“But you don’t even believe in love.”
“I suppose I will have to eat my words. I am well and truly caught now and wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Both his friends looked vastly amused that he had succumbed so easily when he’d been so adamantly set against matrimony.
“You will recall,” Marcus remarked with a smug grin, “that I predicted your cynicism would vanish if you were fortunate enough to meet the right woman. Funny thing about love-it changes everything.”
Drew nodded. “Turns a man inside out. It’s brought out feelings in me I didn’t even know I could have.”
He drank a long swallow of ale, marveling at the change in himself. He could scarcely believe that one woman could make such a profound difference in his life. Roslyn had shattered his legendary dispassion and left him longing to be with her for the rest of his days.
He’d never expected to feel anything so powerful, so deep, for anyone. But he had no doubts that his feelings for Roslyn would last a lifetime. The love inside him was painfully strong; hunger and desire a sweet ache.
“So, Heath, now it is your turn,” Marcus commented. “If we must suffer the slings and arrows of matrimony, we should insist on your esteemed company.”
“I can’t deny the thought has crossed my mind,” Heath responded casually.
Both his friends raised sharp eyebrows, but it was Marcus who spoke first. “Do you have a particular target in mind?”
Heath gave a shrug. “There is one woman who intrigues me, but she clearly has no desire for my company.”
“Astonishing,” Marcus declared in an amused drawl, “since all the ladies love you for your irresistible charm. Fortunately there are any number who would leap at the chance to become your bride.” Marcus grinned. “It would only be fitting if you should wind up falling in love and marrying. We three have been through thick and thin together. Our foray into matrimony shouldn’t be any different.”
Heath’s mouth flickered in an enigmatic smile. “I might have to give it some consideration. You two bleaters are so disgustingly happy, I can scarcely bear to be in your company.”
It was Drew’s turn to grin as he raised his glass in salute. “To your challenge of finding a bride, then.”
Sharing the camaraderie of longtime friends who were as close as brothers, they lifted their glasses to drink.
It was perhaps three-quarters of an hour later when Simpkin appeared with a message for Drew, saying that Miss Roslyn requested his presence in the library. With alacrity, Drew excused himself from his friends. It had been too long since he’d been alone with Roslyn; too long since he had last kissed her and touched her and basked in her nearness.
He found her curled up in the window seat, perusing a thick sheaf of papers in her lap.
Shutting the door firmly behind him, Drew crossed to her. When Roslyn looked up and smiled, the rest of the world faded from his awareness. All his consciousness centered on this one woman. The warmth that flowed through him at just being with her was a reminder of how cold his life had been before coming to love her, how empty his heart.
His heart beat now as if it had finally come alive after a long, lonely sleep. Settling beside her, Drew took her in his arms for a fervent, deeply satisfying kiss.
His passionate embrace left her breathless and sighing in contentment as she rested her head against his shoulder, her forehead nestled beneath his jaw.
“I have missed that far too much,” he admitted.
Roslyn laughed softly. “So have I…which is absurd, considering that it has barely been two hours since we last kissed.”
“But I know we’ll be deprived of any more kisses for the rest of the evening, since we don’t have the Hall to ourselves anymore. It’s a pity we can’t send everyone away, love. I would ravish you right here.”
“I would like that. But besides being scandalous, we don’t have time. Dinner will be announced in a short while.”
“Then promise we will be together tonight, afterward.”
Lifting her head, she glanced up at Drew coquettishly. “What did you have in mind, darling?”
“A stroll on a moonlit summer evening. We’ve never made love by the river in the moonlight.”
Roslyn laughed again. “I think Arabella and Marcus have. Lily and I once caught them sneaking back into the house, looking flushed and disheveled.”
“Fortunately for them, they don’t need to sneak around now to enjoy their pleasures, since they’re married and they have the master’s apartments all to themselves. We, on the other hand, must steal our private moments when we can. So will you accompany me on a moonlit stroll tonight?”
“Yes, gladly.”
“I will be counting the moments,” Drew murmured. “I think we should set about begetting an heir tonight.”
Roslyn’s eyebrow arched uncertainly. “Just an heir, Drew?”
Understanding her query, he shook his head. “Not just an heir. I don’t want a son merely to carry on the dukedom. I want children because they will be a part of you.”
Her enchanting smile returned. “That is a lovely sentiment. And I feel the same way about you. But I hope our children will have happier lives growing up than we did.”
Drew lifted their clasped hands to kiss her fingers. “I guarantee I will give it my utmost effort.” His eyes smiled down into hers before finally he recalled that she had summoned him to the library. “Why did you wish to speak to me, love?”
Roslyn held up the sheaf of papers. “Besides the chance to kiss you? This just arrived from Fanny. It is her manuscript.”
“Manuscript?” he repeated as she handed the pages to him to read.
“Yes. Fanny has written a book on the art of seduction, and she sent it to us to read and suggest improvements.”
“Seduction, hmm?” Drew’s mouth quirked. “What is it, an instruction manual for courtesans?”
“Not for courtesans. For young ladies who want to marry. She has entitled it,
His amusement faltered. “This is for scheming husband-hunters? Is Fanny serious about asking for my help? She expects
Roslyn chuckled before her expression turned a little troubled. “It is for a good cause, Drew. Lily told me that some of Fanny’s friends are having financial difficulties. And selling this book could help them solve their problems.”
“That surprises me. I thought Fanny was highly successful in her trade.”
“She is. But she isn’t wealthy enough to pay their enormous debts on her own.”
Drew glanced down at the manuscript. “I am highly curious to know what Fanny put in her book about seducing a prospective husband.”
He thumbed through the pages, reading a passage here and there. “I see that she included a number of my tactics in addition to her own.” He smiled wickedly at one particular passage. “Hmm, so that is what you were attempting at Fanny’s house when you drove me mad with your tormenting?”
“I will never tell,” Roslyn retorted saucily. “We females must have our secrets, remember?”
“You can have all the secrets you want, as long as you use them solely on me.”
His gaze skimmed further down the page. “Will this book be published under Fanny’s name?”
“No, it will be authored by an anonymous lady.”
“I think that wise,” Drew said dryly, “since I rather doubt that gently nurtured females of the ton would willingly take advice from a renowned highflyer, even if it
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