Page 33 of Wedded to the Cruel Duke

Dear Phoebe,it read.I hope that this letter finds you well. I have not heard from you ever since the wedding and Mama insists that it is extremely bad manners to disrupt a newlywed couple on their honeymoon. Are you on your honeymoon, though? I told Mama that you hardly step out of the manor, to which she advised me—most thoroughly, might I add—to mind my own business and refrain from “spying” on you from the windows of my bedchamber…

The rest of the letter continued on with her second sister writing about how everyone is faring at Townsend Manor. Daphne, she learned, had managed to capture the attention of thetononcemore and suitors were practically lining up to their father’s study.

You must come visit us soon,the letter finished.Mama cannot stop talking about how she misses you and you know how little I am of help with choosing dresses and riding habits. Most of all, we truly miss you, dear sister…

Phoebe smiled as she folded the letter and tucked it away. Reading it had only made her heartsick for her family.

If only I could make Charles see how important it is for me to see my family, too, she thought to herself.Maybe if our relationship improved, then I might be able to convince him of it…

“Amelia,” she ventured. “Do you, by any chance, know how to make a man…well…” She licked her lips nervously. “Do you know how to make a man see you in a more appreciative way?”

The maid stared at her blankly for a moment and then replied, “You mean you want to seduce His Lordship?”

Her cheeks colored at her maid’s frankness. “Something to that effect, yes.”

“Oh!” Amelia’s eyes immediately lit up. “John, one of the footmen, always liked it when I showed him a little bit of bosom…!”

“You…what!?”

“And when I lean in a little bit like so…I justknowhe is watching me closely!”

As if to underscore her point, she bent over seductively as if she meant to pick up something, while she batted her eyelashes so much that she looked as if she had got something stuck in her eyes.

“I…do not think that His Lordship would—”

The maid grinned as she led Phoebe to the vanity and began to fix her hair. “Firstly, milady, you must dress the part.”

“Dress the part? Like…” Phoebe turned a little green. “Show my bosom, you mean?”

“Yes!” the maid clapped her hands happily. “Nothing too much, mind you. Just enough for a little peek.”

“Oh, thank heavens for that…”

Phoebe frowned and looked down, for fear that Amelia would catch on that she had next to no idea of knowing what was to come.

“Fret not, milady,” the maid reassured her with a gentle pat on her shoulder. “You are already quite pretty. With a little moreeffort, I am sure His Lordship would be running you off to his bedchamber—or yours—in no time.”

Phoebe’s cheeks flamed up at the insinuation of finally consummating her marriage to Charles.

“In that case, then, I shall have to turn to you for advice.”

Phoebe did not feel too hopeful about it, though.

Would Charles find attractive the same things that caught the eye ofJohnthe footman? She honestly had no way of knowing that, but what was sauce for the goose might also work for the gander.

She would not know unless she tried something. She only hoped she would not end up regretting it all.

Phoebe was not certain that the things Amelia had taught her were anything appropriate for a lady. For one, she had never seen anyone walk into a ball with such an exaggerated sway of the hips the way the maid was teaching her to.

“Men are very visual, milady,” the maid reminded her. “You must first catch His Lordship’s eyes before you can begin catching his attention.”

“Uh-huh.” Phoebe nodded as she did her best to imitate Amelia’s movements.

As a young girl, her mother had taught her precisely how to walk and conduct herself properly. She had taught her the proper way to curtsy and dance, to walk and sit. But when she had grown up and seen more of the world, she began to doubt if that was all there was to attract a man.

The gentlemen she had thought she would encounter had not exactly been the idealized versions her Mama had taught her. Rather, the gossip mill was constantly churning out their scandalous escapades withthisopera singer andthatballerina. Some even had affairs under their very own roofs with maids and governesses alike.

There must be a lot more to flirtation and seduction than merely fluttering one’s fan, she thought to herself as she practiced sitting down in a way that displayed her bosom proudly.