Too Scandalous to Wed Read Online Free PDF

woman be the famous Madam Jacqueline? ”
    Henrietta did not confirm the woman’s astute observation, for she felt that rather rude. Instead she said, “I need your help, Madam Jacqueline.”
    “Yes, you mentioned that in your letter. Do go on.”
    Henrietta blushed.
    Oh, out with it, silly . It’s why you’re here!
    But every word was strangled as Henrietta tried to make her desire clear. Just how did one go about asking for such intimate help?
    “Well, you see, I need to learn how to…”
    “Seduce a man?” said Madam Jacqueline.
    “Yes!”
    Henrietta sighed. With Madam Jacqueline’s talent for observation, Henrietta might not have to voice her bashful thoughts too often. A boon she was most happy about.
    The woman cocked her head, a brilliant emerald at her bust flashing in the firelight. “Miss Ashby, do you know what I am?”
    Henrietta nodded sagely, thinking, It’s why I’ve come to see you!
    “And what am I?” said the woman.
    “Well, you’re…a…”
    Henrietta pondered her answer. Was “courtesan” the proper word? Or would the woman be offended by the term? Henrietta couldn’t imagine so, but still, she really needed Madam Jacqueline’s help, and she didn’t want to say anything that might upset—
    “I am a philosopher, Miss Ashby.”
    Henrietta blinked. “Pardon?”
    “A philosopher,” she said again. “Men of great wealth and power visit me to ask my advice. I inspire men, Miss Ashby, where their wives have failed.”
    “Oh,” said Henrietta. She hadn’t considered Madam Jacqueline in that kind of light.
    “And who do you wish to inspire, Miss Ashby?”
    Henrietta’s heart throbbed at the thought of him. “Sebastian.”
    “And how do you intend to inspire Sebastian?”
    “Well, I’m not really sure,” she admitted dolefully. “Hmm.” The older woman cast her a critical eye. “Do you intend to bat your pretty lashes at him until they fall off?”
    Affronted, Henrietta said, “No.” Then belatedly realized she had been doing that a lot of late.
    Madam Jacqueline’s eerie ability to read faces quickly picked up on the fib. “You will never win his heart like that, Miss Ashby.”
    All the years of frustration and anguish bubbled to the tip of her tongue, and Henrietta let out a desperate plea, “Then how will I win his heart?”
    “You must be his friend and his lover.”
    Drat! She didn’t understand the first thing about being a good lover. She couldn’t even get Sebastian to kiss her! And friendship? After eight years the man still treated her like a child. How would they ever become friends?
    Crestfallen, Henrietta slumped her shoulders forward, whispering, “I don’t know how to be either.”
    “There are ways to learn.”
    Henrietta’s eyes brightened. “Does this mean you’ll help me?”
    The woman perused her for a thoughtful moment. “I will.”
    Her heart filled with hope. “Oh, thank you, Madam Jacqueline!”
    Madam Jacqueline reached for a leather-bound book on the small round table next to the divan. Sheopened the tome to a random page and set it before Henrietta. “To begin, tell me about the couple in the picture.”
    Henrietta leaned forward for a better view, balked, then slammed the book closed.
    Good Lord, did lovers actually do that ?
    Madam Jacqueline quirked a painted brow. “You will start by going through the entire book, Miss Ashby. You will stare at every page, and stare and stare again, until you can look at the pictures without blushing…until you want to engage in those very acts with Sebastian.”
    Henrietta’s heart thumped terribly loud. She didn’t know if she could do such a thing!
    But one look at Madam Jacqueline’s wise and charismatic gaze, and she understood she didn’t have a choice. If she wanted to seduce Sebastian, she had to learn to be both his friend and his lover.
    “Yes, Madam Jacqueline, I’ll do as you say. And I’ll pay you for your teaching.”
    If I survive the lessons . Heavens, what a