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“Mue

The sound of a door opening and closing jolted her out of the languid reverie “What was that?”

“A maid—and all too close by the sound of it” Devlin hurriedly smoothed her skirts back in place “Can you entleh it is to leave you in the lurch, it would be best if we are not seen together in this isolated part of the castle I’m sure neither of us wishes to spark a scandal”

Her body still felt a little boneless, but the word “scandal” shocked Anna back to her senses She took a tentative step and her legs, though a trifle wobbly, kept her upright “Yes, yes, you o,” she hissed “And quickly!”

The shadows rippled and the alcove was empty

Anna pressed her forehead to the dark wood, taking just an instant to steady her heartbeat beforecorridor

Chapter Ten

Anna eased her bedchaainst the door, still feeling a little dazed by the lingering

fire inside her A glance at her reflection in the cheval glass showed that her face and her figure reed

How could that be? she wondered, when she felt like a completely different person

Aware that her heart was still thu erratically, she slowly drew in several deep breaths and tried to calm its beat

No wonder the poets waxed ecstatic when they composed odes about physical love The sensations ildly wonderful—though lightning hts

“I don’t regret it,” she whispered defiantly No matter that Polite Society would brand her a harlot if they knehat she had done

And perhaps they would be right The blame did not lie with Davenport, conceded Anna She had thrown herself at hi it oh-so clever to use a show of sultry flirtation to tease hi his secret

Instead, the rascally rogue had taken her seductive strategy and turned it to his own advantage She had all but surrendered her virtue And had received precious little in return