When Seducing A Duke by Kathryn Smith

Author:Kathryn Smith [Smith, Kathryn]
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Historical
Publisher: Avon
Published: 2010-05-06T22:00:00+00:00

“Aren’t these sort of theatrical performances better suited for a house party?” Rose asked Eve as they entered Lord and Lady Battenfield’s drawing room, their arms linked.

“Yes, but rumor has it that Lord Battenfield is trying to woo Mrs. Terry with his knowledge of the theater.”

“Mrs. Terry the actress?” Rose looked around the drawing room. “Is she here?”

“Of course not. Her running off with Godwin while still married made her quite scandalous. Still, Lord Battenfield is hoping she’ll hear of his theatrical prowess and decide to succumb to him.”

Rose arched a brow at her friend’s choice of “succumb.” “I gather, then, that Mrs. Terry is no longer with Mr. Godwin?”

“Heaven’s no, but she is still married to Mr. Watts, the painter, although she left him years ago.”

Rose sighed dramatically. “I can’t keep it all straight. What does Lady Battenfield think of all of this?”

Eve giggled, and hugged Rose’s arm to her chest. “Supposedly she’s supported her husband’s endeavors with great gusto, convinced that he’ll publicly embarrass himself rather than win Mrs. Terry’s favor. Honestly, I think he’s a bit too drab for a woman as worldly as Mrs. Terry.”

Rose slanted her an arch look. “Hmm. Be careful my dear, someone might mistake all this talk of succumbing and worldliness for experience on your part.”

Her friend blushed and Rose had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She could tease Eve herself, but she would never dream of calling unwanted attention to her.

While Eve hadn’t given all the details—a fact for which Rose was grateful—she had imparted enough that Rose knew something of an intimate nature had happened between Eve and her mysterious gentleman. She hadn’t pressed because Eve seemed as surprised that it had happened as she was. Quite frankly, she’d been shocked by the news. She never would have thought Eve as the type to risk ruination with an affair. Of course, many would say the same about Rose herself. And they would be wrong.

“Let’s sit in the back,” Eve suggested as they moved toward the rows of chairs set up before a makeshift stage. “No one will hear us if we laugh.”

Rose chuckled now. “You are so bad.”

They stopped long enough to point out to their mothers where they were going to sit, and then left the older women in the company of Lady Battenfield, as she and Rose’s mother were old friends.

The drawing room soon filled up. Lady Battenfield must have invited a lot of friends to witness her husband’s acting debut—or perhaps his humiliation. Rose and Eve watched other guests as they filed in and took their respective seats.

Soon, Lady Battenfield asked that everyone be seated as the play was about to start. Then, the lights dimmed, leaving only the stage area at the front of the room light. The play began.

Lord Battenfield came out in something that resembled a toga and showed entirely too much of his corpulent form. “Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight’s entertainment will be a humble interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens.

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