He shrugged. “Whatever you choose to tell me. I wonder, for instance, why we never became acquainted before this. You must have spent time in London.”
“A fair amount. Until my father’s passing two years ago, my family removed to town every spring.”
“I don’t recall meeting you, and I think I would have remembered.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “I doubt you paid any attention to schoolroom misses.” Vanessa eyed him curiously. “I could not help but notice you. During my first Season, you attended several of the same functions I did. I remember one ball in particular where you caused quite a stir. Something about a certain lady pursuing you into your club on St. James Street. The scandal provided the ton entertainment for at least a week.”
His mouth twisted in a wry grimace. “I would prefer you not remind me.” He studied her. “You are no stranger to scandal yourself, I believe. I knew your husband, although not well. If memory serves, Sir Roger was embroiled in his fair share of scandal.”
It was her turn to grimace. “I try not to dwell on it.”
“Why did you wed him then, if you were so averse to his way of life?”
She looked away, gazing into the fire. “Why does any young lady wed? To oblige my family, of course. It was considered a highly advantageous match, and my father wished it. In truth, Papa was… in rather desperate financial straits. Roger was flush in the pockets, having just come into his inheritance.”
“Still, I would have thought you would have some say in the matter.”
Turning her head, Vanessa met his eyes directly. “You have a sister for whom you’re willing to go to great lengths. Is it so difficult to comprehend why I would wish to help my family?”
“Were there no choices other than Sir Roger?”
“He seemed the best. At the time, he hadn’t embarked on his… wild career.” She couldn’t repress a sigh. “I would rather not discuss my late husband, if it is all the same to you. That was an unpleasant time in my life, and I have endeavored to put it behind me.”
“Very well. I shall make a pact with you. You refrain from mentioning your brother in my hearing, and I will refrain from mentioning your late husband.”
There was a short silence while Damien sipped his brandy, his eyes heavy-lidded but watchful. “So after your marriage ended, you returned home?”
“Yes. It was then that I discovered the… true state of my finances.” Vanessa struggled with another painful memory; the shock of Roger’s death had scarcely passed before a swarm of creditors descended upon her. She’d been dazed to learn that he had managed to squander his vast fortune on gaming and expensive mistresses. “It seemed foolish to try to maintain a household of my own. And by that time my father was gone and my family needed me with them.”
“Your father suffered a riding accident, did he not?”
“Yes, he was thrown from a horse while hunting. How did you know?”
“After my sister’s calamity, I made it a point to investigate her seducer. Your mother has not been incapacitated for long, I think.”
“No. She took to her bed when my father died and never fully recovered from her period of mourning. Much of her suffering, I believe, is of the heart rather than physical in nature. She was very much in love with my father.”
Damien’s mouth curved cynically, but he let her observation pass and cast a casual glance around the chamber. “Are you comfortable here?”
“Yes… at least I was until a short while ago,” she added wryly.
His eyebrows rose. “Until a certain midnight visitor dropped in on you unexpectedly?”
“Precisely.”
“You don’t mince words, do you?”
“Under these circumstances, there seems to be little point. I did warn you that I had no experience as a gentleman’s mistress. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I am not practiced in the arts of coyness and flirtation.”
His smile was amused. “You haven’t disappointed me, angel-eyes. On the contrary, I find candidness refreshing in a lady.”
“Oh? And are you acquainted with many ladies? I own I’m surprised.”
He chuckled. “I see I shall have to try to be a better host. In addition to giving you the opportunity to exercise your sharp wit on me, I will endeavor to find activities to entertain and occupy you. Do you like to read?”
Vanessa replied with all seriousness, “Very much.”
“You are welcome to use my library whenever you please.”
“Thank you. I shall take you up on your offer-whenever you are not availing yourself of it.”
“And you ride, I presume?”
“Yes.”
“Then you should choose a mount from my stables. Olivia’s horses badly need exercise.” He frowned. “One of her greatest pleasures was riding. She frequently was in the saddle from morning till night.”
Sensing his darkening mood, Vanessa offered a consoling thought. “Perhaps in time she will be so again.” When Damien made no reply, she made an effort to change the subject. “I am also surprised that you enjoy such mundane pleasures as reading and riding.”
“I enjoy many pleasures, sweeting.”
“So I understand. Your enjoyments are legion. The tales one hears of you are enough to set even the most jaded tongues wagging.”
“What exactly have you heard?”
“That you founded the latest order of the Hellfire League, for instance.”
“Co-founded. I and some half-dozen of my colleagues.”
“Its reputation is rather unsavory. Rumor has it that you regularly indulge in orgies and perversions.”
“You give us too much credit. We are a pale imitation of the Hellfire Club that was active during our grandfathers’ time.”
“But it is still a fraternity for depraved libertines, I imagine.”
“Depraved libertines? Is that not a redundancy?”
“Not in your case, I expect, my lord.”
He gave a mock wince. “I thought you agreed to call me Damien.”
Vanessa ignored his personal remark. “Is it true the price of membership is ten thousand pounds?”
“Yes.”
She started to demand why he had invited her brother to join, but she knew the answer to that; he was intent on bankrupting Aubrey. Besides, she had made a pact to refrain from mentioning her brother.
“I trust the price is worth it,” she said instead. “Do you allow women to become members?”
His brow arched. “Not at the moment, but I imagine we could make an exception. Are you wrangling for an invitation?”
“Certainly not,” she responded with amusement. “In the first place, I could not afford the subscription fee. And in the second, I have never much cared for the company of rakes.”
“You’ve made me well aware of your opinion on that score. But have you never considered that perhaps I’m not as debauched as you think?”
“No,” she answered truthfully.
“Sweeting, you still have a great deal to learn about me. I expect to enjoy teaching you.”
She suspected that he was baiting her, but she answered in kind even so. “Perhaps you will, but you flatter yourself if you expect me to enjoy it. Not every woman is eager to fall under the spell of the wicked Lord Sin.”
A silver gleam entered his eyes. “I am devastated.”
“I doubt it. Were you devastated, you would not be so glib with your rejoinders.”
The suggestion in his hedonist’s smile made her pulse quicken. The smile reached his eyes, and Vanessa found herself captivated. It was a mistake to allow herself to be drawn into banter with him, no matter how much she might enjoy it. She was far too vulnerable to the sensual charm of this legendary rake.
To her surprise, he rose slowly to his feet. “You are too clever by half, vixen. I can see I will have my hands full, dealing with you.”
She tensed as he moved toward her, but he merely stood gazing down at her. “I could continue trading barbs with you, but I should go and leave you to sleep. Unless you would consider inviting me to stay the night…?” Her pointed silence gave him his answer. “Very well. It has been a pleasure, sweeting.”