“Now there is a good man,” Elizabeth mused, watching them dance.
“Selby?”
Eizabeth nodded. “Yes.”
“Then why don’t you marry him?” Immediately she wished she hadn’t said that in such a spiteful tone.
“Oh come now, Avis. Even you would have to admit he is a Corinthian, even if he isn’t into the sporting life.”
“Not into the sporting life? Selby has always been an avid hunter.”
Elizabeth blinked as if in surprise. “Really? Last year he refused my father’s invitation to join him at the hunting lodge. He said he had too many other invitations. Then I found out from Jennette that he’d been at the Abbey the entire time.”
“Oh,” Avis replied. While she didn’t mention any more about situation, she did find it odd because she knew Selby loved the hunt. At least he had years ago.
Elizabeth stared at the dance floor and sighed. “Still, with those dark looks and bright blue eyes, it’s a wonder no woman has caught him yet. A man such as Selby might even make me think twice about marriage.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Avis replied. Not even his potent kisses would change her mind on marriage.
Chapter Six
The rest of the week flew by in a rush of activities for Avis. However, there was still one item she had not completed before she left with Selby. She had yet to speak with Sophie about prevention. Avis dreaded this conversation but understood she couldn’t bring a child into this world, especially without a father. Or more importantly, with her as the child’s mother. With her resolve strengthened, she knocked on the door to Sophie’s home.
“Yes, Miss Copley?”
“Is Miss Reynard at home, Taylor?”
The grandfatherly butler smiled at her. “I am certain she is. Come inside and wait in the drawing room.”
While Avis liked stronger, vivid colors in her own home, Sophie loved pastels. The drawing room was a pale green with lovely jonquil curtains. She sat in a moss colored chair while she waited for Sophie.
“Avis? What are you doing here today?”
Sophie entered the room smelling of a floral breeze. Her dress swirled around her legs as she turned to sit on the settee.
“I need to speak with you privately,” Avis said, staring at the open door.
“Taylor, please bring us some tea and close this door.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The door instantly shut, bringing them into a cocoon of privacy.
“Now, what do you need?”
Avis shifted uncomfortably in her seat. It was best to get this over with. “I need you to tell me what you know about prevention.”
Sophie’s black brows rose in question. “I thought Mr. Billingsworth was unavailable?”
“He is.”
“Oh. And I suppose you have no plans to give me any more information than that?”
“Exactly,” Avis said with a little grin.
“All right, I believe I understand,” Sophie replied in a knowing tone.
Avis only hoped Sophie didn’t know what Avis had planned or with whom. Sophie waited while the footman brought in the tea. Once he left and the door was firmly shut behind him again, she began. “My mother told me about two methods of prevention. The first is a small sponge with a string attached to it. The sponge must be soaked in vinegar then inserted into…” Sophie’s face brightened with color. “You do know where?”
“Yes, I believe I do,” Avis replied, feeling her own face flare with heat.
“However, this method will not work until after the first time.”
“Why is that?”
“Oh dear, you do understand what happens between a man and a woman?”
Avis looked away. She knew the rudiments of the act, but nothing further.
“Avis?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Your virginity will be in the way until this man rids you of it.”
“Of course,” Avis replied. She wondered how much that would hurt.
Her face must have given her away as Sophie said, “Don’t worry, you shall be fine. It’s only the first time, or so my mother said. After that, if you have a good man, he will make certain you feel pleasure too.” Sophie spoke with all the confidence of a virgin daughter of an actress.
Would Selby be a good man? Avis certainly hoped so. “What is the second method, Sophie?”
Sophie’s cheeks blotched with color. “The man must withdraw his p—penis before he—he, ahh…explodes.”
Explodes? A man explodes while making love? She really needed to learn more about all this.
“Are you all right, Avis? You look a bit peaked.”
“Do you think it hurts when he…he explodes?” Thinking back to the book she’d read, the men always seemed to find great pleasure in the act.
Sophie frowned. “I doubt it. Why would men always want to do something that hurt?”
“But what about for the woman?”
“Well, based on the noises my mother made, she enjoyed it…or was a better actress than I thought.”
That was certainly something to think about. “Thank you for your time, Sophie. I have a few more errands to run. Do you know where I might find these sponges you talked about?”
“My mother made sure I had plenty. I believe she expected me to follow in her footsteps. I must be a great disappointment to her,” she said with a chuckle. “Wait here and I’ll bring you a few.”
Sophie left to retrieve them from her special cache of prevention secrets. Avis sipped her tea in thought. She had never been one to act out of impulse. Yet it seemed as if she’d lost control of everything since agreeing to Selby’s kiss in her cousin’s study. She should have walked away while she had the chance. Although, she wondered if Selby would have blackmailed her even without his intoxicating kiss, just to get his way.
“Here you are.” Sophie handed her a small, wrapped bundle.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Avis opened the package to find five small sponges with red thread attached. “Five?”
“Wash them out after each use, but make sure they stay inside you for at least eight hours after he…”
“Explodes?” Avis supplied for her, then giggled.
“Yes,” Sophie shook her head and laughed. “I cannot believe I had this conversation with you. I always expected it would be Jennette first.”
Knowing Jennette’s impulsive personality, she nodded. “Me too.”
“Have a care, Avis. Lord Selby is a gentleman and the perfect choice for you, but he might want more out of this affair than you wish to give.”
Avis’s mouth gaped open. “How did you know it was Selby?”
Sophie smiled as her eyes glazed over, as Avis had seen many times when Sophie experienced one of her visions. Avis wished she could see what her friend saw.
Sophie blinked. “The man I have seen for you has dark hair and is very strong, in other words, the exact opposite of Mr. Billingsworth. Plus, I arrived at your home first last week. I noticed Selby’s carriage driving away and made the assumption that you had changed your mind. For the better, I might add.”