SoundsofLove (5 page)

As soon as he entered the room behind Cathryn, he caught
sight of himself in a looking glass. His cravat was flat, and his hair more
tousled than even he normally wore it. He dragged his hand through the worst of
it as he listened to Cathryn’s introduction.

“Mrs. Pickering, may I present Lord Ahlquist, Earl of
Trenchford.”

A pretty redhead in a lavender gown rose from a side chair.
Her face lit up when she saw them. “Lord Ahlquist, what a pleasure.”

He’d expected an older woman, but she was Sibley’s age and
of a similar build. He wondered briefly if she was unattached, as he had
friends who favored redheads.

“My lord,” Cathryn continued, “Mrs. Violet Pickering, my
late husband’s sister, and a wordsmith in her own right.”

Julian advanced to bow over Violet’s hand. “My pleasure,
Mrs. Pickering. What do you study?”

“Lady Sibley exaggerates, my lord.”

Cathryn led him around to the settee in front of the fire as
Violet settled into a nearby chair. “Mrs. Pickering creates word puzzles. They
are most ingenious.”

He chose the settee and gave Cathryn a look of invitation. “I
should like to see them sometime. Any pastime that keeps the brain active is
good for society.”

Violet emitted a loud squeal. “Cat—he’s just quoted you!”

The noise startled Julian, but his curiosity was piqued as
he glanced between the two women. Cathryn was looking at him in a most
disconcerting fashion, as if she were seeing him for the first time. He wished
the other woman gone.

The redhead jumped up from her chair in a rather undignified
fashion and hurried to a side table. “Just last month, Lady Sibley was
published in the
Women’s Advisor
.” He watched her take a magazine out of
a drawer. “Her article was entitled “The Joys of Reading”.” She opened to a
page near the center and found her place. “Yes, here it is. ‘Joy number five:
The joy of knowing one is forwarding human progress. Any pastime that keeps the
brain active is good for society.’ That’s what you said, wasn’t it, Lord
Ahlquist?”

He was dumbfounded. Of course, it was a common enough
sentiment, but he had quoted her verbatim. “I did indeed.”

“Do you subscribe to the
Women’s Advisor
?” Violet
handed him the magazine.

“No, Mrs. Pickering, I do not.” However, Lilith did. Perhaps
he had read this article sometime in the past month while idling about her
flat. He was not about to admit that and was relieved when the magazine did not
look familiar. “I believe it is a happy coincidence that we share the same
sentiment.” He scanned the article and smiled. “Indeed, I agree with all of
Lady Sibley’s arguments.”

Cathryn settled on the couch beside him, and he felt great
comfort in her proximity. He smiled warmly at her. “This is very well written.”

She seemed mesmerized by him. If Mrs. Pickering hadn’t been
hovering nearby, he would have shown her precisely how magical he could be. Her
skin glowed from the firelight and his caresses, and his fingers itched to
stroke her cheek.

“It’s not very scholarly,” she said softly.

“The scholarly journals don’t often pay their contributors,”
Violet said matter-of-factly. “She would need to publish her major works as a
book, but few publishers accept submissions from females, and she refuses to
publish anonymously like most women.”

He glanced around the parlor and wondered if the ladies were
in need of funds. The furniture was of good quality and lightly worn, but there
were few of the knickknacks that women were so fond of collecting. The
profusion of tropical plants made the room appear cozy, but there were no cut
flowers. Of course, the ladies had recently emerged from mourning, and he
suspected he was the first gentleman to notice them—good fortune on his part.

Returning his attention to his new paramour, he could not
discern a clear need for assistance. Her dress was in the current style and of
good quality, as had been yesterday’s gown. The townhouse was modest but in a
fine neighborhood. No, these ladies were well cared for by any standards. He
would send flowers later today, as he always did after initiating intimacies
with a woman.

Violet was still speaking and he caught the end of her
sentence. “Sir Geoffrey thought her translation as good as he had ever seen,
and he was a Greek scholar.”

“Your translation?”

He addressed Cathryn, but Violet continued, “Sappho, the
Greek poetess. Lady Sibley translated all of her poems.”

“Not only Sappho. There’s so little of her work to be found
and much of it is only fragments. I’ve included works by Corina and Nossis. I
intended an overview of all the Greek poetesses, but I’ve not yet completed the
task.” Cathryn bit at her lower lip as she waited for his reaction.

He was stunned. Sappho wrote in an obscure dialect few Greek
scholars mastered. He’d thought Cathryn’s attendance at the Philological
Society meetings a tribute to her husband’s memory, not a sign of her own
competence. He’d met few female intellectuals, and he never expected to meet
one who resembled a Greek goddess.

Lewin saved him from having to comment by arriving with the
tea tray. A glance at the clock told Julian his fifteen minutes were nearly
finished, but he had no desire to adhere to the protocol. He wanted to stay
here and explore Sibley’s talents. He would prefer she were naked while he did
so, to see if her body was as intriguing as her mind.

He felt his throat thicken with desire and cleared it before
he spoke. “I’ve attempted Sappho, but I found her, well, frankly, overly
demanding for a masculine intellect.” He watched her pour cream and tea into
his cup as he set aside the ladies’ journal.

Cathryn handed him a cup, nearly white with cream. “My late
husband had the same difficulty. I’ve been fortunate to have some lovely female
friends, and I applied my experiences with them to her writings.”

He nearly choked on his tea. Did she know what she was
implying? Sappho was reputed to be a lover of women.

No. If Cathryn had been intimate with females, she would
have known about Fanny Hill’s secrets.

She paused while pouring the next cup of tea and glanced at him.
He could feel the heat in his face and wished he could loosen his cravat and
take a deep breath. “My lord, are you well?”

He nodded and sipped his creamy tea, concentrating on the
brew to allow his excited thoughts a chance to cool. Cathryn poured a perfect
cup. How was it that so few women understood his preferences with such a simple
pleasure?

He took a deep breath to clear his head, and Violet set a
journal down on the table beside the tea tray.

Cathryn nearly knocked over the teapot in her effort to grab
the book. “I don’t want to bother the earl with my amateur attempts at
translation.”

He reached out and caught her arm. “I should like to see
them.” She looked like a schoolgirl caught cheating, and he loosened his hold
and retreated slightly. “Why don’t you read me your favorite?”

She shot Violet an angry look. “You’ll have to pour for
yourself.”

Violet chuckled as she rose to comply. “False modesty is
very unbecoming.”

With a shy smile, Cathryn opened the volume and began to
read. “The Hymn to Aphrodite.

Golden-minded
,
eternal Aphrodite,

Daughter of Zeus, enchantress, I
now implore thee,

Don't pierce my spirit with pain
and anguish,

Exquisite lady of love.”

She looked up at him and for an instant, her dark eyes
revealed the longing of her soul—that love would be kind to her. Her longing
melded with his own, and his heart rate quickened.

This woman deserved superlative treatment. She touched a
part of him few had ever reached, and he wanted more of her. “That’s a
fascinating interpretation, Lady Sibley.” His voice came out low and rough, and
he cleared his throat before continuing. “May I borrow your manuscript to study
it?” He vowed to make his liaison with her a most beneficial one and was glad
he had told her as much downstairs. His need for simple seduction ceded to his
desire to please her.

She hesitated and gave Pickering another dour look, but she
handed him the leather-bound journal with a sigh. “I would rather have time to
correct some mistakes.”

The journal was warm from her hands. He set down his teacup
and leafed through the text. There was an extraordinary amount of work here,
written in tight penmanship that he found easy to decipher.

“You haven’t worked on those translations in over two years,”
Violet interjected. “Now you have your new projects keeping you busy.”

He wanted to ask Cathryn about her word choices and her new
projects, but another glance at the clock showed his time was well past. His
waiting coach would draw attention on the quiet street, and he had no desire to
drag Cathryn into the gossip columns.

He needed to make her his mistress soon, so he could spend
long but discreet afternoons in her company. “I should like to hear more about
your work, Lady Sibley, but I’ve overstayed my visit already.”

He rose and bowed, tucking the journal into his breast
pocket. “Mrs. Pickering, I should also like to see your word puzzles. Perhaps
when I call next you might have some available for me.”

“It would be an honor, my lord.” Violet smiled, then jumped
to her feet, startling him. “Oh, Lord Ahlquist, I very nearly forgot to thank
you for your gift. The Johnson-Todd dictionary. It will be ever so helpful to
us both in our endeavors.” She gestured to the tome on the side table. “Lady
Sibley and I spent hours yesterday playing word games using it as a reference.”
She laughed lightly. “We giggled like schoolgirls over some of the strangest
words you could fathom.”

He was very sorry he missed that fun. Beautiful women,
laughter and new words. His reluctance to leave this cozy scene multiplied as
he stepped away from the fire and drew on his gloves.

“I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the gift.” He faced Cathryn and
took her hand in his. “I nearly forgot. Mrs. Burns’ correspondence. I’ve
drafted a reply but I wanted to ask if you had any dates you prefer.”

“Hunting begins in six weeks,” she replied without
hesitation. “Anytime after that will be fine.”

He realized he still held her hand, but he was loath to
release her. “Do you hunt?”

“Oh, yes. Hunting and fishing both.” Her eyes took on a
gleam. “I was squeezed between four brothers and we had some grand times out of
doors.”

Etiquette be damned. He had to know this woman better. He
cleared his throat and led her over towards the door. “Cathryn, are you free
this afternoon? Would you like to visit the museum with me?”

She glanced over at her sister-in-law, looking like a child
denied a sweet. “I’m afraid not. I…that is, we, spend two afternoons a week as
reading tutors at the Chelsea poorhouse. I’m afraid the children look forward
to our visits tremendously, and I couldn’t—”

“No, of course not.” He released her hand, reached for the
door and muttered, “Lucky bastards.”

“My lord?”

The irony of his statement hit him and he chuckled. He was
jealous of the poorhouse children—that was a new low. He drank in one last look
of his lovely Cathryn. “Tomorrow?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “The museum?”

He smiled at the genuineness of her response. Most women
favored shopping or carriage rides in Hyde Park, but he preferred museums and
libraries. The prospect of squiring an intelligent woman appealed to him. “Shall
I call for you at two?”

“Perfect.”

He fished a few sovereigns from his pocket and handed them
to her. “For the children. Buy them some sweets.”

Her eyes opened wide. “Shoes, my lord. I shall buy them
shoes. Winter is near.”

He watched the coins disappear in her dress pocket. What a
remarkable female. “Until tomorrow.”

Descending the staircase, he wondered if Lilith had ever
visited a poorhouse, or performed any acts of charity. No, he was quite certain
that none of his mistresses had been the least bit altruistic. He proudly gave
a tenth of his earnings to public assistance and had thoughts of greater
philanthropy. Now he wondered why he had always bedded women who were
completely focused on themselves.

It was just as well Sibley wasn’t free for the afternoon. He
needed to end his attachment to Lilith. He hadn’t touched her yesterday, for
the first time in a year of frequent visits, so this would come as no surprise.
He would offer her introduction to several of his friends, but he had lost his
taste for her.

Cathryn was much more delectable.

Cathryn clung to the door handle for a moment after Julian
left. She would see him again tomorrow. She closed her eyes and the image of
him in the study filled her senses. She needed to be alone with him.

Her body was thrumming with delight and anticipation when
she turned and saw Violet grinning at her.

“I’d say you have the earl firmly in your clutches. Whatever
do you plan to do with him?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” She wandered over to the
window and peered out. His fine carriage was waiting at her doorstep, and she
could see his crest from here, a golden lion on a red background with the motto
Virtus et Honor
, virtue and honor. She dearly hoped he was an honorable
man.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed the way he looks at you,
and you at him, for that matter. What happened between you two yesterday?”

She held her breath as she waited for a glimpse of him
leaving her front door.

Violet came to stand beside her and joined the brief vigil. “Are
you two…involved?”

“Oh, yes,” Cathryn sighed, unable to restrain her emotions. “I’m
quite taken with him.” He appeared on the sidewalk, and both women craned their
necks to watch him board his carriage, followed by the swell of his tan
greatcoat.