The Adventuress by TASHA ALEXANDER Read Free Book Online Page A

something more.”
    â€œSuffice it to say that I do not share all of the vices of my friends,” he said.
    â€œMeaning?” I raised an eyebrow and stared at him without blinking.
    â€œNothing that matters, Emily.” He looked away, turning toward the sea.
    â€œPretty young things sent to entertain the lot of you?”
    His body stiffened. “You should not discuss such things. It is unseemly.”
    â€œPerhaps, but it is also correct.”
    â€œYou may think whatever you like.” He tilted his hat back on his head.
    â€œAmity mentioned to me that her father had brought dancers down from Paris.”
    â€œHe told her that?” The umbrella swayed, but he steadied it at once.
    â€œPerish the thought. She overheard him speaking to Jeremy about it and she found it riotously amusing.”
    â€œShe did?” His dark eyes widened.
    â€œI am not certain she understands that such women are, on occasion, called upon to do more than dance.”
    â€œEmily!”
    â€œJust how naïve do you think I am?”
    â€œFar more naïve than you are, apparently. It was nothing like that, I assure you. They were strictly there to dance.”
    â€œYet you left?” I asked.
    â€œI assumed that staying on would have offended your delicate sensibilities. Had you seen the dancers in question, I am certain you would agree.”
    I sighed. “I am not so judgmental, you know. I have never objected to you—”
    â€œEmily!”
    â€œIt is just that Amity is so very … modern, I suppose one could say. She has made a concerted effort to persuade Jeremy that he will not have to abandon any of his bachelor ways after their wedding. I am half-convinced it is how she managed to catch him. I do hope you are not left regretting your own choice of wife. I never thought of myself as boring and conventional until now.”
    Colin laughed. “My dear, dear girl, you are anything but boring and conventional, and I must correct your mistakes. First, allowing one’s husband to occasionally be entertained by cabaret dancers is hardly modern. In Paris, wives accompany their husbands to the Moulin Rouge. I have just never found the experience particularly enticing.”
    â€œYou are quite certain?”
    â€œQuite. Second, neither you nor Miss Wells has any sort of understanding of what, exactly, bachelors do. I am sure you would both be rather disappointed should you ever find out. The halls of debauchery are not nearly so wild as you expect. Do you really believe that most gentlemen…” He sighed. “How is it that I am discussing this with my wife?”
    â€œHow is it that you would be discussing it with anyone else?” I gave him a quick kiss, noticing that a very slight hint of color had crept onto his handsome visage. “I shall stop mortifying you, however, and will accept your assertion that you do not view the married state as one requiring enormous sacrifice.”
    â€œQuite the opposite, I would say.” His eyes darkened with passion. “Perhaps we should retire—”
    â€œI do hope, my dear, that you meant ‘return,’ not ‘retire,’ and, if so, you are quite right. We ought to return to the subject at hand.” His countenance again colored ever so slightly as I spoke, and I could feel my own cheeks blushing in reply. I could not deny the appeal of retiring in the manner to which I knew he referred. “Jeremy left the casino early as well—although not so early as you. Do you know where he went?”
    â€œIt is of little consequence, Emily. The Prince of Wales has his yacht docked in Cannes. I should not be surprised if he joined the royal party.”
    â€œIn the middle of the night?” I asked. He looked away from me.
    â€œI know how close you are to Bainbridge, but you do not always understand him so well as you think.”
    â€œYou are wrong on that point. Jeremy makes a show of