To Pleasure a Lady

Chapter Three

The new earl is possibly mad as well as vexing!

– Arabella to Fanny

Her speechlessness lasted a dozen heartbeats. “Have you gone mad?” Arabella said finally, her tone wary.

Wry amusement flickered in his eyes. “I assure you I am quite sane,” his lordship replied. “I am simply paying my addresses to you.”

She started to laugh; she couldn’t help it. Here she was, still weak-kneed from the earl’s wicked assault on her senses, and now he was deliberately making her head spin with his astounding offer of marriage.

“You wound me, darling,” Lord Danvers drawled. “I admit my proposal is unexpected, but I assure you, it is no laughing matter.”

Her mirth fading, Arabella raised a hand to her temple. “I cannot believe you are the least bit serious. Lady Freemantle told me you were a confirmed bachelor.”

“I was-until two minutes ago. But kissing you had a startling effect on my judgment. It made me realize that I want you for my countess.”

She stared at him in bewilderment. “How can one kiss possibly lead you to that conclusion?”

The earl shrugged his powerful shoulders. “It wasn’t merely the kiss. There are several reasons you would make a good choice of brides for me. But chiefly…I must marry at some point, and you are the first woman who has ever interested me enough to make me contemplate taking the leap.”

“But you know almost nothing about me.”

“I know enough to think we might be well-matched. Certainly neither of us would ever be bored.”

Still stunned, Arabella regarded him for another long moment. “Did you not hear a word I told you in London about my aversion to matrimony?”

“I heard quite clearly. But I intend to persuade you to reconsider.”

His confidence took her aback. “You could never persuade me, my lord.”

“No?” A smile played across his lips. “You obviously do not know me very well, Arabella.”

Now he was beginning to exasperate her. “Indeed, I don’t-and I have no desire to further the acquaintance, either. Certainly not as your wife.”

“Perhaps you haven’t considered the advantages to you.”

“Advantages?” she echoed.

“As my countess you will lack for nothing.”

“Except the freedom to control my own life. As my husband you would have even greater power over me than you do now as my guardian. By law you would be my ‘lord and master,’ and I would legally be your possession. I don’t want any man ruling me like that.”

Lord Danvers grimaced. “I have no desire to rule you, love. I am merely interested in a marriage of convenience.”

That struck a painful nerve in Arabella. She had always vowed she would never have a convenient marriage like her parents’ bitter union. That she would never marry for any reason but love. “Well, you may be willing to abide such an arrangement, my lord, but it has no appeal whatsoever for me,” she declared. “My parents married for convenience, and they made each other utterly miserable.”

“We needn’t have that sort of union,” he said patiently.

“We needn’t have any sort of union at all!”

At her ardent exclamation, Danvers eyed her thoughtfully. “I would of course make you a large marriage settlement and provide generously for your sisters. I should think you would be grateful that you needn’t earn your livings any longer, teaching at your academy.”

Arabella took a slow breath, striving for calm. “You obviously don’t understand. We don’t wish to give up teaching. Our employment is not only enjoyable but highly rewarding, besides allowing us the independence to do exactly as we wish.”

At her answer, he took yet another tack. “Marriage to me will go a long way toward restoring your reputation in society.”

Arabella raised her chin at the reminder of her tarnished social standing. “What of it? I have long since resigned myself to being a byword with the ton. There is a blissful measure of freedom that comes with not having to maintain a spotless character. And as long as we maintain standards of behavior acceptable to our pupils’ parents, we needn’t concern ourselves with anyone else’s opinion.”

The earl studied her for a long moment before saying easily, “You might think of your sisters. Don’t they deserve a chance to lead the normal life of young ladies of quality?”

His perfectly reasonable question made Arabella feel uncomfortable and a bit guilty, knowing she was rejecting the opportunity to help her sisters. But then she adamantly shook her head. “I am thinking of them. Roslyn and Lily feel as I do about matrimony and men. They are just as determined to control their own futures as I am.”

He gave her a sympathetic look. “I understand why you hate men. Your betrothed unceremoniously abandoned you once he learned of the scandal your family was facing.”

It shouldn’t hurt to have that humiliating memory rubbed in her face, since it had occurred four years ago. She was over the despair and heartache by now. But she couldn’t forget the painful experience or the harsh lesson she had learned then.

She had foolishly believed she was making a love match. Indeed, she’d only accepted the viscount’s proposal because their mutual feelings had blossomed into love. But her joy at falling in love with a man who vowed he loved her had been abruptly crushed by his very public betrayal. Never again would she make that mistake.

“I do not hate men,” Arabella insisted. “I simply have no need for a husband.”

“You don’t want children?”

The question caught her unawares, and Arabella couldn’t repress the stab of regret that went through her. Being unable to have children was an immense drawback to never marrying. The only one, she had come to believe.

“Not enough to suffer a husband,” she answered at length.

“I want children eventually,” Lord Danvers admitted. “It is my obligation to carry on my family name and titles. But that requires I first have a wife.”

“So, you want a broodmare to give you heirs?” Arabella asked archly. “I suspected as much.”

“No,” he said in exasperation. “I want a companion and helpmate as well.”

She found it hard to believe that a rakish nobleman like Lord Danvers was seeking a life companion, but she managed to bite her tongue before calling his veracity into question. Instead, Arabella made herself smile pleasantly. “The polite response in these cases is to express appreciation, so I will thank you for your generous offer, my lord. But I must decline.”

“I intend to change your mind.”

Her spine stiffened a little at his provoking declaration. When he offered her a charming smile of his own, she felt a responsive flutter in her stomach that she quickly tried to quell.

“I do not see how I can state my position more clearly, Lord Danvers. I won’t marry you for all the spices in India. Is that articulate enough for you to understand?”

He raised an amused eyebrow. “Do you know how many women would be elated to receive an offer of marriage from me?”

“Then apply to any of them. Doubtless they will be deliriously happy to accept. I would not.”

Her retort brought a genuine grin to his lips. “I don’t want any other woman. I have chosen you, Arabella, and I mean to have you.”

Her mouth dropped open. The infernal arrogance of the man!

No longer desiring to continue this impossible conversation, Arabella whirled and headed across the meadow to retrieve her grazing horse.

The earl’s next words, however, made her halt in her tracks. “I could make you deliriously happy, Arabella. You would enjoy our marriage bed, I have no doubt.”

Unsure whether to be offended or amused by his bold declaration, she turned back to face him. “Rather boastful of you, is it not, my lord?”

“It is no boast. You would relish being my lover, I would make certain of it. But the only honorable way for us to be lovers is through marriage.”

She was too exasperated to reply-which was likely his intention; he was attempting to keep her off balance by throwing such brazen statements at her.

Her silence made him smile again. “I admit I am intensely attracted to you,” he continued, “and you felt it too when we kissed, don’t deny it. You were quivering with desire for me.”

Color stained Arabella’s cheeks. She had quivered in his arms…although she certainly would never admit it to him.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she replied. “It was simply shock at your assault. I could not believe you would act like such a brute. I assure you, I am not attracted to you in the least.”

He took a step closer. “Shall I prove it to you?”

“If you dare try, I swear I will box your ears!”

His blue eyes danced with restrained amusement as he reached up to rub his injured jaw. A faint bruise discolored the spot where she had struck him, Arabella noticed. She was ashamed for a moment, until she recalled what had precipitated her struggle-how the earl had hauled her from her horse unceremoniously and refused to release her even after kissing her witless. Or perhaps she had reacted with such desperation precisely because he had kissed her witless.

He did not seem intimidated by her threat now, however. “If you were aiming for my ear, love, I take leave to tell you, you missed by a few inches.”

He was deliberately provoking her, she knew very well. And his tactics were working. Arabella curled her hands into fists, barely refraining from marching up to him and taking another swing at his handsome face. “You are without a doubt the most infuriating man I have ever met, Lord Danvers.”

“Perhaps, but only because I haven’t properly exerted myself to please you. You wouldn’t be able to resist me if I seriously tried to woo you.”

Her mouth fell open. “Of course I would be able to resist you!”

“Would you care to wager on that?”

At his dulcet tone, Arabella suddenly felt wary again. “What do you mean, wager?”

“How important is your independence to you?”

“I beg your pardon?” Her head was beginning to spin once more from Lord Danvers’s unexpected offensive.

“What are you willing to do for emancipation from my guardianship?”

A great deal, was her immediate thought. “Why?”

“I cannot renounce my responsibility for you, but I can have my solicitor draw up a legal document granting you complete control over your own affairs. For you and your sisters.”

“To what end?”

“To provide me a legitimate opportunity to court you.”

“To court me? Why the devil would you want to court me? I already told you I won’t marry you under any circumstances.”

“I want the chance to change your mind. If I cannot persuade you to accept me for your husband in say, a month, I will give all three of you your freedom and make you legally and financially independent of my guardianship. Close your mouth, sweeting,” the earl added when she stood there staring at him. “You are much too lovely to be gaping like a landed fish.”

Arabella complied, even though she felt completely out of her depth. “Let me see if I understand your wager, my lord. You will give us our freedom if I can resist your ‘persuasion’?”

“Precisely.”

“You have an astounding faith in your powers of seduction.”

His mouth curved. “You could put it that way. In exchange, you must allow me to woo you properly. And if you cannot resist me-if I can make you admit you want me for your husband-then you will have to marry me.”

The arrogance of the man, thinking he could seduce her into accepting his offer of marriage! He wouldn’t be able to…surely.

When she hesitated, Lord Danvers shook his head sadly. “I never expected you to turn craven. You’re afraid I will win the wager.”

He was purposely goading her again, she realized. “I am not afraid!” Arabella insisted. At least not much. She might be susceptible to his stunning kisses, but there was little risk she would ever want him for her husband, for she planned never to marry. “You won’t win, my lord.”

“Then you should have no trouble agreeing. After all, I am offering you the chance to gain exactly what you say you want most. Your independence.”

“Very well, I will take your blasted wager!”

The glimmer in his eyes indicated his satisfaction and pleasure, which made Arabella almost regret her capitulation. She had let him provoke her into accepting his challenge, despite the danger of her fierce attraction to him.

And yet the stakes were irresistible: Not only could she ensure financial security for her sisters, but they could be rid of the earl’s unwanted guardianship for good. He would no longer be a threat to their independence. He would have no right to try to marry them off, or to force them to give up their positions at the academy.

No, truthfully, Arabella reflected, she was utterly delighted for the opportunity to win their freedom.

An entire month was out of the question, however. She was not that confident she could resist the earl’s determined seduction for so long-not that she would ever admit her doubts to him.

“However,” Arabella qualified, “the duration of the wager must be shorter. Two weeks, no more. I couldn’t endure your impossible arrogance any longer.”

Lord Danvers hesitated the briefest instant before saying, “Done. You drive a hard bargain, sweetheart.”

“I must be utterly mad,” Arabella muttered.

“No more so than I,” he said amiably. “As long as we are discussing terms, I must insist on a sporting chance to win. You will agree to spend time in my company regularly, no less than four hours each day. And it must be at a time of my choosing.”

Arabella frowned. “It cannot interfere with my teaching duties.”

“Fair enough. I will order my bags packed for an extended visit and brought to Danvers Hall from London.”

It unsettled Arabella to realize Lord Danvers intended to stay at the estate for a fortnight or longer, even though his ownership gave him every right. She quickly shook her head. “You cannot remain at the Hall when I am unchaperoned. You are no blood relation, even if you are our guardian.”

“You should have thought of that,” he replied wryly, “before you sent your sisters into hiding.”

She eyed him with exasperation. “If you insist on living there, I will take refuge with Lady Freemantle.”

The earl raised a black eyebrow. “Is that where you’ve concealed your sisters?” When she declined to answer, he shrugged. “We will have an army of servants to play duenna. My staying there might offend the highest sticklers, but it shouldn’t put your reputation at any real risk.”

“True,” she said, striving to repress the edge of bitterness in her voice. Her reputation was already tainted beyond redemption because of her parents’ scandals, so it was pointless to question the propriety of her new guardian living in the same manor house with only a servant staff for chaperones. Besides, if she never planned to marry, it wouldn’t matter if her reputation was not entirely spotless, although she couldn’t afford a genuine scandal. She had her academy to think of, after all.

Yet she had no doubt her pupils’ parents would be awed at her claiming such an illustrious connection as the Earl of Danvers. They wouldn’t look too closely at his living arrangements. Nor were the lower classes nearly as judgmental as the gentry, who considered themselves strict arbiters of society.

“You could always bring your sisters home,” his lordship suggested in prodding tones.

The notion had already occurred to Arabella. Her sisters’ presence would offer her more protection from the devilish earl-but then who would protect her sisters from his machinations?

“I am not that desperate,” she said sweetly.

He studied her thoughtfully. “Perhaps it’s good that your sisters are away. It will allow us more opportunity to be alone together for our courtship.”

The thought discomfited her for a moment, but then Arabella squared her shoulders. She ought to be able to handle Lord Danvers for two weeks. She had every intention of winning his blasted wager.

He must have read the determination in her eyes, for he smiled. “I suspect our wager will prove enjoyable to us both.”

To you perhaps, Arabella thought in vexation. No doubt it would be a diverting game for him, trying to make her desire him for a husband.

But perhaps she could play his game, as well…

She was contemplating that intriguing possibility when the earl suddenly changed tacks again. “Come here, Arabella,” he murmured, his voice beguiling.

Instinctively, she resisted. “Why?”

“Because I intend to claim another kiss to seal our pact.” When she stood stock-still, he prodded gently, “You agreed to let me woo you, remember?”

“I did not agree to let you kiss me.”

“But kissing is part of wooing.”

“Your sort of kisses are not! No proper suitor kisses the way you do.”

The laughter lurking in his eyes was irresistible. “I don’t mean to assault you again, I promise. I had in mind something much more pleasurable.” His voice was warm, teasing, more seductive than it had any right to be. “Come now, a simple kiss, nothing more. I won’t even embrace you. You have my word.”

But still Arabella hesitated. He had the most sensual, unsettling gaze of any man she had ever met, and it was supremely dangerous to go anywhere near him. “How can I trust you won’t take advantage of me?”

“If I try, I give you leave to darken my daylights.”

“I will, you may be certain of it.”

“I consider myself duly warned. Now, stop being so missish. It’s entirely beneath you.”

His lazy, provocative grin made Arabella’s pulse quicken alarmingly. She couldn’t believe she had let herself be lured into this perilous situation. How was she supposed to resist so charming a rogue?

“Arabella…” he said leadingly.

She forced her feet to move until she stood a few steps from him. His eyes were locked on hers; she couldn’t think.

When she paused, he closed the distance between them, until they were almost touching. Arabella held herself rigid, caught between dread and anticipation. She couldn’t forget the way his muscular chest had felt pressed against her breasts, the strong arms that had crushed her to him, the firm, sensual lips that had taken hers with such fiery heat.

But he merely reached down to capture her hand and bring it to his bruised jaw. His fingers encircled her wrist loosely-and there he stopped.

“Have you ever really been kissed before now, Arabella?”

She blinked at the unexpected question. “Of course I have been kissed. I was betrothed, remember?”

“I’ll wager it was a tame sort of peck.”

“What does that matter?”

“It matters greatly, if you have nothing to judge by. Your expectations must be severely depressed.”

Arabella sucked in a breath; his fingertips had found the bare skin above her glove.

“It’s a pity, really.”

“What is a pity?” she said absently. She was staring at his lips now, disconcerted by their nearness.

“That you’re a virginal innocent, with no experience in passion or physical pleasure.”

Her cheeks flooded with color. “Of course I am virginal. I am a lady, despite our family scandal. We are not our mother’s daughters.” This time she couldn’t hide her bitterness.

His blue gaze softened. “If you knew the pleasures in store for you, you wouldn’t be so quick to swear off men. You have no notion what you are missing.”

“And I suppose you are offering to show me?”

“Actually, I am.”

“I don’t wish you to show me a thing, Lord Danvers. I only want you to kiss me and be done with it. Would you please just get it over?”

“Very well.”

He bent his head slowly. Arabella froze, bracing herself for the onslaught. She refused to run this time like a coward. It was supposed to be a simple kiss after all…

The trouble was, there was nothing simple about his kiss whatsoever. The caress was a mere brush of lips, true, but his mouth was warm and inviting, and the delicious pressure sent her senses reeling with blazing heat again, made her body shiver with desire. Just like before, when he had left her weak and breathless and helplessly aroused.

Magic, that’s what it was. He was working some sort of fiery spell over her.

She was inexplicably disappointed when he lifted his head after the briefest of moments. He was staring at her once more, Arabella saw, feeling dazed.

She raised her fingers to her burning lips as she stared back at him. A flame had kindled in the depths of his blue eyes…the same sort of flame that he had ignited deep inside her.

“So it wasn’t an aberration at all,” he murmured, his voice low and husky.

Arabella tried to gather her wits. “What was not an aberration?”

“Never mind.” Satisfaction gleamed in his eyes as he stepped back. “Now, are you ready to return home?”

She shook herself from her daze. “Not yet. I concluded a class at the academy this afternoon and intended to call on Lady Freemantle to make my report. She likes to be kept abreast of every detail.”

“I will accompany you there.”

“That won’t be necessary. Her ladyship’s estate is just over the next hill.”

He glanced in the direction Arabella indicated. “Then I will send a groom to escort you home when you are through. I don’t like the thought of you riding about the countryside alone.”

Arabella’s expression turned ironic. “I have been doing so for years, Lord Danvers. This is not London. Ours is a completely tame neighborhood, with little wickedness or crime.”

“Still, you should have a groom with you. I’m surprised your former guardian was so neglectful.”

Arabella felt herself stiffening. “Paupers cannot afford grooms, my lord.”

“Your step-uncle could have afforded to supply a male servant for your protection.”

Her smile was humorless. “Our step-uncle did not consider us worth the expense.”

Lord Danvers contemplated her expression. “Stings your pride to be that dependent, does it?”

“Of course it stings.”

“I can imagine.”

That made Arabella’s lips quirk with true amusement. “I sincerely doubt it. Very likely you have never been dependent on anyone or anything in your life.”

He inclined his head, acknowledging the truth of her supposition. “Not since I was out of short coats at least. But in the future, when you are not in my company, I would be obliged if you would take one of my grooms with you.”

She cocked her head. “Why should I wish to oblige you?”

“Because I care for your welfare, sweeting.”

His easy answer gave her pause. It was the first time in years that any man had cared for her welfare. Their step-uncle certainly had not.

“I will consider it,” she conceded.

He grinned at her. “Not willing to surrender an inch, are you?”

“No, my lord,” Arabella said sweetly.

“My name is Marcus. If I’m to be your suitor, you should call me by my given name.” He raised his hand to her mouth and brushed his thumb lightly over her lower lip. “I will expect you home in time to dine with me this evening. You promised me four hours of your company each day, remember?”

“I remember,” she managed to reply, her voice uneven.

Returning to his horse, he gathered the reins and mounted, then sat looking down at her. “Oh, and Arabella, the next time you run from me, you had best choose a swifter horse, for I won’t let you off so easily when I catch you.”

With that he wheeled his horse and rode away, leaving her to gape after him, her fingers held to her tingling lips.