Seduction (17 page)

gallantry as he started to pull the dangling enameled flower from Sophy's hair.

Julian shouldered his way past two young males who were watching the blond man

enviously. "My privilege, Waycott." He tweaked the ornament from a curl just as

Sophy looked up in surprise. Waycott's hand fell away, his pale blue eyes

narrowed with silent anger.

"Julian." Sophy smiled up at him with genuine delight. "I was afraid you would

not be able to attend this evening. Isn't it a lovely ball?"

"Lovely." Julian surveyed her deliberately, aware of a violent sense of

possessiveness. Fanny had turned her out well, he realized. Sophy's dress was

richly hued and perfectly cut to emphasize her slender figure. Her hair was done

in an elegant series of curls piled high to show off her graceful nape.

Jewelry had been confined to a minimum he saw and it occurred to him that the

Ravenwood emeralds would have looked very nice around Sophy's throat.

Unfortunately, he did not have them to give to her.

"I am having the most delightful time this evening," Sophy went on cheerfully.

"Everyone has been so attentive and welcoming. Have you met all my friends?" She

indicated the group of hovering males with a slight nod of her head.

Julian swung a cold gaze around the small gathering and smiled laconically at

each familiar face. He allowed his eyes to linger ever so briefly on Waycott's

amused, assessing expression. Then he turned pointedly away from the other man.

"Why, yes, Sophy, I believe I have made the acquaintance of just about everyone

present. And I'm certain that by now, you've had more than enough of their

company."

The unmistakable warning was not lost on any man in the surrounding circle,

although Waycott seemed more amused than impressed. The others hastened to offer

congratulations, however, and for a few minutes Julian was obliged to listen to

a great deal of fulsome praise for his wife's charm, herbal expertise, and

conversational talents.

"Has a most commendable knowledge of farming techniques, for a female," one

middle-aged admirer announced. "Could talk to her for hours."

"We were just discussing sheep, " a ruddy faced young man explained. "Lady

Ravenwood has some interesting notions about breeding methods."

"Fascinating, I'm sure," Julian said. He inclined his head toward his wife. "I

am beginning to realize I have married an expert on the subject."

"You will recall I read widely, my lord," Sophy murmured. "And lately I have

taken the liberty of indulging myself in your library. You have an excellent

collection of farm management books."

"I shall have to see about replacing them with something of a more elevating

nature. Religious tracts, perhaps." Julian held out his hand. "In the meantime,

I wonder if you can tear yourself away from such enthralling conversation long

enough to favor your husband with a dance, madam?"

Sophy's eyes shimmered with laughter. "But, of course, Julian. You will forgive

me, gentlemen?" she asked politely as she put her hand on her husband's arm.

"Of course," Waycott murmured. "We all understand the call of duty, do we not?

Return to us when you are ready to play again, Sophy."

Julian fought back the urge to plant a fist square in the center of Waycott's

too-handsome features. He knew Sophy would never forgive him for causing that

sort of scene and neither would Lady Yelverton. Seething inwardly, he took the

only other course open to him. He coolly ignored Waycott's jibe as he led Sophy

out onto the floor.

"I get the impression you are enjoying yourself, ' he said as Sophy slipped

easily into his arms.

"Very much. Oh, Julian, it is all so different than it was last time. Tonight

everyone seems so nice. I have danced more this evening than I did during my

entire season five years ago." Sophy's cheeks were flushed and her fine eyes

were alight with her obvious pleasure.

"I am glad your first important event as the Countess of Ravenwood has turned

out to be such a success." He put deliberate emphasis on her new title. He did

not want her forgetting either her position or her obligation to that position.

Sophy's smile turned thoughtful. "I expect it's all going so well this time

because I am married. I am now viewed as safe by every type of male, you see."

Startled by the observation, Julian scowled. "What the devil do you mean by

that?"

"Isn't it obvious? I am no longer angling for a husband. I have already snagged

him, so to speak. Thus the men feel free to flirt and pay me court because they

know perfectly well they are in no danger of being obliged to make an offer. It

is all a lot of harmless fun now whereas five years ago they would have been at

great risk of having to declare their intentions."

Julian bit back an oath. "You are very much off the mark with that line of

reasoning," he assured her through his teeth. "Don't be naive, Sophy. You are

old enough to realize that your status as a married woman leaves you open to the

most dishonorable sorts of approaches from men. It is precisely because you are

safe that they can feel free to seduce you."

Her gaze grew watchful although her smile stayed in place. "Come now, Julian.

You overstate the case. I am in no danger of being seduced by any male present

as far as I can tell."

It took him a split second to realize she was lumping him in with every other

man in the room. "Forgive me, madam," he said very softly, "I had not realized

you were so eager to be seduced. In fact, I had quite the opposite impression.

My misunderstanding, I'm sure."

"You frequently misunderstand me, my lord." She fixed her gaze on his cravat.

"But as it happens, I was only teasing."

"Were you?"

"Yes, of course. Forgive me. I only meant to lighten your mood a bit. You seemed

overly concerned by what is a totally nonexistent threat to my virtue. I assure

you none of the men in that group made any improper advances or suggestions."

Julian sighed. "The problem, Sophy, is that I am not convinced you would

recognize an improper suggestion until matters had gone too far. You may be all

of twenty-three years old but you have not had much experience with Society. It

is little more than a glittering hunting ground and an attractive, naive, safely

married young woman such as yourself is frequently viewed as a grand prize."

She stiffened in his arms, her eyes narrowing. "Please do not be condescending,

Julian. I am not that naive. I assure you I have no intention of allowing myself

to be seduced by any of your friends."

"Unfortunately, my dear, that still leaves all my enemies."

SEVEN

Sophy paced her bedchamber later that night, the events of the evening spinning

through her head. It had all been very exciting and wonderfully different from

the way things had been five years ago when she had had her one and only fling

at Society.

She was well aware that her new status as Ravenwood's wife had a lot to do with

the attention she received, but she honestly felt she had held her own

conversationally. At twenty-three she had far more self-confidence than she'd

had at eighteen, for one thing. In addition, she had not been painfully

conscious of being on display in a marriage mart the way she had been five years

ago. Tonight she had been able to relax and enjoy herself. Everything had gone

very well until Julian had arrived.

Initially she had been delighted to find him there, eager to have him see that

she could handle herself in his world. But after the first dance it had dawned

on her that Julian had not bothered to drop in at the Yelvertons' ball just to

admire her newfound ability to socialize. He had come because he was worried she

would get swept off her feet by one of the predatory males who prowled the

sophisticated jungle of the ton.

It was very depressing to realize that only Julian's natural possessiveness had

kept him by her side for the rest of the evening.

They had arrived home an hour ago and Sophy had gone immediately upstairs to

prepare for bed. Julian had not tried to delay her. He had bid her a formal good

night and vanished into the library. A few minutes ago Sophy had heard his

muffled footsteps in the carpeted hall outside her room.

The glow of excitement engendered by her first major evening in Society was

fading rapidly and as far as Sophy was concerned it was mostly Julian's fault.

He had definitely done his best to dampen the buoyant pleasure she had been

experiencing.

Sophy turned at the far end of the room and paced back toward her dressing

table. She caught sight of the small jewelry case revealed in the candlelight

and stopped short aware of a strong flicker of guilt. There was no denying that

during the hectic excitement of her first week in town as the Countess of

Ravenwood, she had temporarily put aside her goal of vengeance for Amelia.

Salvaging her marriage had loomed as the most important matter in her world.

It was not that she had forsaken her vow to find Amelia's seducer, Sophy told

herself, it was just that other things had taken priority.

But as soon as she had established a proper relationship with Julian, she would

return to the project of finding the man responsible for Amelia's death.

"I have not forgotten you, dear sister,' Sophy whispered.

She was lifting the lid of the jewelry case when the door opened behind her. She

swung around with a sharp intake of breath and saw Julian standing in the

doorway that connected their rooms. He was wearing his dressing gown and nothing

else. The jewelry case lid dropped shut with a snap.

Julian glanced at the small case and then met Sophy's eyes. He smiled wryly.

"You need not say a word, my dear. I got the point earlier this evening. Forgive

me for failing to remember to supply you with the little trinkets you will need

to dress properly here in town."

"I was not about to ask you for jewelry, my lord," Sophy said, annoyed.

Honestly, the man did have a way of making the most irritating assumptions. "Was

there something you wanted?"

He hesitated a moment, making no move to come farther into the room. "Yes, I

believe there is," he said finally. "Sophy, I have been giving much thought to

the matter of the unsettled business between us."

"Business, my lord?"

His eyes narrowed. "You would prefer me to be more blunt? Very well, I have

given a great deal of consideration to the matter of consummating our marriage."

Sophy's stomach suddenly felt the way it had one day long ago when she had

fallen out of a tree into a stream. "I see. I suppose it was all that talk about

sheep breeding earlier at the Yelvertons' that brought the subject to mind?"

Julian stalked toward her, his hands shoved into the pockets of his dressing

gown. "This has nothing to do with sheep. Tonight I realized for the first time

that your lack of personal experience of the marriage bed puts you at grave

risk."

Amelia blinked in amazement. "Risk, my lord?"

He nodded soberly. He picked up a crystal swan ornament from her dressing table

and turned it idly in his hand. "You are too naive and far too innocent, Sophy.

You do not have the sort of worldly knowledge a woman must have in order to

understand the nuances and double entendres certain men employ in conversation.

You are too likely to lead such men on unknowingly simply because you do not

understand their true meaning."

"I think I begin to comprehend your reasoning, my lord," Sophy said. "You feel

that the fact that I am not yet a proper wife in every sense of the word may be

a handicap for me socially?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"What a dreadful notion. Rather like the idea of eating one's fish with the

wrong fork, I imagine."

"A bit more serious than that, I assure you, Sophy. If you were unmarried your

continued lack of knowledge about certain matters would be something of a

safeguard. Any man who attempted to seduce you, would also know he would be

expected to marry you. But as a married woman, you have no such protection. And

if a certain sort of man happened to guess that you have not yet shared a bed

with your husband, he would be relentless in his pursuit of you. He would see

you as a very amusing conquest."

"In other words, this hypothetical male would see me as a fine prize, indeed?"

"Precisely." Julian put down the crystal swan and smiled approvingly at Sophy.

"I'm glad you understand the situation."

"Oh, I do," she said, struggling to control her breathlessness. "You are telling

me that you have finally decided to claim your husbandly rights."

He shrugged with apparent sangfroid. "It seems to me it would be in your best

interests if I did so. For your sake, I have concluded it would be best to put

matters on a normal footing."

Sophy's fingers clenched around the back of the dressing table chair. "Julian, I

have made it clear that I desire to be a complete wife to you but I must request

one favor before we proceed tonight."

His green eyes glittered, belying his outer calm. "What would that favor be, my

dear?"

"It is that you cease explaining your logic for doing what you intend to do.