"Isn't it obvious? I am no longer angling for a husband. I have already snagged him, so to speak. Thus the men feel free to flirt and pay me court because they know perfectly well they are in no danger of being obliged to make an offer. It is all a lot of harmless fun now whereas five years ago they would have been at great risk of having to declare their intentions."
Julian bit back an oath. "You are very much off the mark with that line of reasoning," he assured her through his teeth. "Don't be naive, Sophy. You are old enough to realize that your status as a married woman leaves you open to the most dishonorable sorts of approaches from men. It is precisely because you are safe that they can feel free to seduce you."
Her gaze grew watchful although her smile stayed in place. "Come now, Julian. You overstate the case. I am in no danger of being seduced by any male present as far as I can tell."
It took him a split second to realize she was lumping him in with every other man in the room. "Forgive me, madam," he said very softly, "I had not realized you were so eager to be seduced. In fact, I had quite the opposite impression. My misunderstanding, I'm sure."
"You frequently misunderstand me, my lord." She fixed her gaze on his cravat. "But as it happens, I was only teasing."
"Were you?"
"Yes, of course. Forgive me. I only meant to lighten your mood a bit. You seemed overly concerned by what is a totally nonexistent threat to my virtue. I assure you none of the men in that group made any improper advances or suggestions."
Julian sighed. "The problem, Sophy, is that I am not convinced you would recognize an improper suggestion until matters had gone too far. You may be all of twenty-three years old but you have not had much experience with Society. It is little more than a glittering hunting ground and an attractive, naive, safely married young woman such as yourself is frequently viewed as a grand prize."
She stiffened in his arms, her eyes narrowing. "Please do not be condescending, Julian. I am not that naive. I assure you I have no intention of allowing myself to be seduced by any of your friends."
"Unfortunately, my dear, that still leaves all my enemies."
SEVEN
Sophy paced her bedchamber later that night, the events of the evening spinning through her head. It had all been very exciting and wonderfully different from the way things had been five years ago when she had had her one and only fling at Society.
She was well aware that her new status as Ravenwood's wife had a lot to do with the attention she received, but she honestly felt she had held her own conversationally. At twenty-three she had far more self-confidence than she'd had at eighteen, for one thing. In addition, she had not been painfully conscious of being on display in a marriage mart the way she had been five years ago. Tonight she had been able to relax and enjoy herself. Everything had gone very well until Julian had arrived.
Initially she had been delighted to find him there, eager to have him see that she could handle herself in his world. But after the first dance it had dawned on her that Julian had not bothered to drop in at the Yelvertons' ball just to admire her newfound ability to socialize. He had come because he was worried she would get swept off her feet by one of the predatory males who prowled the sophisticated jungle of the ton.
It was very depressing to realize that only Julian's natural possessiveness had kept him by her side for the rest of the evening.
They had arrived home an hour ago and Sophy had gone immediately upstairs to prepare for bed. Julian had not tried to delay her. He had bid her a formal good night and vanished into the library. A few minutes ago Sophy had heard his muffled footsteps in the carpeted hall outside her room.
The glow of excitement engendered by her first major evening in Society was fading rapidly and as far as Sophy was concerned it was mostly Julian's fault. He had definitely done his best to dampen the buoyant pleasure she had been experiencing.
Sophy turned at the far end of the room and paced back toward her dressing table. She caught sight of the small jewelry case revealed in the candlelight and stopped short aware of a strong flicker of guilt. There was no denying that during the hectic excitement of her first week in town as the Countess of Ravenwood, she had temporarily put aside her goal of vengeance for Amelia. Salvaging her marriage had loomed as the most important matter in her world.
It was not that she had forsaken her vow to find Amelia's seducer, Sophy told herself, it was just that other things had taken priority.
But as soon as she had established a proper relationship with Julian, she would return to the project of finding the man responsible for Amelia's death.
"I have not forgotten you, dear sister, Sophy whispered.
She was lifting the lid of the jewelry case when the door opened behind her. She swung around with a sharp intake of breath and saw Julian standing in the doorway that connected their rooms. He was wearing his dressing gown and nothing else. The jewelry case lid dropped shut with a snap.
Julian glanced at the small case and then met Sophy's eyes. He smiled wryly. "You need not say a word, my dear. I got the point earlier this evening. Forgive me for failing to remember to supply you with the little trinkets you will need to dress properly here in town."
"I was not about to ask you for jewelry, my lord," Sophy said, annoyed. Honestly, the man did have a way of making the most irritating assumptions. "Was there something you wanted?"
He hesitated a moment, making no move to come farther into the room. "Yes, I believe there is," he said finally. "Sophy, I have been giving much thought to the matter of the unsettled business between us."
"Business, my lord?"
His eyes narrowed. "You would prefer me to be more blunt? Very well, I have given a great deal of consideration to the matter of consummating our marriage."
Sophy's stomach suddenly felt the way it had one day long ago when she had fallen out of a tree into a stream. "I see. I suppose it was all that talk about sheep breeding earlier at the Yelvertons' that brought the subject to mind?"
Julian stalked toward her, his hands shoved into the pockets of his dressing gown. "This has nothing to do with sheep. Tonight I realized for the first time that your lack of personal experience of the marriage bed puts you at grave risk."
Amelia blinked in amazement. "Risk, my lord?"
He nodded soberly. He picked up a crystal swan ornament from her dressing table and turned it idly in his hand. "You are too naive and far too innocent, Sophy. You do not have the sort of worldly knowledge a woman must have in order to understand the nuances and double entendres certain men employ in conversation. You are too likely to lead such men on unknowingly simply because you do not understand their true meaning."
"I think I begin to comprehend your reasoning, my lord," Sophy said. "You feel that the fact that I am not yet a proper wife in every sense of the word may be a handicap for me socially?"
"In a manner of speaking."
"What a dreadful notion. Rather like the idea of eating one's fish with the wrong fork, I imagine."
"A bit more serious than that, I assure you, Sophy. If you were unmarried your continued lack of knowledge about certain matters would be something of a safeguard. Any man who attempted to seduce you, would also know he would be expected to marry you. But as a married woman, you have no such protection. And if a certain sort of man happened to guess that you have not yet shared a bed with your husband, he would be relentless in his pursuit of you. He would see you as a very amusing conquest."
"In other words, this hypothetical male would see me as a fine prize, indeed?"
"Precisely." Julian put down the crystal swan and smiled approvingly at Sophy. "I'm glad you understand the situation."