Page 17 of A Scandalous Proposition
‘You might be agreeably surprised. I have told you before, you’ve deprived yourself of the pleasures of the flesh for too long. You can’t mourn your husband forever, and it’s not as if you haven’t received enough eligible offers.’
‘But he supposes me to be a harlot, Christine, and I don’t have much idea how to play that part.’
‘Then I’ll give you a few pointers. That, presumably, is why you’re here? You must have known deep down that you have no choice but to go along with his request.’ Christine smiled. ‘Perhaps you even return his lordship’s desire just a little.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ She spoke a little too sharply, ignoring the fluttering feeling that had been twisting her insides into a tight knot of expectation since receiving his lordship’s scandalous proposition. ‘But you’re right about my visit. The dowager sent me on an errand to the village and so I made a detour here on my way home. I came by the back track and encountered no one.’
‘That is what I supposed. Now, what shall you wear in order to seduce the handsome major?’
‘That’s another subject upon which I crave your advice. I have nothing suitable in my wardrobe.’
‘Then it’s fortunate that you and I are of a similar size. Come with me, darling.’
Christine extended a hand and they entered her boudoir together. Florentina hadn’t considered her situation to be the slightest bit diverting but was soon in gales of helpless laughter at some of the more outrageous gowns Christine made her try. She eventually settled on scarlet silk, the bodice cut daringly low and the décolleté edged with black lace that barely covered her nipples. The flimsy petticoats designed to accompany the gown were also fashioned from sheer black lace. The red silk clung to her legs and whispered about them as she moved, making her feel truly decadent. And half-naked. The gown had a demi-train, which slithered in her wake, and thin straps in lieu of sleeves. It was scandalously revealing. But it was the most respectable of the garments Christine produced for her to try so she’d just have to make the best of it.
‘A truly scarlet woman,’ she remarked wryly, examining her reflection from all angles and grinning in spite of her doubts.
‘He’ll be overwhelmed, darling. After he’s seen you in this, all thoughts of denouncing you will flee from his head, you just take my word on that.’
‘If you say so. But please tell me how I’m supposed to make the wretched man think I know the first thing about seduction.’
‘Well, you do know something, my love. You were, after all, married and so you’re aware what Adam will require of you.’
She grimaced. ‘Only too well aware.’
‘It won’t be so bad.’
‘It will be a blatant betrayal of Simon’s memory. He’s the only man I have ever known and it ought to remain that way.’
‘Simon has been dead these two years, and you said yourself that you saw a lot of intimacies being played out whilst you were still in Spain. Now, come along and pay close heed to what I have to say.’ Christine observed Florentina critically through narrowed eyes. ‘You move with a natural sensuousness, so there’s no need to alter anything there. The sight of your slender hips in that tight-fitting silk will enthral him.’
‘Well, at least I don’t have to wear a corset. For that, I suppose I ought to feel grateful.’
‘You’ve not grown accustomed to the restrictions of that garment since living with the dowager?’
‘No.’ Florentina screwed up her nose. ‘All those years dashing about Spain, following the drum, and then in the service of the British I mostly wore men’s clothing. It was liberating.’
‘You must have shown your feminine side sometimes.’
‘Only at formal occasions. With Simon. We danced at regimental soirées and tried to forget about the madness of the war for a few short hours.’ She paused, momentarily overwhelmed by the memories this admission invoked. ‘But those interludes were rare.’
‘And now you face a different sort of challenge.’
‘Sí, es verdad.For which I must wear your gown but I can hardly move naturally without falling out of the cursed garment.’ Florentina glanced mutinously at her all-but-naked breasts.
‘Nonsense, you’ll not fall out of it.’
‘Well, I suppose it doesn’t much signify if I do. The first thing his lordship is bound to do is to remove the shoulder straps anyway.’
‘Oh no, Adam won’t do that. Most gentlemen wouldn’t be able to control their passions with you standing before them dressed so provocatively, but Adam takes his pleasures very seriously. He won’t wish to rush. He’ll enjoy the sight of your breasts almost concealed and will delay actually revealing them.’
‘Oh dear.’ Florentina was hugely discouraged. ‘I thought this would all be very straightforward. And rapid.’ She pursed her lips. ‘Will he expect me to know what to do as soon as I arrive?’
‘Possibly, but Adam isn’t the submissive sort. You should merely appear confident and allow him to dictate terms.’ Christine’s forehead creased with a delicate frown. ‘What in the world have you done to your hair?’
Florentina grinned. ‘I wanted to look as little like a courtesan as possible when I met his lordship at the dower house this morning.’
Christine pulled a face. ‘Well you have certainly succeeded. But you cannot appear before him tonight with your hair braided like a frigid spinster.’
