Page 4 of The Spinster's Seduction(The Lover's Arch #4)

Hilary Applebottom, The Countess of Durham, wasted no time in occupying Charles’s vacated seat, her skirts rustling and her gloved hands on her cane. Unlike Evelyn, who had never felt as though she fit anywhere, Lady Durham fit everywhere . No party was complete without her, and she kept her finger on the pulse of the ton .

Evelyn did not know why Lady Durham had befriended her with such ruthless intent. For the longest time, said friendship had been one-sided, until eventually Evelyn had caved. Even the most stubborn spirit could not resist a countess accustomed to getting her way, and doing so with undeniable charm.

Lady Durham’s particular liking of her was the only reason Evelyn still received invitations to these sorts of gatherings. She suspected the countess would wage war against anyone who attempted to exclude her, and while the thought did, at least a little, please her, it also discomfited her. Fading into the background was a far more comfortable thing to do.

“Darling,” Lady Durham said as she sat. “I am so relieved you came tonight. I thought things might be dull, but now I am assured they will not be. How was our dearest Charles?”

Evelyn sent her friend a repressive glance. “Much the same as always.”

“It would be too much to expect anything else.” Lady Durham chewed her lip contemplatively as she looked at Charles, smiling—with more politeness than any good feeling—down at his intended. “I would pity the girl, but I’ve heard she’s an awfully cold thing.”

“She would have to be, to enter into an arrangement with a man who so clearly cares nothing for her.”

“Oh, that. Tosh. She just wants his title, and who wouldn’t? He’ll be a duke . An excellent catch for any girl.” Lady Durham sent Evelyn a suggestive glance. “Though I can think of other things he might be excellent at.”

Evelyn flushed. Of all her few friends, only Lady Durham knew of Evelyn’s hopes in Charles’s direction. What she did not know was the depth of the tenderer feelings Evelyn harboured. Considering they both knew of his rakish tendencies, it hardly seemed like a demonstration of good judgement, and as a spinster of decidedly middle age, Evelyn had little else to her name but the reputation of good sense.

“Hush,” she said. “What if someone overhears you?”

Lady Durham glanced around. “Considering you have chosen to sit away from the centre of the room, and there is no one directly about us, I think our conversation is as private as anywhere. Now, tell me everything. Did you approach him?”

“I did.” She suppressed her sigh, judging it to be a little too heartfelt. “He said he would not think of it, and it would change our friendship.”

“Why, so it would. Do you suppose ladies are often merely friends with their former lovers?” Lady Durham clicked her tongue. “If you were together in that way, I guarantee he would not look at you in the same way again. He might even fall in love with you, although men are fickle creatures, and we cannot rely on the promptings of their hearts in these matters.”

Evelyn put her empty teacup and saucer on the chair beside her. “I’m not expecting him to fall in love with me.”

“Yes, you’re far too sensible for that.” Her friend looked at her approvingly. “I quite agree. Expecting constancy from a man so little inclined to it would be foolish indeed.”

“He has been constant to me,” Evelyn said, unable to prevent herself from coming to his defence. “He has always looked out for me, even when we were children together.”

“Aye, I’ll give him that.” Lady Durham tapped her teaspoon delicately against the rim of her cup. “But how far has that inconvenienced him?”

“I—” Evelyn considered this for a moment. “I don’t know. Not overly, perhaps.”

“Precisely. Never forget the selfishness of men, and it will serve you well.” She glanced at Evelyn. “What do you intend to do now?”

Evelyn licked her lips. His rejection had been a blow, and she didn’t know how to proceed. His imminent engagement made the matter urgent—if she did not act now, he would propose to Lady Rosamund and she would lose her chance forever. She didn’t want to give up, but she didn’t know how she could continue.

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

“Is there no one else you could ask?”

“None whom I trust.”

“Well then,” Lady Durham said decisively. “I suppose there’s nothing else for it but to convince your Charles.”

“I put forth my best arguments, and he remained utterly unmoved.”

“Bah. Logic. What use does a man have for logic, for all they pretend otherwise? No, my dear. You are going to have to tempt him.”

Evelyn frowned. “How?”

“Seduce him.”

“A little challenging, given my lack of experience in this area,” Evelyn said wryly. “I would not know how to go about it.”

“Have you ever kissed a man?”

“Once. It was . . . unenjoyable.”

“And how old were you?” Lady Durham demanded.

“Fifteen.”

“Well then. What else could you expect?”

Evelyn thought back to when she had informed Charles of the infraction, committed by the son of a gentleman who lived nearby. Julian Trowbridge. She understood now that he had been courting her, and had stolen a kiss during a walk through their gardens. At the time, however, she had not known his intentions, and the kiss had come as a rather unpleasant shock.

Charles had been seventeen, growing into his lanky frame and his understanding of the world. When she’d rushed to him, near in tears, he had looked grim and left almost immediately. When he’d returned, it had been with bloodied knuckles and a split lip. Even then, though she had expressed horror and dabbed at the wounds with a damp cloth, the thought that he would have fought over her had made her stomach flip.

Another year had passed before she understood what the excitement in her stomach had been.

By then, he had left for university, and it had been too late for her to do anything about it.

As for Julian—after Charles’s interference, he had never bothered her again.

“I don’t know what to expect,” she said slowly. “That’s why I’d hoped someone might show me.”

“Well, there’s no doubt that Charles is the man for the job. I have it on good authority that he is an excellent kisser.”

Evelyn stared at her. “Who told you that?”

“Never you mind.” Hilary’s eyes were bright with amusement. “It hardly matters. What does matter is his experience. You’ll be fortunate to have such a teacher.” She tapped her closed fan against her chin as she thought, but Evelyn shook her head. “I know of several ladies that are deeply jealous of you, you know.”

“Really?”

“Why yes. Whenever you are anywhere, he will inevitably ignore his other duties to spend time with you. Take today, for instance. He abandoned his betrothed to claim a space beside you and spoke to you with far more animation than he did elsewhere. Even now—look at him, dearest. He looks bored.”

Charles, his hands clasped behind his back and a pleasant smile pasted on his face, did indeed appear bored .

“Well,” Evelyn said, attempting to quash the too-pleased feeling in her chest. At thirty-seven, she knew better than to put stock in that. “We have been friends for a long time.”

“Hmm,” was all Lady Durham said.

“But I don’t think I can seduce him.” Evelyn cleared her throat, the thought making her cheeks flush. “You see, we have never been like . . . that. And I would need guidance in knowing how to go about it.”

“There is nothing so simple in all the world! Either find an opportunity to be unclothed in his presence, or press up against him. He is made of flesh and blood, after all.” She eyed Evelyn’s dress and the buttons that ran up the bodice. “I guarantee that after seeing you so very modest all these years, he will be enthralled by the opportunity to see you less so.”

“He did not seem particularly enthralled when I put forward the proposal.”

“Oh, for a rake, that man is infuriatingly honourable, but a little persuasion will go a long way.” Lady Durham snapped her fingers. “Or you could gain some outside help.”

“You mean someone to persuade him for me?” Evelyn asked doubtfully.

“Oh no, dearie. Nothing of that nature—I can’t imagine he would take that well. No. You must bring him to the Lovers’ Arch.”

“The Lovers’ Arch?” Evelyn wrinkled her nose. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“It’s more myth than anything.” Lady Durham pursed her lips as she thought. “I remember a friend—for the life of me, I can’t recall her name—telling me about it in a book she read. I believe it was in her library. Old, stuffy tome about myths and legends in the British Isles, or some such nonsense. And it mentioned the Lovers’ Arch in Hyde Park. A Roman stonemason built it for his love before they ran away from home, leaving behind nothing but rumours and this archway. There’s an inscription. Lovely story, true or not, and according to legend, all you must do is say your lover’s name under the arch, and they will be sure to fall in love with you.” She beamed. “Of course, invoking its full power would be a mistake, given you don’t desire his love, but I’m certain merely passing through would be enough to change his mind about you.”

Evelyn wrinkled her nose. “You think it has power?”

“What I think doesn’t matter. What matters is that you think it.”

“But I don’t,” Evelyn said. “I don’t believe in magic, and what you’re describing is certainly magical.”

“More the influence of happy souls gone before. And besides, what harm can it do? You certainly have nothing to lose, and if it transpires it doesn’t work, you can always rely on your logic.”

Evelyn considered the situation carefully. Logic, she had to confess, had not worked thus far, and she currently had no other course of action open to her. Lady Durham might mention seduction as a means of persuasion, but Evelyn had never learnt those arts; that was in part why she desired Charles’s help. He would be able to teach her how to be desirable. He could teach her pleasure. A bright moment in her life before he married and she would lose him in all ways.

Lady Durham was right about another thing: there truly was no harm in trying. She might as well exhaust all options open to her before giving up entirely.

“Why not?” she said. “I shall try the arch.”