Page 40 of Second Duke's the Charm
“Personal area?” Daisy suggested with a laugh. “Gates of Venus? Honey pot?”
Tess wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. That sounds uncomfortable.”
“One used a sea sponge covered in silk and attached to a ribbon. And another mentioned something to do with honey, oil, and vinegar.”
“Sounds more like cookery than contraception,” Tess said doubtfully.
“Plenty of women lie with men and don’t get pregnant. You might be barren,” Daisy said. “Or he might not be able to father a child. That could happen to you.”
“It’s incredibly risky.”
Ellie shrugged. “So what if youdoget pregnant? You’ve always loved children. Would it be so bad?”
“They’d be legitimate,” Daisy added.
“But Thornton wouldn’t play any part in their upbringing, except to pay for their education.”
“That’s no different to ninety percent of theton.” Daisy sniffed. “My father barely even remembers my brothers’ names. He’s always confusing them. They were packed off to school almost as soon as they could talk. And you know how little interest he takes in me. He pays more attention to his favorite basset hound.”
“That’s my point,” Tess said. “An absent or uncaring parent is a terrible thing to subject a child to.”
“But you’d be a wonderful, loving mother,” Ellie said. “And we’d be the most spectacular aunts. The child would just have two extra mothers, instead of a father. I call that a good exchange.”
“I wouldn’t be upset if Ididend up having a child,” Tess mused. “I’d have someone to love when Thornton goes back to Bristol.”
Daisy rested her chin on her hand. “Then I fail to see the problem. Go ahead and make fabulously energetic love with one of the most handsome men in London, and leave the rest to Fate. You’ll either end up with a child, or be left with a slew of happy memories and abody exhausted by a surfeit of pleasure. There’s no bad outcome here.”
“There isone,” Tess said. “He says he’ll never fall in love with me. But what if I fall in love with him?”
“Is that a danger?” Ellie asked.
“Of course it is,” Daisy said adamantly. “A very real danger. He’s outrageously handsome. And from her experience at Careby’s, he clearly knows how to pleasure a woman. A girl can fall in love with having climaxes, El. They’re like chocolate eclairs—once you have one, you want another. And another and another. If Thornton’s as good at lovemaking as I suspect he is, Tess could easily get addicted to him.”
“Maybe he’ll be terrible,” Ellie said brightly. “A huge disappointment.”
“Huge, yes,” Daisy snickered. “Disappointment, no. Have you seen the bulge in his breeches?”
“Daisy!” Tess shrieked.
“What?” Daisy gave an unrepentant shrug. “No harm in inspecting the merchandise. Men do it to us all the time. Why shouldn’t we return the favor? Can I help it if current gentlemen’s fashion provides a snug outline? No.”
“You can stop your eyes lingering on unsuspecting men’s crotches,” Ellie scolded.
“Only if I’m asleep. That’s like touring the British Museum and averting your eyes from the statues. I’m glad we don’t live in ancient Greece. Some of those athletes requiredextremelysmall fig leaves.”
Tess tried to bring the conversation back on track. “I wasn’t talking about falling in love with the physical side of things. Nor his looks. What if I fall in love withhim? As a man. I already know he’s clever and quick-witted. What if he turns out to be nice, too? What if he isn’t the ruthless, commerce-obsessed cutthroat he seems?”
Daisy sucked in a breath. “You’re right. What if he’s kind to puppies and orphans?”
“And has a sense of humor?” Ellie added.
“I’ll be doomed,” Tess groaned. “I’m practically guaranteed to fall in love with him. And then he’ll leave me without a second glance and find someone else, and I’ll be left a miserable, heartbroken wreck.”
“A beautiful, titled, financially secure, well-pleasured wreck,” Daisy reminded her dryly. “It could be worse.”
Ellie burst into laughter. “You must be the first woman ever to worry about falling in love with her own husband.”
Tess groaned again. “Maybe I should tell him I’ve changed my mind.”