The Affair by Lily Maxton

Author:Lily Maxton [Maxton, Lily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Romance, opposite side of the tracks, scandalous, bookseller, entangled publishing, Romance, widowed heroine, London, Regency romance, rake hero, 1800s
Amazon: B00J6TUZ9C
Goodreads: 21531373
Publisher: Entangled: Scandalous
Published: 2014-04-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Cale came down the staircase as leisurely as he was confident—a king intent on surveying his domain. Elizabeth had no doubt that in this metaphor she was his domain. As he greeted the guests who’d arrived before her, she turned away to compose herself, suddenly feeling a riot of nervous energy. And was confronted with a full-scale nude statue of Venus that stood proudly at the base of the stairs.

Why wasn’t she surprised?

“I see you’ve noticed my Venus,” Cale said wickedly, arms folded over his chest.

The other guests had made their way to the drawing room. She glanced at him with an arched brow, endeavoring to appear as self-assured as he. “It’s difficult not to notice. A bit gaudy, don’t you think?”

“I have an appreciation for the feminine form,” he responded.

She cast another surreptitious look at Venus with her full, rounded breasts, flat stomach, and gently curved thighs. “A rather idealized feminine form.”

His hand rested on the small of her back, and he leaned close to her. When he spoke, his breath tickled her ear. “Don’t fret, Elizabeth. I prefer flaws to perfection.”

She couldn’t find an answering quip to that, so she remained silent.

As he led her into the drawing room, he asked, “What did you tell your family?”

She didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “I didn’t,” she replied, feeling a brief stab of guilt over her lie by omission. “I pleaded a headache and waited until they left for the evening’s engagements before slipping out.”

He sent her a neutral glance, but didn’t have a chance to reply, as they’d joined the others.

He introduced her as Mrs. Grey, a distant relation. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing when she heard that, and she doubted the other guests were convinced. Cale wasn’t exerting much of an effort to seem disinterested. He rarely left her side.

As she spoke with the Stapletons and the guests who arrived later, she took in the details of his drawing room. It contained elegant rosewood furniture, gleaming floors covered in lush rugs, and yellow wallpaper with a subtle Oriental motif. He either had remarkably good taste or he’d hired someone to help him decorate his house in a way fit for a nobleman.

But he wasn’t a nobleman. He wasn’t even a gentleman. A fact that was made abundantly clear when she met Julia Forsythe. The name sounded familiar, but Elizabeth was quite sure she’d never been introduced to the woman. She would have remembered her appearance—pale skin contrasting with dark hair, eyes a deep blue that looked nearly violet, and a gown with a scandalously low-cut bodice.

“Miss Forsythe is in the process of writing a biographical account,” Cale said. “Naturally, all the names will remain anonymous.”

Elizabeth was still puzzling over what that meant when Miss Forsythe, her ample bosom heaving with excitement, said, “I just thought of a perfect title yesterday. Confessions of a Courtesan. What do you think of it?” She beamed at them, her exotic beauty nearly blinding Elizabeth.

“Splendid,” Cale said with an approving smile.

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