How To Seduce A Wife

Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

“W e are going out, again?”

Louisa looked up at Nicholas who had appeared in her bedchamber just after her solitary dinner. She hadn’t seen him all day, had imagined him languishing in the arms of his mistress while complaining bitterly about his terribly unsophisticated wife.

“Indeed we are.” Nicholas inclined his head an inch and pointed to the box he had deposited on the bed. “And I’d like you to wear these clothes. Ask Polly to help you put them on. I’ll see you downstairs in half an hour.”

Louisa bit her lip. He didn’t exactly sound delighted to be asking for her company, but at least he wasn’t ignoring her. She sighed and walked over to the bed, lifted the lid of the dress box. “Whatever does he want me to wear? It looks like something from my mother’s wardrobe.”

She took out the old-fashioned gold satin overgown and held it up against her. Beneath the dress lay a brown lace underskirt, a single petticoat, a thin shift, a plain set of stays, and a matching brown bodice.

“Ooh, my lady. Whatever is this? Are you going to a masquerade ball?” Polly breathed close to Louisa’s ear. “It looks like the dress in that portrait in the hall the earl’s grandmother is wearing.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Louisa allowed Polly to help her out of her thin high-waisted muslin dress and remove all her clothing but her stockings and garters. She shivered and drew closer to the heat of the fire. “I’m sure there should be more petticoats and some kind of frame or bustle to hold the skirt out.”

Polly dropped the new shift over Louisa’s head. It was made of such fine lawn that it barely made a difference to her comfort or her modesty. “That’s true, my lady. Do you want me to go and find some more petticoats? Maybe the modiste forgot to put them in.”

Conscious that Nicholas had told her to wear only what was in the box, Louisa shook her head. “No, thank you, Polly. I’m sure I’ll be fine. I wouldn’t want all those layers anyway. I don’t know how our ancestors managed with all those heavy petticoats on.”

“Neither do I, my lady.” Polly laced Louisa into the long stays, tied the petticoat, and then pinned the bodice to it. Lastly Louisa stepped into the underskirt and pinned that to the bodice. “At least the gown has long sleeves and some lovely gold lace on it. That should keep you warm enough.”

Louisa shrugged into the overdress and waited while Polly settled it around her shoulders and drew it closed at her waist with two small hooks. She looked in the mirror and saw how well the brown underskirt contrasted with the gold and how the stays pushed her bosom up to overflow the bodice of the gown. She flattened her hands over her chest, but there was no place for her breasts to go other than outward.

“Do you think it is... quite decent?”

Polly giggled. “I’m sure his lordship will think so. Now let me fix your hair and find you a nice warm cloak and you’ll look perfect, my lady.”

* * *

A quarter of an hour later, Louisa scooped up the gold mask that Polly had discovered in the bottom of the dress box, gathered her cloak around her, and descended into the hall. Nicholas stood waiting for her; his long, flowing cloak concealed his clothing. He wore riding boots rather than his usual shoes.

He held out his hand. “Are you ready, my lady?”

“Yes, my lord.”

His smile was quite wicked as he escorted her through the door and into the carriage. “I’m glad to hear it. I hope this evening lives up to your expectations.”

“My expectations?” She studied him as he took the seat opposite her. “I wasn’t aware that I had any.”

“Of me, or of marriage?”

“That is hardly fair, sir.” She looked away and gathered her skirts more closely around her.

“True when the only confidantes you have on the subject are your mother and my sister.” He crossed his booted feet at the ankle. “And I should imagine their views on the subject of marriage don’t always agree.”

“That is true, my lord.” She tried to smile. “I have received a great deal of advice from them both, and all of it conflicting.”

“Did it ever occur to you to ask me?”

She finally looked at him. “Why would I do that?”

His smile was full of warmth. “Because, surely I am the person most involved with your future happiness and well-being.”

She licked her lips, aware that with Nicholas in such a confiding mood she had nothing to lose and perhaps much to gain. “I did ask you.”

He leaned back and studied her, his eyes narrow. “I suppose you did, in your own unique way, and I hope you will be pleased with my efforts to accommodate you.”

Louisa was about to ask for clarification when the carriage stopped moving and the door was opened to let the steps down.

“Put your mask on, Louisa,” Nicholas commanded.

By the time she was helped out of the carriage and up the wide steps of a large mansion, she was too intrigued to ask anything at all. Nicholas led her into a large, marbled hall where a footman stood stationed at the bottom of the stairs.

“Good evening, my lord, ma’am, and welcome. May I take your cloaks?”

“Good evening. You may take the lady’s cloak.”

Louisa shivered when Nicholas untied the ribbons of her cloak and handed it to the footman. Nicholas remained staring down at her, his gaze fixed on the swell of her bosom. She resisted the temptation to cover herself. He’d chosen the gown for her; he must have known the effect such tight lacing and the old-fashioned stays would have.

“You look very nice. Very... ravishable.”

“Thank you.” He took her hand and kissed the palm. “Where exactly are we?”

He led her toward the curving staircase. “We’re at the pleasure house, I thought you might enjoy it.”

Her fingers clenched on his sleeve. “A bawdy house?”

“No, a house of sexual pleasure for the rich.”

Louisa dug in her heels and stopped moving. “Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Not at all. There are no prostitutes here, only willing members of the upper classes who like a bit of variety in their sexual pleasures.”

“Oh.” At the gentle pressure of his fingers on her elbow, Louisa resumed walking, her mind in a whirl. Nicholas’s calm explanation about such a forbidden subject unnerved her. It was all very well to pretend that such sexual excess existed in her mind, but to actually find out they were available in real life? That was both deliciously decadent and surprisingly tempting.

At the top of the stairway a large portrait of a beautiful blond woman dominated the landing.

“Who is that?”

“That’s Madame Helene, the remarkable woman who founded the pleasure house.”

“She is very beautiful.” Louisa wondered if she sounded as wistful as she felt.

“She is not only beautiful, but intelligent as well.”

“You’ve been here before, then?”

“In my past, yes.”

“And why did you bring me here?”

He drew her close and tipped up her chin with his fingertip. “To allow your fantasies to come to life, why else?”

He kissed her hard, his tongue moving possessively into her mouth, his arm wrapped around her waist holding her close. When he drew back, she couldn’t help but look around to see if anyone had noticed their passionate embrace.

He nuzzled her ear. “My dear, this is a place to indulge your fantasies. No one will mind if I kiss you as much as I want to, or if you kiss me back.”

There was a challenge in his voice that fired her blood. “Then perhaps you might show me around.”

He looked down at her for a long moment. “If, at any time, you wish to leave, just tell me and we’ll go.”

“Having gone to all the trouble of bringing me here, you suddenly assume I won’t like it?”

“Not that you won’t like it, more that you will be shocked.”

She gathered her courage. “Mayhap it is time for me to be shocked.”

He kissed her fingers. “Then come with me, and don’t remove your mask.”

* * *

Nicholas led Louisa into the main salon on the first floor. He had no intention of taking her to the two floors above, where the more unusual and perverse sexual activities took place. He was certain the erotic antics being played out in the salon and the various viewing rooms attached to it would be enough to entertain Louisa—at least for tonight.

To the left of the double doors, two women and a man were sprawled naked on a couch. The man was busy suckling at one of the women’s breasts while he enthusiastically fucked the other woman. Nicholas felt Louisa stiffen and experienced a corresponding response in his cock. He bent his head and kissed Louisa’s throat, admired the way her breasts plumped up over the tight bodice.

“What is it, my dear?”

She turned to whisper in his ear. “That man is with two women.”

Nicholas stopped to admire the tableau. “So he is.”

Louisa shivered. “Everyone can see them.”

“Yes.” He took her hand and moved her farther into the room, where a set of chairs were laid out in a circle. In the center of the circle, two men were carefully undressing a woman. Her eyes were closed, but a small smile played over her mouth as the men attended to her. “Would you like to watch?”

Louisa didn’t reply, but he maneuvered her into a chair anyway and placed his arm around her shoulders. He waited until one of the men began to unlace the woman’s corset before dropping his fingers down to toy with the edge of Louisa’s bodice. When the man kissed the woman’s breasts, he slid his fingers lower and found Louisa’s nipple. He squeezed and teased it into a tight bud while she moved restlessly against him.

When the second man latched on to the woman’s other breast Louisa sighed, and Nicholas covered her mouth with his and continued to fondle her nipple. He was hard now and quite willing to pull up her skirts and have her. But he had much more to show her, so much more for her to enjoy with him. And that was what it was all about, wasn’t it? Not a quick poke, but a lifetime of erotic experiences to share with one woman—this woman.

He helped Louisa to her feet and took her over toward the buffet table, which was situated at the other end of the long room. He offered her a drink, and she shook her head, her gaze now avidly flitting around the room, her cheeks flushed, her teeth constantly biting into her lower lip. He wanted his teeth there, his mouth possessing hers, his cock between those rosy lips.

He tried to sound nonchalant. “Well, what do you think?”

She looked up at him, her brown eyes wide. “It is like something out of a dream.”

“You have dreams like this?”

She blushed. “Sometimes. Doesn’t everyone?”

“Indeed. You’ve dreamed of me, I hope.”

“Of course, my lord.”

“And what exactly do I do to you in these dreams?”

She met his gaze. “Everything.”

His cock jerked at the shy invitation in her eyes. “Trust me. I intend to offer you more than you have ever dreamed of.”

* * *