The Secret to Seduction by Julie Anne Long Read Free Book Online Page A

dinner to soup stock to feathers for pillows.
    He looked up at Sabrina. “Did you know, Sabrina, that once upon a time Rhys was nearly penniless?”
    This seemed impossible, given the house they were now standing in. “Truly?”
    “Truly. Many years ago the Gillray family fortune was actually in great…disrepair.” It seemed a carefully chosen word. “But Rhys came into money when he was about eighteen years old. I never did know quite how it happened. And it seems he has managed to create . . .” Geoffrey paused. “Well, you can see what Rhys has done with it since.”
    “Is poetry as lucrative as that?” It was a bit of a jest.
    “One wonders.” Geoffrey wasn’t really listening, and clearly not in the mood to jest. He strolled over to the carved mantelpiece and absently traced a finger over it: leaves, grapes, acorns. “He bought a commission. Earned money that way. But no doubt investments also played a role.” He sounded faintly sardonic. As though he’d little faith in the fiscal rewards of poetry.
    “What was he like when he was young?” Sabrina was surprised that she truly wanted to know. “Did he show any signs of becoming…well . . .” She blushed. “The Libertine?”
    The young curate immediately stopped his restless perusal of the room and swiveled his gaze to Sabrina with an intensity that reminded her rather suddenly of his cousin.
    “Sabrina…how much do you know about his poetry?”
    Good heavens, but Geoffrey sounded awfully interested. His dark eyes were alert.
    “Not very much,” she said hurriedly. “It’s . . .” She cleared her throat. “Prurient, I believe. That’s all I know.”
    “Salacious, in fact,” Geoffrey agreed, with what sounded surprisingly like a certain amount of relish. He still looked rather…bright-eyed. He was gazing at her with an expression she was having difficulty deciphering.
    “Have you read it?” she ventured, since he didn’t seem inclined to say anything.
    “Some,” he admitted. He hadn’t blinked in nearly a minute.
    She quickly decided to change the subject.
    “Is he a generous man, the earl, despite his reputation?”
    Geoffrey came a few steps closer. “I truly don’t know what kind of man he has become, Sabrina. I haven’t spoken to my cousin in years. I can only hope he will find it in his heart to support a missionary enterprise as well as…opera singers and painters and actresses and…that fellow with the cello and his great redheaded paramour who departed this morning.” There was a whiff of judgment about his words.
    Paramour. Goodness, Geoffrey was a curate, but he’d used that word nearly as easily as the earl had used the word “seduction.”
    “When we arrived yesterday, I believe he was arguing with Signora Sophia Licari,” Sabrina said in a lowered voice, as though confiding a scandal. Since Geoffrey shared her even temperament, he would probably appreciate the story. “They seemed to be having a rather serious conversation outside in the courtyard, anyhow.”
    “Signora Sophia Licari? The opera singer?” Geoffrey sounded amazed. And truthfully, just a little amused as well, which was a bit puzzling. “Is she here?”
    “She is. Geoffrey, do you know whether she is truly his mistress? I heard she was his mistress. I heard that he lived with his mistress.”
    Geoffrey froze. “Where on earth would you hear such a thing, Sabrina?”
    “Mary,” she confessed.
    Geoffrey’s entire attention was focused upon her now, his eyes strangely assessing. He took a few slow steps closer still. She’d in fact never stood quite so close to him before.
    “Sabrina, if you would permit me a liberty . . .” His voice had become low and urgent.
    She frowned a little, confused. “It’s not a liberty, Geoffrey, if you beg permission.”
    His hand rose, and he placed it on her arm. Her first reaction was puzzlement; she looked at his hand resting on her arm with a faint furrow of her brow, as if wondering how such a thing