How to Seduce a Bride

“Yes,” she said, looking at him directly. “But I don’t know Mrs. Tanner or you well enough to make any judgments.”

He studied her. She seemed to be a sensible woman. She was not young, yet not in her middle years, and always looked neat and calm. Her hair was worn plainly, drawn back prim as a nun’s, but nothing could disguise the fact that it was a rich deep brown. Her face was sweet, and even in her modest gown, he could see she had a trim figure. She spoke well and behaved modestly, but he’d been in servitude once, and though he knew Daisy was a kind employer, he knew that no kind of service was as pleasant as being one’s own master.

“Nicely said, though I don’t believe it,” he said. “But let it be. You might well disapprove of her spending so much time with me. I’m not sure I don’t myself. She should be with lads her own age. I’m twice that. I feel it, most of the time. But not when I’m with her.”

Helena looked down at her hands tightly clasped in her lap. If he said too much, he might later regret it and tell Daisy to turn her out. But he’d already said too much for her to hear, and so she didn’t know what to say to him.

“My lord?” the butler said from the doorway. “Viscountess Haye wished to see you before she left.”

“Send her in,” the earl said.

The viscountess came in so quickly that Helena realized she must have been waiting in the hall. She ignored Helena and came right to the earl.

“I couldn’t leave without thanking you again, my lord,” she said with a hint of warmth. “My son is lucky in his choice of friends.”

“You’re welcome, my lady, but there’s no need for thanks,” the earl said.

The viscountess’s smile was bitter. “But what am I saying? I meant, my sons are lucky.”

Helena wished she were anywhere else. It was true that so far as the lady was concerned, she wasn’t there, but even so, she didn’t know what to do except pretend that she wasn’t there, too. She stared at her slippers. Of course the world knew, by rumor and observation, that the viscountess was mother to the bastard half-Gypsy Daffyd. But it wasn’t discussed in her presence.

“You’ve been kind to both of them,” the viscountess went on. “Kind?” Her laughter was hollow. “Ridiculous word, say rather benevolent, and necessary.”

The earl looked embarrassed. “It wasn’t kindness. I like them both. In Daffyd’s case, like a son. In Leland’s, as a good friend.”

“You’ve a positive knack for taking young persons under your wing,” the viscountess said, smiling. “Daffyd, first. Then, when you returned to England, my son Haye. And now Mrs. Tanner. You’re very good with young people, my lord. You should be congratulated on your patience and charity.”

Helena bit her lip. That was close to ridicule. Did the viscountess mean it that way? Was it because she suspected Daisy’s plans for the earl? More interesting was the way the earl’s face grew ruddy. Did he already return Daisy’s feelings, or was he just embarrassed by praise? It mattered to Helena, though she hated the fact that it did.

“I’d like to show my gratitude, but I know you need for nothing,” the viscountess said. “I also know you don’t care for the social whirl, but Mrs. Tanner seems to appreciate it. So why not bring her to my home next Friday? I’m having a small party. Haye should be out of bed by then, so you’ll have someone to talk to if you don’t care to dance. I know it is late notice, but this way perhaps you’ll agree before you think better of it. What say you? May I count on your presence?”

The earl laughed. “I’m not exactly a hermit. So, yes, thank you, I’d be delighted. I’ll ask Mrs. Tanner as well.”

“You will have the invitation in your hand within the hour. And so will she. Thank you, my lord,” the viscountess said. “I look forward to it.”

“I don’t,” the earl murmured after she’d swept from the room. He smiled at Helena. “I am a recluse, in point of fact. Or rather, I’ve become one. I know that’s not a good thing. I’m glad Daisy came to me. She saves me from myself.”

But another woman could as well, Helena protested in her heart. Still, she only said, “Yes. She’s a tonic, a true original, and a delight. Excuse me, my lord, but if you’re done with me, may I rejoin her? It isn’t the thing for her to be alone with the viscount in his bedchamber. He’s bedridden, but not incapacitated, and who knows what his mother might think if she chose to go upstairs again for any reason.”

The earl looked startled. “You’re right!” he said. “I’ve done with questions. We should rejoin them straightaway.”

But when they got back to the viscount’s room, he was alone. Leland lay on his back, studying the ceiling.

“Where’s Daisy?” the earl asked.

“I devoured her,” Leland said in annoyance. “How the devil should I know? She left a few minutes ago, and I’m not permitted to follow.”

“We must have just missed her,” Helena said. “She’s probably waiting for me downstairs.”

Daisy was waiting in the front hall. Her face was a bit paler than usual. “Are you well?” the earl asked.

“Very,” she said. “But it’s time to go.” She smiled at Helena. “I deserted the viscount when I realized that. I am learning proper behavior again; aren’t you proud of me?”

Helena would have been if she hadn’t seen the distress beneath Daisy’s words. The woman might have lived a life that would harden most people beyond recognition, but she was still a transparent liar.

“There’s no way you won’t be the belle of the ball,” Helena said.

Daisy nodded glumly. There was no fault she could find with Madame Bertrand’s latest effort. Her gown was yellow, with a low neck and long sleeves, and a pink sash beneath her breasts to show her figure to advantage. Her hair was done up with pink roses, and her maid had dusted a puff of rouge across her cheekbones. It might have been too much by day, but she’d glow in lamp and candlelight.

“I don’t want to be sensational,” Daisy said. “I only want to be able to enjoy myself.”

“Why shouldn’t you?” Helena asked.

Daisy hesitated. She’d been aching to talk to someone about her problem, but wasn’t used to confiding in anyone, much less trusting them. It was true Helena was older, and better acquainted with Society, and yet Daisy wasn’t sure she could share with her. It had been hard for Daisy since that morning she’d kissed Leland. She’d steeled herself, and had visited him again. They’d both pretended nothing had happened. But she could see the knowledge in his eyes, as well as the desire for more. She, too, felt the lure of him; it was intense and undeniable. It frightened her, and she hated to be afraid. She knew he wouldn’t embarrass her in public. She was very worried about what might happen in private.

Daisy dismissed her maid and sat down on the edge of a chair. She picked a nonexistent thread from her skirt, smoothed it, and then without looking up, finally dared.

“What do you think of Viscount Haye?” she asked Helena. “I mean, really.”

“It’s not my place-”

“Bother!” Daisy said impatiently. “I asked, so it is.”

“So it is, I suppose,” Helena said. “Then I’ll tell you. I think he’s very attractive, though it’s hard to know precisely why.” She smiled. “He has the reputation of a rake, but he’s so amusing that it seems to be something he invented to laugh at. In brief, I’d say he’s charming and intelligent, and that for all his reputation, there’s no real harm in him.”

Daisy nodded. She pleated a bit of her skirt in her fingers. She had to ask more so that she’d know what to do next. The ton lived in a world alien to her, but not to Helena Masters. If she wanted to live in that world, she had to trust her companion. “He kissed me,” she told Helena. “How do I go on with him after that?”

Helena frowned. So did Daisy. She knew she’d asked a question that a girl of sixteen might, not one a widow would.

“You mean socially?” Helena asked carefully.

“Aye, that,” Daisy muttered. “And any other way.”

“Did you protest? Or slap him? Or… ”

“I kissed him back,” Daisy said bitterly. “I can’t blame him except it was like he’d