Page 12 of A Duchess Bound
“What do you plan to do, then?” Pontoun asked.
Gerard reached for the decanter and poured more brandy into his glass. He offered it to Pontoun, who wordlessly held out his empty glass. “Well,” Gerard said, filling it with brandy, “I intend to seduce her, of course.”
“Of course.”
“There is a challenge in that,” Gerard said. “Seducing the spinster who has resolved never to wed. I would warrant that she has also never experienced the pleasures of the marriage bed.”
“Neither have you, for you have removedmarriagefrom the equation.”
“Do not chastise me again,” Gerard said. “Otherwise, I shall start talking aboutyourmarriage prospects. You are eight-and-twenty years of age and still unwed. When are you going to find a duchess and produce an heir?”
“I hope to do precisely that this Season,” Pontoun said. “You might consider following my example.”
“I would rather throw myself into the Thames.”
“Of course, you would. It is unfortunate that I missed the first ball of the Season, though. This will be my first event with the tonwith the title Duke of St. Claire. I had hoped that might improve my prospects.”
Gerard softened a little. While he did not care about love or marriage, he knew that Pontoun did. Not only did he want a duchess, he wanted a love-match. He was determined to court all those luminous ladies until he found the one who loved him more than any other man.
Gerard had always found that too idealistic, but admirable in a way. “I wish you luck, Ponty,” he said.
And he meant it. His friend deserved something good in his life.
“Thank you,” Pontoun replied, his expression warm. “I just hope that I find her.”
“You are a good man. I am certain that you shall.”
Pontoun sighed. “You are kind to me. I just cannot help but worry about it. How can you ever really know if you are in love with someone? How do you know that it is not merely a flight of fancy or some fickle passion?”
“You just accused me of loving Lady Dorothy,” Gerard pointed out, laughing. “How can you not know?”
“It seems to involve a great deal of uncertainty,” Pontoun replied with a shrug. “You sounded uncertain.”
“Love is uncertainty.”
“Among other things.”
Gerard shook his head. “You are a rare man. It is a pity that you were unable to become a professor like you wanted. You would have enjoyed spending all your days poring over rare manuscripts, thinking about philosophy and moral quandaries.”
“I suppose I will live the moral quandaries instead,” Pontoun replied.
“We both shall. Well, I would not call mine ‘moral’ exactly. My conscience is far less sensitive than your own.”
“So it is.”
Indeed, Gerard had already begun to consider something rather immoral. That was, he was considering what the best way to seduce Lady Dorothy might be. It was clear that she found him desirable. If they had not been interrupted in the garden, who knew what liberties she might have let him take?
He shivered in delight at the possibility of another heated encounter. She would look so very beautiful tied to his bed, her eyes dark with desire and longing for him.
Lady Dorothy might be on the shelf, but he suspected there were still many things for a lady of her years to learn.
CHAPTER 5
Catherine, the Duchess of Sarsen, entered the ballroom with all the poise and grace her title implied. Dorothy smiled softly. Her sister had bloomed into a beautiful duchess and wife. No one would have ever guessed that she was once a wild miss, deemed undesirable by most men in the ton. As she descended the stairs, her hand placed delicately on the arm of her husband, the Duke of Sarsen, her gaze landed on her siblings. Catherine smiled impishly, and her eyes gleamed.
There was that wildness, indomitable but carefully concealed for the benefit of the ton, who were far less forgiving about such things. Dorothy thought she might burst with pride. Here was proof that her efforts were not in vain. She had seen Catherine successfully wed.
Once the duke and duchess reached the foot of the stairs, Elias approached. He offered a cursory nod to His Grace.
