Then, barely six months after her debut, she met the wickedly charming rogue, Lord Wrexham.
She had initially resisted Damon on sheer principle. Every woman wanted him, so she was determined she would not. But even she had quickly fallen under his spell. He was unlike any man she'd ever known, virile and vital, with a sense of intensity, of danger about him that was exhilarating.
She would never forget that first unexpected kiss between them. They were strolling in the gardens of the Beldon country estate near Brighton, at the beginning of her aunt's annual house party, when he struck up an easy flirtation with her, one that challenged her wits and undermined all her defenses.
“You are too seductive for your own good,” Elea nor finally told him with a laugh. “It could lead you into trouble.”
His half smile was enchanting. “It already has upon occasion. But the potential rewards are worth the risk.”
Then and there Damon leaned toward her and boldly captured her lips, giving her a stunning taste of heat and arousal and pure captivation.
After a long, dazed moment, however, Eleanor reacted sheerly on principle, determined to show him that she was not to be trifled with. She pushed at his chest, catching him completely off guard and sending him tripping backward over the ledge of the nearby fountain.
With a splash, Damon sat down hard in the pool and sprawled there, staring up at her, his formal evening attire soaking through.
“I trust that cooled your ardor, my lord,” Eleanor said sweetly, trying to hide her breathlessness.
After a stunned moment, he started laughing. “If you think that, Miss Pierce, you don't know me very well.”
Her unconventional response had not cooled Damon's ardor in the least. It had merely made him more subtle in employing his powers of seduction.
That beguiling, enthralling kiss had been the first of many during their courtship, even though Damon had never allowed their passion to go beyond a few forbidden caresses. Remembering now, Eleanor lifted her fingers to gently touch her lips.
It h
ad been a grave mistake to succumb to Damon's sensual allure and offer him her heart, she'd learned. It was an even bigger mistake to hope that he would end her loneliness by coming to love her. Their short romance had held fireworks that flamed and burned out at the first test of fidelity.
If she had any regrets about terminating their betrothal, they were fleeting and usually haunted her in the small, lonely hours of the night. And regrets were easier to quell when she recalled that those few amazing weeks of joy and elation Damon had given her were followed by months of pain-and when she contemplated how much greater the pain would have been if she'd discovered his penchant for infidelity after she wed him.
No, Eleanor thought as she reached the door to her bedchamber, she would marry someday, but it would be on her terms, when she could be certain her husband bore her a true, undying, mutual love.
Her abigail was awaiting her and helped her undress and prepare for bed. After dismissing the cheerful girl, Eleanor climbed into bed, although she didn't immediately extinguish the lamp flame. Instead, she picked up the small, leatherbound book that lay on her bedside table.
Recently published, Advice to Young Ladies on Capturing a Husband had been penned by “An Anonymous Lady.” Yet Eleanor knew firsthand that the author was actually the Loring sisters’ close friend from their girlhood, Fanny Irwin, who had left home at sixteen to become one of London's most renowned Cyprians.
In her book, Fanny shared her secrets not only for landing a husband, but for infatuating him once he was locked in matrimony.
In short, making a man fall madly in love.
Eleanor had told a number of her friends about the book, mainly as a favor to Arabella, her new sister by marriage. Word had spread quickly, though, and now the entire female half of the ton was talking about Advice with great excitement.
Even though most of Eleanor's peers-the young ladies who had made their comeouts with her during her first Season-had already married, they were eager to try out the Anonymous Lady's wisdom on their husbands. And of course, the new crop of debutantes and their matchmaking mamas were even more eager to use it to capture a coveted husband. For them, Advice was like catnip to cats.
Eleanor had little patience for such social intrigue, which seemed to smack of dishonesty in luring a man to his doom. Yet she was fiercely determined to fall in love and marry a man who loved her deeply in return. She would not end up a lonely spinster who led a solitary, barren life. She would not end up like her Aunt Beatrix, either, a widow who had never experienced the joys of love.
Therefore, Eleanor had concluded, if she meant to rule her own destiny, she would have to take her romantic future into her own hands, starting with Prince Lazzara.
Undeniably she was attracted to the handsome, passionate, Italian nobleman, yet she wasn't convinced he could ever love her as she yearned to be loved, or that he would be faithful to her in marriage.
Which is why she had resolved to allow the prince to court her while she attempted to win his love by employing the secrets of Fanny's book.
However, she certainly had not counted on Damon coming back into her life again just when she was beginning to make progress with Prince Lazzara!
Oh, why could Damon not have stayed away for just a few more months? Eleanor wondered with more than a little vexation. Even if she could manage to ignore his unwanted presence in town, she knew her mind would insist on making comparisons between him and any other suitors-and few would likely measure up to him.
There was so much about Damon that she had treasured. His sharp wit, for one. The way he'd challenged her, indeed, dared her to be her own woman. The way he never patronized her or treated her as a fragile blossom, as too many of her other beaux did.
He didn't treat her as an heiress whose fortune he coveted, either. Instead he ragged her and teased her-sometimes enough to rouse her ire-the way her brother did, the way Marcus's two close friends, Heath and Drew, did.