope. “Oh Rob, don’t you see? Perhaps this is the answer to my prayers! Valentina will be free to marry. Perhaps the Douglas will settle for her instead of Beth.”
Tina looked at her mother in disbelief as the words “settle for her, settle for … settle for her” repeated themselves in her brain. Tina felt as if she had received a blow to her solar plexus. It was unthinkable that she marry Black Ram Douglas, but even worse was the knowledge that her mother loved Beth so much more, she was willing to sacrifice Tina to save Beth.
With tart sarcasm Tina said, “‘Twould be a match made in Heaven.”
Elizabeth agreed. “Yes, yes, Rob, don’t you see that Valentina is much more suited to a brute like Douglas?”
When Tina felt Ada’s comforting hand upon her shoulder, tears gathered in her throat, almost choking her
“Rob, promise me you will see about it immediately, before it is too late,” Elizabeth pressed.
As Rob Kennedy looked at his daughter, his heart was filled with pity for his beautiful little Firebrand He wished Elizabeth had spoken to him in private—the woman had no sensitivity at all “Well, it will be up tae the earls tae decide,” he said
Elizabeth was already on her feet. She couldn’t wait to take the news to Beth. Hope wasn’t dead after all. Ada followed Elizabeth from the room.
Tina hadn’t moved. Her father said hoarsely, “Lassie, I’m sorry. She’s right, ye know If any can stand up tae Douglas, it’s ye”
“Don’t pity me, it’s insulting,” she said in a brittle voice
His heart was heavy as he saw her shrug her shoulder before departing the room.
She paced up and down her chamber, giving vent to her outrage
“It might not be so bad,” Ada placated. “Marriage might alter him. People change, you know.”
“No they don’t—they just get more like themselves,” Tina said with conviction. “Bloody men!” she swore. “Foul fall the lot of them!”
“Men can be managed,” Ada said, “if a woman is clever enough.” Ada had made a decision to stop trying to placate her. What Tina needed was help, advice, the truth She would aid her any way she could, and she would begin by laying it all out on the table for her
Tina stopped pacing “What do you mean by clever?”
“A woman, a real woman, has weapons that can defeat any man breathing, whether he’s a lord, an earl, or even a king”
Tina sat down and gave Ada her full attention. “Do you mean my beauty?”
Ada shook her head. “Beauty is only a small part of it. It’s not even necessary, though I cannot deny it is helpful. I’m speaking of a woman’s sexuality. Most women never utilize it, never even achieve it. Like your mother.”
Tina thought about that for a minute. “My mother gets her way with tears.”
“Yes—and oh how much her man resents her for it.”
“So just because you marry and give your husband children doesn’t guarantee this sexuality?”
“No. It is in the way you dress, to lure a man, to please a man, to stir his imagination and inflame his desire. It is in a woman’s eyes when she looks at a man, promising him Paradise. The eyes are very important, but not nearly as important as the mouth. The mouth is for making love and for speaking the words a man longs to hear. Soft words, seductive words, kind, sweet, understanding, and sympathetic words. The mouth is also for eating, and believe it or not, food and the way you eat it can be sensual. Never, ever forget the mouth is for laughing. Men love to laugh. A clever wit, like yours, is a gift from God.”
“But Ada, I have no sexual experience,” Tina explained, in case her woman suspected she had lain with men.
