The Virgin in the Rake’s Bed by Ava MacAdams
Chapter Four
“You… marry you?” she blurted out, and he nodded.
Catherine was quite taken aback by his words, though she recovered her composure quickly enough. Had he really just offered to marry her? Granted, he was an attractive man, but even so, it was all rather sudden. For a moment, she felt quite speechless, and she looked at him in bewilderment, unsure of how to respond.
“Yes, not really, of course. But if we announce this evening that the two of us are betrothed, then there would be no question of your father announcing the Earl of Westwood as such – he simply could not do so. And your reputation would remain intact, rather than in the tatters of Hamilton Asquith’s arms as yourself intended. I am supposedly a man in search of a wife, and it would do my reputation no harm either to have you as my supposed betrothed. The ruse could last as long as we both so wished, long enough, at least, for the Earl of Westwood to be put off the scent,” he said, and Catherine smiled.
On the face of it, Ian’s plan appeared to be the perfect ruse. There was nothing in it, which was not to Catherine’s advantage. She had not wished to ruin her reputation entirely, though she had been willing to accept that fate in payoff for the ending of her apparent courtship with the Earl. Now, her reputation would remain intact, and she would be free from the duty which her father intended for her. But a question remained.
“What advantage would it be for you?” she asked.
She knew something of Ian’s reputation for rakish behavior. He had no intention of marrying, but that did not mean he had no interest in women. There were many young ladies she knew who had known something of his charms, though all had been disappointed if it was a calling card they were expecting. Ian Bennet was a man who enjoyed the company of women, but on his terms alone. Now, he smiled at her, pondering for a moment.
“To no longer be troubled by silly, tittering women. They are the bane of my life; I quite detest them. If it is known that I am betrothed then their attentions will be diverted elsewhere,” he replied.
“Then it is perfect – for us both, I mean,” she said, and he smiled.
“I would say it is, but tell me, how did you intend to seduce Hamilton Asquith?” he asked, his eyes trailing down her dress, which was still disheveled from her attempts at allure.
“I imagined he would kiss me if I made it clear to him I was willing. Then I hoped someone would catch us and my name would be stained. The news would reach my father almost immediately and the announcement of the marriage could not go ahead,” she replied, glancing up at him and smiling, feeling her cheeks flush red as she did so.
“No one has disturbed us just yet,” he said, taking a step toward her, and Catherine glanced over her shoulder at the door, imagining that at any moment Rebecca or Samantha would come looking for her.
But she cared not whether anyone should see them, for it was a compromising position which she wished for, and should a servant, or one of her friends, or any of the ton discover them, then Catherine would welcome it.
“I do not think anyone would have done so. They are all too busy with their dancing to care about what goes on in the library. You should have kissed him in front of them all, though I am glad that you did not,” he said, smiling at her.
“Your offer is a very generous one, and I am sure that it will be believed,” she said, and he laughed.
“It will be believed. Why would it not be? Though your brother will have something to say about it. Come, we must return to do the deed, though I must help you first,” he said, stepping forward and taking one of the dangling fronds of her dress, which he proceeded to tie up in order to preserve her modesty.
By accident or design, his hand brushed against her bare shoulder, and his touch caused a shiver of delight to run through her. There was no doubting that he was a handsome man, though until these brief shared moments she had barely noticed him. Ian Bennet was her brother’s friend, and though she had often seen him at gatherings and social engagements, she had barely gotten to know him. Still, the ruse of matrimony was believable enough, and was the perfect way in which to preserve her reputation whilst also ridding herself of the Earl of Westwood.
“It is a very pretty dress,” he said, his hand still on her shoulder, and she blushed as she looked up at him, their eyes meeting as she did so.
“It is one which my mother had made for me, before she died,” she replied, and he smiled.
“And now you are left only with your father, who is desperate to marry you off. Why is it we are left only with the parent that we detest, rather than the one we wished remained?” he said, and gave a sigh.
Catherine did not know quite what he meant or if the question required a direct answer. She knew he did not speak to his mother – that much she had gleaned from her brother – but the reason for their estrangement was unclear and she wondered what his father had done to be so highly favored.
“I do care for my father, but he is so caught up in his desire to see me married off he has quite lost any sense of my own desires,” she said, and Ian smiled.
“We all have desires, some easily satisfied, others not,” he replied, and Catherine felt her heart beating faster, his hand still trailing over her shoulder.
She had come to the library that evening with the intention of seduction, but now it was she who felt herself seduced, desirous of that encounter she had imagined with Hamilton Asquith. Suddenly, his hand slid down the back of her dress and he pulled her into his embrace, their lips meeting in a moment of passion. Catherine gasped as their lips parted, the intensity of the kiss quite taking her breath away. She was aroused by the suddenness of his touch, desirous of those feelings to continue, and they kissed again, their lips parting in a final moment of sensuous delight.
“I… it was…” she began, but he smiled and shook his head.
“A betrothal needs a kiss to seal it,” he said, and she laughed.
“Perhaps you will show me how such an ease of seduction can be achieved,” she said, and he nodded.
“I am sure some lessons can be forthcoming. It was a pleasurable encounter,” he said, offering her his arm, “but come now, we must return to the ballroom, we have an announcement to make.”
* * *
The encounter with Catherine Ferguson had been a surprise to Ian. He had slipped into the library from the terrace, intending to smoke and browse some of Nicholas’ books, for the Somerset residence was famed for its library, and Ian was something of a scholar of history. He had not been there over ten minutes before he had heard the door opening, and assuming that it was merely one of the servants, he had continued examining a volume of Tacitus by the light of one of the candles.
But when no clink of glasses or rustle of the coal scuttle came, Ian had turned and found not a servant but Catherine Ferguson, the sister of his friend Rickard, standing before him. Catherine was not an unfamiliar figure to him, but in his recollection, they had never found themselves alone together and the sight of her in her disheveled dress, exposing herself at shoulder and ankle, was quite the sight.
What had happened next was quite unexpected, and Ian had been astonished to learn that Catherine intended to tarnish her reputation by seeking scandal with Hamilton Asquith. But this was not to say that the thought of what she intended was not alluring. He had considered its implications during their conversation, mindful of the very rules which he himself had only a few moments previously recounted to Rickard.
But such an encounter was too much of an opportunity to miss, and Ian had thought nothing of giving in to his temptations, the kiss a matter of seized opportunity, rather than future intention. Such a kiss fitted perfectly with his self-imposed rules and would do no damage to his reputation – not that he had any concerns about that. He was happy to help Catherine, indeed, the whole thing seemed much like a game, one that would divert his attentions for a while, and perhaps come with benefits as yet unknown.
But that was not to say his passions had not been aroused, and his thoughts desirous. Catherine was a supremely attractive woman – he had always thought so, if only from a distance. There are some men who might consider the sister of one of their closest friends to be forbidden fruit, but not Ian, who was happy to acknowledge any woman, so long as it was on his own terms. The kiss had been spontaneous, and it had seemed almost inevitable in the moment, a fact which struck him as a little odd, given his rules.
“My father will make the announcement as soon as I enter the room, I am sure of it,” Catherine said, as the two of them stood in the hallway a moment later.
“And I will interject at the very moment when the Earl of Westwood’s name is announced,” Ian replied, enjoying playing along with the ruse.
Catherine smiled and nodded. She really was very pretty, with her red hair and hazel brown eyes, her slender figure and red lips, on which Ian imagined setting another kiss. He had known many women since Cassandra, but only under his rules, none of them memorable, mere dalliances in the moment. He had no doubt that Catherine would be the same, except she was a woman who would understand – she had said it herself, she wanted to be a spinster, and that suited Ian very well indeed.
