How to Seduce a Scoundrel (8 page)

“The plan is too risky,” Amy said. “If we share the advice with the other single ladies, they will spread the news.”

Georgette twirled a blond curl around her finger. “Is that not the idea?”

Amy scoffed. “Georgette, you know very well the other ladies will spread the word, and our reputations will be ruined. Our families would suffer as well. And Julianne cannot risk angering Hawk. He might send her home.”

“He’s planning to call today.” Julianne scowled, remembering his words. “He told me I’d better be prepared to grovel.”

Amy tucked a red-gold curl behind her ear. “He is worried about you, Julianne. We are very lucky to have escaped worse consequences.”

Georgette rolled her eyes. “Ignore her, Julianne. Write the advice just for us. What fun. We’ll steal all the rakes away from the other girls. They will be green with envy.”

“Now you are being ridiculous,” Amy said.

Georgette lifted her palms. “How else are we to help Julianne win Hawk?”

“I don’t want him,” Julianne said.

“Yes, you do,” Georgette said.

Amy considered Julianne for a long moment. “I know you’re wounded, but you love him. Aren’t you willing to give him another chance?”

Julianne held her fist to her heart. “If I were to let him inside again, I would be giving him permission to treat me cavalierly, the same way he treated me last night. I am done with him.” She’d seen the way her father had begged her mother’s forgiveness, only to mistreat her repeatedly. Julianne vowed she would never let Hawk hurt her again.

Georgette peered at Julianne. “You can make him jealous by flirting with other rakes.”

“Frankly, I do not understand the appeal of rakes,” Amy said.

The minute she uttered the words, a knock sounded, and the door whooshed open. Hester ambled inside, her eyes alight. “Did I hear mention of rakes?”

Julianne cleared her throat. “Amy was reminding us to stay away from them.”

Hester smiled knowingly as Amy tugged her skirts over her exposed calves. Then Hester walked over to the desk and smoothed out the crumpled paper.

Julianne hissed in a breath, drawing Hester’s attention.

“It seems you wrote down part of my advice. Were you planning to share it with your friends?” Hester asked.

Julianne hesitated. “Perhaps I should have asked your permission first.”

Georgette nodded. “We thought about sharing it with the other young ladies, but they might reveal Julianne wrote it, and the gossip would ruin her.”

Julianne gave her cork-brained friend a speaking look. “You and Amy would be implicated as well.” She, on the other hand, had nothing to lose.

Georgette’s eyes widened. “Oh, I didn’t think about that.”

Amy mumbled under her breath.

“I believe you should share the advice with all the young ladies,” Hester said.

“The risk is too great,” Amy said.

Hester regarded Amy. “Ah, I heard you were a sensible girl. I concede Miss Hardwick’s point about gossip, but I have an idea.”

Julianne eased off the bed and walked to the desk. “What sort of plan do you have in mind?”

Hester pulled out the chair. “Be seated,” she said, drawing out a fresh sheet of paper. “Now, the way to keep our little secret is to publish the advice anonymously. I have a gentleman friend who will ask no questions. He will make all the arrangements. That way no one will trace the identity of the author.”

“It will be a book?” Julianne’s heart beat faster. “I am to be an author?”

“I’m envisioning a pamphlet, as we can have it produced quicker,” Hester said. “Of course, all of us must keep the secret. As Miss Hardwick said, you do not wish to stain your reputations.”

“Amy, even you cannot find fault with that plan,” Georgette said.

Amy worried her hands. “I have grave misgivings.”

Hester lifted her quizzing glass to inspect Amy. “Your concern is understandable, but in this case, there is no danger to any of you. If matters grow hot, I will take responsibility. One of the advantages of old age is that society excuses one’s eccentricities.”

Amy frowned. “It still seems terribly risky to me.”

“The only thing required of you and Lady Georgette is
secrecy,” Hester said. “You must never reveal it to another soul.”

“We will keep mum,” Georgette said. “Oh, this will be such fun.”

Hester uncapped the inkwell, dipped the pen, and handed it to Julianne. “Now the work begins.”

“I do not know where to start,” Julianne said. “It seems an overwhelming task.”

“You need a title, do you not?” Hester said. “It must convey the contents in such a way that others will rush to purchase it.”

Julianne furrowed her brows. “
Advice to the Lovelorn
?”

“We need something more provocative,” Hester said, waving her hand in dismissal. “Ah, I have it:
The Secrets of Seduction
.”

Georgette gasped. “Seduction?”

“Only the suggestion of it, my dear,” Hester said. “Teasing and implied promises of secret pleasures make any man wild. I’ve some experience in the matter.”

Since Hester had managed to attract five husbands, Julianne concluded she was an expert. “The title is perfect,” she said, scribbling it on the page and ignoring Amy’s moan. Underneath, she wrote
By a Lady
. She blew on the wet ink, set the page aside, and considered the blank page Hester handed her. “Now what?”

“An introduction is necessary,” Hester said. “You must explain what drove you to conclude that unmarried ladies need a better method of leading gentlemen to the altar.”

“Write it as if you’re addressing a friend,” Georgette said.

“An excellent suggestion,” Hester said. “Julianne, let the words flow upon the page.”

Julianne dipped the pen again. Excitement filled her as she wrote. When she finished, she read it aloud at Hester’s urging.

“A wonderful introduction.” Hester drew in her breath as if she meant to say more, but a knock on the door forestalled her. “Come in,” she said.

A footman announced that Lord Hawkfield waited in the Egyptian drawing room. Julianne’s stomach tightened involuntarily.

When the door shut, Georgette stood and shook out her skirts. “We must leave you now.”

“You mean to abandon me?” Julianne said, her voice rising with shock.

“I agree with Georgette,” Amy said. “You must face him today, and we will only be in the way.”

“You needn’t worry. Lady Rutledge will be with you,” Georgette said.

After her friends left, Julianne swallowed hard. She dreaded seeing Hawk today. In one night, her relationship with him had been altered forever. She needed more time to adjust to the sudden change, more time to mourn the dream she’d clung to for so many years. More time to heal.

Hester gave her a sympathetic look. “Use your wiles to distract him. I’m sure all will work out as you wish.”

She didn’t even know what she wished for anymore, but remembering his words last night, she pressed her nails into her palms. Under no circumstances would she grovel. She lifted her chin. “Please inform him that I am not receiving.”

“That’s the spirit,” Hester said. “I shall return directly to report his reaction.”

Afterward, Julianne returned to the desk, determined to put him from her mind, but that was easier said than done. Memories of their waltz last evening kept invading her brain.

Stop
. She would not let thoughts of
him
distract her from writing the pamphlet. Why should she waste her time on a man who had kept her dangling for years?

The word
dangling
spurred an idea. All too often, gentlemen pretended interest, only to dash a poor lady’s hopes with nary a thought to the damage they’d done. The idea of letting those arrogant rogues continue to rule over the ladies infuriated her. She dipped her pen and started scribbling as fast as she could.

A gentleman of sense and education wants nothing more than to marry a gently bred young lady with a
pleasing countenance, soft voice, and deferential manners.

Poppycock.

At the risk of shocking my readers, I am compelled to reveal the truth. If you wish to secure a marriage proposal from the gentleman of your dreams, you must forget all of your mother’s well-intended advice.

I imagine many of you are gasping at such a scandalous idea, but I submit that we are looking at the matter from only a feminine point of view. In order to understand what a man wants, we must first examine his attitude toward marriage.

Do not misunderstand me. Bachelors know they are expected to wed in order to carry out their duty to their families. However, you will note that most are in no great hurry to renounce their bachelorhood. In fact, they are, by and large, determined to remain single as long as possible. Why?

They do not wish to give up their drinking, gaming, and wenching.

Do not despair. In the following chapters, I will reveal the secrets of becoming irresistible to even the most determined of bachelors.

A knock sounded at the door. When Julianne answered, a footman informed her that Lord Hawkfield requested her immediate presence in the Egyptian drawing room.

She sniffed. “Tell him I am occupied.”

After the servant departed, she padded back to the desk with a smug smile. Let him stew.

She read over her words and made several corrections when another knock sounded. In exasperation, she strode
over to the door to find the beleaguered footman holding out a silver tray with a note. Julianne retrieved the folded paper and read the message.

“A moment please,” she said to the footman. Then she returned to the desk and wrote her reply on Hawk’s note.

After instructing the footman to deliver her missive, she returned to the desk, but the latest edition of
La Belle Assemblée
tempted her. She perused the fashion plates, finding one especially lovely walking gown trimmed with pink ribbons.

The door flew open, startling her. Hester hurried inside, her eyes bright. “My nephew is in a
state
. I must say your reply was quite inventive, but now you must come.”

Julianne set the magazine aside and frowned. “I will not bow to his demands.”

“You mustn’t push him too far. He threatened to return you home if you do not cooperate.”

Hawk probably wanted to be rid of her so he could spend all of his time carousing and raking. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “Oh, very well.”

She followed Hester downstairs. Despite her earlier bravado, Julianne’s anxiety grew with each step she took. When they neared the drawing room, she turned a pleading look on Hester. “I do not wish to see him today. It’s too soon.”

“My nephew will bluster, but you’ve nothing to fear.”

She wasn’t afraid of Hawk. She was afraid of herself, because deep inside, a little corner of her heart still ached. But she vowed never to let him see he’d wounded her. Taking a deep breath, she walked with Hester into the drawing room.

Hawk turned away from his contemplation of the faux mummy and clasped his hands behind his back. Naturally the dogs leaped up, barking and wagging their tails. Hawk ordered them to sit and strode across the plush carpet. He wore a hunter-green riding coat and buff trousers that hugged his muscular legs like gloves.

Why was she admiring him when he’d humiliated her last evening? She lifted her chin and gave him a freezing look.

“Ah, now I perceive the reason for your reluctance to greet me,” he said.

She regarded him with suspicion. “I beg your pardon?”