Page 28 of The Truth Serum
“Money, a doting husband, and the children you’ve always said you wanted.”
“He can’t be doting yet. He hasn’t even met me.”
“I have faith in your powers of persuasion.”
He meant in the power of her breasts. She arched a brow, and he finally relented.
“He is handsome, rich, and will treat you well. What more could you want?”
Nate’s face flashed through her mind. Not just his face, but the way he looked at her when he said,I never meant to hurt you. Do you want to hit me again?
It made no sense. It wasn’t even a flattering picture of him. But she thought about it nonetheless. Nate didn’t react with violence, he took responsibility for his mistakes, and he asked her what she wanted to do next. Even if it was hit him.
What man did that? Would Baron Courbis do the same?
“You’ll like him,” Fletcher promised. “He’s very charming.”
And, strangely enough, it turned out that Fletcher was right. Two nights later, she met a very handsome, very delightful Baron Courbis. He said all the right things, laughed at all the right times, and smiled in a way that set many hearts to fluttering, not just her own. But his attention was fixed unnaturally on her.
It was a heady thing from so handsome a man. From any man!
If it weren’t for Fletcher’s smirk—visible from across the room—she might indeed be tempted to walk into the shadowswith the man. But it had been ten years since she’d entertained so foolish an idea.
She settled for talking with him as much as a ball allowed. And promised to walk with him in Hyde Park on the next day. And perhaps a theater visit with him after that. If he still pleased her by next week, then she would consider something more permanent.
Indeed, he was so perfect that she began to question her own sanity. Could this man really be exactly what she wanted? Honestly, he seemed too good to be true. If only there were a way to quickly determine if everything he said to her was a lie. After all, anyone could keep up a front during the few hours of a ball.
And that was when she remembered the Truth Serum still tucked in her reticule. It was ridiculous. But what other choice did she have?
Chapter Eight
Rebecca entered theballroom behind her brother and mother. They greeted their hosts with general politeness and then wandered away as was their usual pattern. Her brother would set their mother down with the dowagers, then he would head straight for the nearest group of political gentlemen, usually near the footman who served liquor. Neither would glance back at her. They assumed she would find her own group of friends.
In a smaller setting, she would have no problem. She knew how to make small talk with strangers. But this was a ballroom stuffed with people, and she had entered the Season late. The young girls had all made their clutch of friends. And her older schoolmates were not in town this year for a variety of reasons, but primarily because the married ones were increasing.
Just about everyone she called a friend was married.
“Oh sweet angel, I have been waiting an age for you to arrive!”
She smiled as Baron Courbis sauntered up to her. He was a broad man with exquisite taste in clothes. His hazel eyes sparkled when he saw the flowers pinned to her bodice.
“I knew the lilac would be perfect on you.” He took a deep breath. “Smells heavenly when it mixes so sweetly with you.”
She felt her cheeks flush. He’d worn a lilac waistcoat to match the flowers he’d sent, and when he bowed to kiss her hand, his gaze travelled lovingly over the flowers she’d pinned to her gown and then slid down to linger on her cleavage. Fletcherhad ordered all her gowns altered to emphasize her bosom. She thought it just on the edge of vulgar, but there was no denying the male attention she received. Whether because of her breasts or her dowry, she’d already been labelled a success.
Of course, out of all the gentlemen who stepped forward to scribble their name on her dance card, none was as attentive as the baron. He never left her side as she slowly walked the perimeter of the ballroom. She was looking for some of her old friends while he entertained her with constant expressions of his devotion.
“Did you find any entertaining books at the lending library? I recall that you were specifically looking for a tome on medicinal plants.”
It was uncanny how well he remembered her plans.
“Sadly, I didn’t find anything useful. At least nothing I haven’t read before. Though I did find some fun things.”
“A few novels of romance and derring-do?” His brows rows suggestively.
“Maybe.” She did have a weakness for those silly tales. Who didn’t want to read about love and adventure? “Oh, hello Mr. Moltzer, Mr. Bremen.” She curtsied politely to the gentlemen, then offered her dance card at the appropriate time.
The baron stood by, looking on like a disapproving uncle. Once the niceties were completed, he took her arm and continued to escort her around the room. “You know,” he said as they moved past the lemonade, “I was at a bookseller’s yesterday and saw something you might like. Have you read, William Withering’sAccount of the Foxglove and Some of its Medical Uses?”
