Free In The Prince's Bed by Sabrina Jeffries

didn’t abandon you after all.”
    “Actually, he’d already asked me to dance the last with him so he could take me in to supper. And Sydneyis nothing if not conscious of his obligations.”
    “All except one.” Alec slanted her a glance. “Would it matter so much if he didn’t come up to snuff? If you ask me, you don’t seem to suit.”
    “Why, because he won’t kiss me? That will change once we’re married.”
    Alec slowed his pace. “In my experience, marriage doesn’t change a man. It merely throws his bad qualities into high relief.”
    “Really?” she said tartly. “So you’ve been married, have you?”
    A reluctant smile touched his lips. “No. But I watched my father, who was not very… affectionate. His example has stayed with me.”
    “As my father’s has with me. Believe me, indiscriminate affection can be every bit as damaging as none at all.”
    “So you’ve decided on a man who will give you the latter.”
    “I’ve decided on a man who can be my friend. Friendship will last long after the other is gone.”
    “Sounds dull to me,” he retorted.
    Sydney and Mama had spotted them, and Mama was waving in a most unladylike manner. Katherine winced. “That’s because you’re the one engaging in the wild revelries, not the one dealing with the aftermath. You’re not the one living amidst the jealous rages and embarrassing village gossip about Squire Merivale’s latest indiscretions. It’s a good thing you never did marry. At least you’ve spared some hapless woman such a life.”
    Without warning, he tugged her out of sight behind a pillar and turned her to face him, his eyes glittering.
    “Let’s settle one thing. No matter what you’ve heard about me, I did not spend my time abroad lurching from woman to woman in reckless abandon.”
    “Then how did you spend it?”
    A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Keeping busy, that’s all. There’s plenty to do abroad when a man has all the time in the world to do it.”
    She snorted. “Oh yes, I’m sure you enjoy touring cathedrals and museums.”
    For a moment, he seemed at a loss for words. Then he sighed. “Actually, I spent much of it on horseback.” He shot her an enigmatic glance. “Tell me, Katherine, do you ride?”

Chapter Six
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    The same methods for seducing women
    often work equally well for allaying the
    suspicions of overprotective mamas—
    flattery, gifts, and those little courtesies
    ladies so love.

    —Anonymous, A Rake’s Rhetorick

    The next afternoon, Katherine sat at the desk in the tiny study of their rented town house dressed in her best violet riding habit. She’d just finished writing this morning’s letters toCornwall. What an exercise in futility that was. The one to the butcher offering him a prize spring lamb from Merivale Manor’s new birthings to pay off their debt was offset by one to the tailor authorizing a new gown for her sprouting sister Bridget. The girl’s gowns had grown so indecently short that the rector had actually complained to the Merivale housekeeper, who also served as their nanny, governess, and nursemaid. Thank goodness for old family servants, or she and Mama could never have made this trip, which was supposed to end with her officially betrothed toSydneyand finally in possession of her fortune. Would that ever happen?
    A glance at the clock made her sigh. Half an hour until she left to go riding with Alec instead of going to Sydney’s poetry reading as she should. Oh, what had possessed her to agree to that last night? Pure annoyance, that’s what.Sydneyhad behaved abominably to her at the ball supper. If he’d even once mentioned the reading to her while he sulked on the journey home, she would have bowed out of her agreement to ride with Alec.
    But no, he’d been too angry at her for consorting with his schoolboy nemesis to say a word about when or if he’d pick her up. And Alec was no help at