He shot her a dismissive glance. “What you want is beside the point. I’m not touching you again.”
Lily raised her eyes to the ceiling in exasperation. “I have already lost my virtue to you. It hardly matters now how many times we make love.”
“It will matter to you tomorrow. You will be tender and sore enough as it is.”
Her gaze went to the table where the dishes were still in their covers. “We could at least stay long enough to partake of supper. I dislike for all that food to go to waste.”
“The hotel can return it to the kitchens and serve it to their staff. Get dressed, Lily. I am taking you home.”
Finally accepting that she wouldn’t sway him, she flounced off the bed. “Very well. But you cannot take me to the boardinghouse.”
“I certainly am not taking you to Marcus’s. He would have my liver if he knew what we had done tonight.”
“Heath-” she began before he cut her off.
“That is the end of it, Lily. Get dressed.”
Highly miffed, she pulled on her gown and struggled to fasten the hooks while various thoughts spun in her head. The evening had been an abject failure…except that she now was fully a woman and Heath had become her lover for a few magical, enchanting moments.
She couldn’t regret that, Lily reflected with a small, secret smile. Even if he obviously did.
She wasn’t prepared to give up just yet, though. By now Heath should know her well enough to realize she wasn’t the sort of woman to surrender after one little defeat. He would be her lover again. She just needed to determine how to overcome his objections.
Despite her resolve, Lily was actually a little relieved that Heath broke his unyielding silence as his carriage halted on the street near the boardinghouse.
“I intend to call upon you tomorrow afternoon. At one o’clock, if that is convenient.”
She debated refusing, but that would defeat her own purpose. “Very well, one o’clock.”
“Wear a pelisse and your veil. We will be taking a drive.”
“Oh?” Lily asked curiously.
“I have something to show you.”
Heath refused to expound further as he helped her down from his carriage and escorted her to the rear tradesmen’s entrance. Lily felt strangely disappointed when he bid her a terse good night and remained waiting for her to go inside. But it was his unexpected anger that took her aback. That, and the sense that she had gravely disappointed
If she hoped she would avoid detection by the household, however, she was soon proved wrong. Just as she was about to mount the rear service stairs, she spied Fanny coming down the corridor toward her. Surprisingly, Basil was directly behind her.
“May I speak to you a moment, Lily?” Fanny called out.
“Yes, of course.”
Basil halted beside Fanny. “I will leave you two ladies to your own devices. If you need me, Fanny, I am at your service.”
“Thank you, Basil,” Fanny replied with a soft smile. “I am glad we had our little coze.”
When he gave her an odd glance in return, it was almost a wince-which puzzled Lily. There were definite undercurrents of tension between Basil and Fanny, yet not the exasperation and irritation they usually roused in each other. Apparently they were no longer at daggers drawn, at least for the moment. And as Basil turned away, heading for the stairs, the look of desire and longing in his eyes was unmistakable.
Musing over the cause, Lily followed her friend to the parlor. The lamps were lit, so she surmised that Basil and Fanny had been making use of this room just now.
“What are you doing here, Fanny?” she asked as they settled into chairs. “I would have expected you to be occupied on a Saturday evening.”
“I came seeking company, but you were not here.” Her tone was almost accusatory.
Lily hesitated, not wanting to confess exactly where she had been. “Could not Fleur and Chantel have sufficed?”
“They are out with Lord Poole, celebrating.”
“Celebrating?” she echoed.
Fanny nodded. “It seems Lord Poole has rekindled his former ardor for Chantel, so he insisted on paying the entire gambling debt of thirty thousand pounds to Mick O’Rourke.”
“Why, that is splendid!” Lily exclaimed. “It means they are no longer in danger of imprisonment.”
“Yes,” Fanny said glumly. “But Mick still will not accept that I don’t wish to marry him. He called on me at my home this afternoon and offered me his entire fortune if I would agree to become his wife. He was quite unhappy when I refused.”
Stiffening involuntarily, Lily leaned forward in her chair. “That brute did not hurt you again?”
“No. This time he was the perfect gentleman.”
Lily surveyed her friend carefully. Either Fanny’s bruises had healed, or they were artfully concealed by cosmetics. Yet she still look disturbed.
“But…?” Lily prodded.
Fanny grimaced. “But Mick made a nuisance of himself. He wouldn’t leave my house, so I had no choice but to take refuge here. I was supposed to entertain one of the Prussian ambassadors this evening. Mick cost me a pretty penny, let me tell you. At this rate, he will put me out of business-which no doubt has become his aim.”
Lily scowled. “He is trying to coerce you to marry him?”
“I suspect he doesn’t see it that way.” Fanny sighed. “I like him well enough, but I have no desire to wed him. And he makes an extremely poor patron. He is far too possessive.” Fanny suddenly frowned. “What of you, Lily? I was told you were spending the night at Lord Danvers’s home with your sisters. Imagine my surprise to find you sneaking into the boardinghouse.”
“I was not
“You were with Claybourne, were you not?” When Lily looked at her in surprise, Fanny sent her a sardonic smile. “His lordship’s carriage drove past on the street, and I recognized his crest on the door panel.”
“My being with him is hardly a crime, Fanny.”
Her friend sighed. “No, but I worry about you. Just what have you been doing with him, darling? The flush on your cheeks suggests you have gone past mere courtship. You have become lovers, have you not?”
“Well…yes,” Lily confessed, not wanting to lie. “Tonight was our first time, in fact. But you needn’t worry. It may come to nothing. I offered to become Heath’s mistress so he would abandon the notion of winning my hand in marriage, but he decidedly refused.”
“Oh, Lily.” Fanny sounded less shocked than dismayed.
Lily gave her a quizzical glance. “What is the matter, Fanny? You of all people should understand my desire for independence. The position of mistress will allow me freedom I could never have as his wife.”
“I know. But I feel guilty for leading you astray. I have been such a wicked influence on you. You would never have made so scandalous a proposition to Claybourne but for your friendship with me.”
Lily was truly puzzled. “You aren’t to blame whatsoever. And since when did you suddenly become so prim and proper?”
“Since you conceived the abominable idea of following in my footsteps. Trust me, Lily. You don’t want to be any man’s mistress. You do not want that life.”
“I am not proposing that I enter your trade, Fanny. Just that I limit my relationship with Claybourne to an affair instead of marriage.”
“Even so, I think you would be making a dreadful mistake.”
Falling silent, Lily searched her friend’s beautiful face. There was more to Fanny’s objection than met the eye. There was real distress in her tone, along with a genuine sadness. She had recently spoken of being lonely, Lily remembered…
“Fanny, dearest, what is troubling you?”
