Free Rules of Passion by Sara Bennett - Greentree Sisters 02 - Rules of Passion Page A

that what you want? Have you truly understood what this decision will mean in five, ten, twenty years time?”
    The way Aphrodite put it did make the consequences of her decision sound daunting, but Marietta was not a coward. She had chosen her direction and would not turn back so easily—besides what were her alternatives? Allow Oliver to find some willing victim to wed her despite her ruined reputation? Live at Berkley Square as a spinster aunt for the remainder of her days? The choice of courtesan was exciting and a little frightening in comparison because it was so unconventional, but it was one she was eager to embrace.
    Of course, there was her family to consider and the effect upon them. Marietta was aware that people would call her selfish, and that there would be gossip, but she had thought long and hard on the matter and she did not see that the situation could be much worse than it already was—she was the ruined sister already. Her family might suffer privately from her actions, yes, but that did not mean the rest of the world needed to know. She would change her name, her identity—Marietta would vanish from sight and Madame Coeur would be born—that was the name she had chosen for herself. In time her family would accept her decision and see that it was right for her—Marietta truly believed that.
    “There would be compensations, surely?” she said at last.
    “Oh yes, there are compensations.” Aphrodite tapped her chin with one elegant finger. “May I suggest something to you, mon petit puce? Before you make up your mind irrevocably, I want you to have a…a, what do they call it, a trial! Not a trial in a court, I do not mean that. I want you to try out the life of a courtesan, and see if it is what you really want.”
    “But I know I—” Marietta began impatiently.
    “Yes, yes, you think you know. But the reality of living such a life is quite different to the imagining of it. And when I say to try it out, I am not saying you should wander about Aphrodite’s Club peeping into doorways. No, you should work with a flesh and blood man. Someone who is willing to take part in your game, but who knows it is a temporary affair, and that if you change your mind he has no power over you whatsoever.”
    Marietta trembled, feeling the excitement building inside her. “I won’t change my mind. It is what I want above all things.”
    “I almost believe you.”
    “ Almost …” Marietta felt frustrated. Why wouldn’t Aphrodite believe her? Why couldn’t she accept that Marietta was completely sincere in her desire?
    “No, no, listen to me, mon petit puce . If you do as I tell you, and if, once the game is over, you still want to pursue the life of a courtesan, then I promise I will help you. I will give my time and experience to you, completely!”
    “I don’t understand,” Marietta said carefully. “You want me to practice at being a courtesan but you also want me to have the option of changing my mind if I don’t like it? How can I do that? Once I haveburnt my bridges, then surely I can never go back to being Miss Marietta Greentree?”
    “No, you cannot. But I have an idea. You will choose one man upon whom to practice. You will play the courtesan with him, learning how to think and use your senses, and at the same time he will teach you what it is to feel desire and to mold that desire for your own purposes. So you will both gain something from your liaison, and neither will go away unhappy, whatever the final outcome.”
    “I don’t want to fall in love—” Marietta began uneasily.
    “I did not say that you would love him, mon petit puce . I said you would desire him. A courtesan must desire, she must learn to show the man she is with that she desires, make him feel as if he is everything to her, the best of lovers. You see?”
    “Yes, I see.” Marietta thought a moment, some of her excitement fading beneath a new apprehension. “But who would agree to such a thing? I don’t know