The Courtesan Duchess Read Online Free PDF Page B

How many alcoves and how many women were in his past? No doubt he’d trysted in buildings from Paris to Pisa. Still, she played her part. “An alcove? I hadn’t thought you so unoriginal.”
    She’d intended to offend him, but he merely winked at her. “Then I look forward to proving exactly how creative I can be.”
    After the opera the entire party traveled to a nearby coffeehouse. Simon escorted her between locations, but once there, Nick deftly maneuvered the seating in order to ensure the two of them sat together. Simon ended up at the other end of the table, next to Veronica, his companion at the opera.
    The after-theater crowd was lively and loud, and the smell of coffee permeated the open space. Julia ordered plain coffee, while Nick asked for caffè corretto, coffee with a shot of grappa.
    As she chatted with the mistress of a local painter, she could feel Nick’s eyes, intense and dark, watching her like his next meal. Every bit of her skin came alive, crawling and itching with awareness. Pearl Kelly had instructed Julia never to waste an opportunity to flaunt her charms, so since Nick was watching . . . She slid her fingers under the long double strand of pearls around her neck and toyed with them, dragging the smooth, creamy balls back and forth over her exposed bosom while she conversed.
    She felt Nick lean in, his mouth near her ear. “Oh, to be a pearl at this very moment.”
    Julia looked up at him through her lashes. “Indeed? I shouldn’t think you’d want to be anything so . . . small, Your Grace.”
    He flashed her a wicked smile, his voice a deep rumble. “I never said a word about being small.”
    Thankfully, their drinks arrived at that moment. Julia busied herself with adding cream and sugar to her coffee, grateful to have something to focus on other than her husband.
    After the group settled with their drinks, Nick turned to Julia. “Well, Mrs. Leighton, what did you think of Rossini’s work this evening?”
    “Exhilarating,” she answered, and all eyes turned her way. “A real maturation from his earlier pieces and the perfect essence of bel canto. The work is quite a rigorous test of his mezzo-soprano’s abilities, who must possess true vocal agility and endurance in order to carry out the part. I particularly enjoyed ‘Di tanti palpiti,’ although I believe the ending of the story needs work.”
    No one spoke. Somewhere, a spoon clattered against a saucer. Julia sipped her coffee, reveling in the surprise at her response. She’d never admit it, but she’d been arranging her thoughts since the curtain fell in the hopes of impressing the duke.
    “Needs work?” someone from down the table asked.
    Julia nodded. “It’s too dark. Rossini would be better served to have Tancredi learn of his lover’s innocence and return home in triumph. Don’t you agree, Your Grace?” She snuck a glance at Simon, who gave her an encouraging wink.
    “Yes.” Nick leaned back in his chair. “Though such a twist would hardly be consistent with Voltaire’s story on which it’s based.”
    “Since Voltaire is dead, one can hardly worry about his disapproval with taking liberties.” Julia grinned, unable to contain her enjoyment at the exchange.
    “Well, taking liberties is something Colton is certainly familiar with,” said the current British ambassador to Austria, Lord Lanceford, from across the table. The whole party laughed.
    “Indeed. After all, how else would one earn a nickname like the Depraved Duke?” Julia wondered aloud.
    “I’ve never taken liberties,” Nick murmured only for her. “They’ve always been offered freely.”
    “I believe it,” she replied. “I cannot see you ravishing innocent maidens.”
    “Innocent maidens bore me to tears. I much prefer to ravish saucy, red-headed women with blue eyes as clear as the Mediterranean.”
    “How . . . precise your tastes are, Your Grace.”
    “I know what I want, Mrs. Leighton. And I want you . Naked. Shuddering beneath