To Seduce a Bride

want those who will be considerate and kind. If you can promise to bring a dozen such eligible gentlemen to the soiree, then I will agree to play your game.”

Claybourne hesitated for a moment before amusement twisted his mouth. “You drive a hard bargain, angel.”

“Then you accept my terms?”

“Yes, of course.”

She could hear Fleur’s sigh of relief, while Chantel clapped her hands.

“That is very clever, Lily,” Chantel said with admiration. “Lord Claybourne’s support should insure our soiree’s success.”

“I sincerely hope so,” Lily murmured, placing a hand over her suddenly queasy stomach as realization sank in. She had actually agreed to let the marquess woo her. What the devil had she done?

Claybourne might have sensed her dismay, for he kept his tone mild when he spoke. “If I have only a fortnight, then I must begin at once. Are you free tomorrow morning to accompany me on a ride in the park, Miss Loring?”

Frowning, Lily pursed her lips. A ride in a public park seemed innocuous enough. And as long as she could avoid being alone with him, she should be safe. “What time? We must make it before my classes begin at nine, and I doubt you will want to rise so early.”

“Is seven o’clock convenient?”

It surprised her that he was willing to disturb his comfort in order to accommodate her schedule. “Seven o’clock will do well enough.”

Chantel let out a small moan. “I never rise before ten, but you may report back on your excursion afterward.”

Lord Claybourne nodded in agreement, then turned to Lily. “I will take my leave now. If your lovely friends”-he bowed to each of the courtesans-“are to grade my performance, then I had best think of something to impress them.”

“Oh, I’ll wager you will do quite well, my lord,” Fleur said, returning a flirtatious smile. “Indeed, I believe we should award you two points now.”

Lily’s brows drew together. “Two points? That hardly seems fair.”

“Oh, but it is fair, darling. He deserves at least one point for hunting you down here, since it shows excellent resourcefulness. And a second point for soliciting our help in persuading you to accept his courtship. That was very clever of him.”

“But then he only has to earn eight more, and I will be starting out at a disadvantage.”

“Perhaps, but he still has a long way to go. And keep in mind, he could lose points if we judge it fitting. However, by the same token, Lily, you must give him a sporting chance to score points,” Fleur warned. “You must allow him time each day to advance his suit.”

“Yet truly, Lily,” Chantel added quite seriously, “I am certain you will enjoy yourself. The mating dance is the most pleasurable game in all the world.”

Lily’s grimace clearly showed her disagreement.

“Do you want to renege already?” Claybourne asked when she hesitated, his tone provocative.

Yes, was Lily’s instinctive response. “No, I do not wish to renege,” she said aloud. But she lifted her chin as she met his amused gaze. “You should not be so confident, however, my lord. You will quickly learn you don’t want me as your wife.”

“I very much doubt that. But I won’t underestimate you again.”

Stepping toward her, he took her hand and gave her fingertips a chaste kiss. Lily drew a sharp breath at the heat that sizzled across her skin from the mere touch of his lips.

Perhaps she had made a serious mistake after all, she thought in alarm.

But the battle lines were drawn now, and she had no intention of allowing him the victory.

Chapter Five

I intend to show his lordship I am far too independent for him to want me as his bride.

– Lily to Fanny

Still piqued by her friend Basil Eddowes’s betrayal, Lily hunted him down early the next morning before his class on diction. She suspected he’d been deliberately avoiding her, since he hadn’t dined with the boarders the night before or taken tea with them afterward in the drawing room. And when Basil opened his bedchamber door at Lily’s knock, the guilty look on his face only confirmed her suspicions.

“Now don’t be angry with me, Lily,” he said, holding up his hands defensively.

“Whyever would I be angry?” she asked with false sweetness. “Merely because you have done untold damage to my life by divulging my personal secrets to a near stranger?”

Wincing, he shoved a shock of blond hair out of his eyes. Tall and lanky, wearing his usual dark frock coat and spectacles, Basil looked very much like the scholar he was, although the unruly hair that tumbled over his forehead was rather endearing and softened his lean, hungry appearance.

Basil possessed a keen mind but few social skills, and it was that lack that Lily took issue with now. “I did not think you capable of such perfidy, Basil.”

“I only hoped to do you a favor.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What favor?”

“Why, to provide you a proper alternative to the life you are leading now. I don’t want you following in Fanny’s scandalous footsteps.”

“Basil…” she said with mingled vexation and exasperation. He had never gotten over his fierce anger and disappointment at Fanny’s decision to join the flesh trade, but he should know better than to think she wanted that same life. “You know I have no intention of becoming a Cyprian.”

“But you should not be living here in a place like this, continually exposed to the seamier side of nature.”

“You choose to live here.”

“But I am a man, not a genteel young lady.”

Her frown deepened. “I thought you supported my efforts to help our boarders, Basil.”

“I do, but when Lord Claybourne said he wanted to court you, it seemed providential. The chance for you to become a marchioness is too splendid to pass up. I care what happens to you, Lily.”

Hearing the genuine concern in Basil’s voice, Lily bit back the scoffing retort she was about to make. She couldn’t hold on to her vexation, despite his unwanted interference. They had been close friends since childhood.

In character, Basil was more like her sister Roslyn, his nose usually buried in a book. But he’d been Lily’s faithful companion in sporting endeavors, climbing trees and galloping across the countryside like wild Turks and caring for the animals on the home farms of the Loring family estate. He had also been her unwilling partner in crime for many of her youthful escapades.

“I have no doubt you care for me, Basil,” she said more gently. “And you know the feeling is mutual. I just wish you had found some other way of showing your affection than to betray me to Lord Claybourne.”

“Well”-a sheepish grin wreathed Basil’s mouth-“his lordship was very persuasive.”

“I have no doubt about that either,” Lily said dryly.

“So you agreed to his courtship?”

“Under duress, yes,” she muttered. “Because he promised to aid our boarders. But I must endure him only for the next fortnight. I am to go riding with him in a few moments.”

Basil’s brown eyes surveyed her approvingly. “I am glad you at least thought to take a veil. The damage to your reputation will be unavoidable if you are discovered to be living here in a house of low repute.”

Along with her own riding habit, Lily was wearing a borrowed shako hat equipped with a veil so she could