Seduction by Amanda Quick Page A

would all be directed at her. She must contrive to make him think he had achieved his goal.
    Sophy hurried over to the medicine chest. Bess had once explained that there was sometimes some bleeding after a woman made love the first time, especially if the man was careless and less than gentle. Julian might or might not be expecting to find blood on the sheets in the morning. But it would tend to confirm his belief that he had done his husbandly duty if he found some.
    Sophy mixed a reddish concoction using some red-leafed herbs and more of the tea. When she was done she eyed the mixture dubiously. It certainly looked the right color but it was very thin. Perhaps that would not matter once it had soaked into the sheet.
    She went over to the bed again and dabbed a bit of the fake blood onto the bedding where she had lain a few minutes earlier. It was quickly absorbed, leaving a small, damp, reddish ring. Sophy wondered just how much blood a man would expect to find after he had made love to a virgin.
    She frowned intently and finally decided the amount of red-brown liquid she had used was not enough to attract much notice so she added some more. Her hand shook nervously as she leaned over the bed and a large amount of the imitation blood slopped over the edge of the cup.
    Startled, Sophy stepped back and more of the liquid cascaded onto the sheets. There was now a very sizable patch of wet, stained bedding. Sophy wondered if she had overdone it.
    Hastily she poured the remainder of the reddish concoction into the teapot. Then she blew out the candles and slid gingerly into bed beside Julian, careful not to brush against his heavy, muscled leg.
    There was no help for it. She would have to sleep on at least a portion of the wide, damp spot.

FOUR
    Julian heard the bedchamber door open. Hushed feminine voices exchanged words. The door closed again and then he heard the cheerful clatter of a breakfast tray being set down on a table nearby.
    He stirred slowly, feeling unusually lethargic. His mouth tasted like the inside of a horse stall. He frowned, trying to remember just how much port he had swallowed during the course of the previous evening.
    It was an effort to open his eyes. When he finally did so he was totally disoriented. The walls of his room had apparently changed color overnight. He stared at the unfamiliar Chinese wallpaper for a long moment as memory slowly filtered back.
    He was in Sophy's bed.
    Julian eased himself up slowly onto the pillows, waiting for the rest of what should have been a very satisfying memory to emerge. Nothing came to mind except a faint, annoying headache. He scowled again and rubbed his temples.
    It was not possible he could have forgotten the act of making love to his new bride. The anticipation had been responsible for keeping him in a state of aching arousal for too long. He'd been suffering for nearly ten days awaiting the right moment. Surely the denouement would have left a most pleasurable recollection.
    He glanced around the room and saw Sophy standing near the wardrobe. She was wearing the same dressing gown she had worn last night. Her back was to him and he smiled fleetingly as he caught sight of a stray ruffle that had been accidentally turned under around the collar. Julian had a strong urge to go over to her and straighten the bit of lace. Then, he decided, he would take the dressing gown off altogether and carry her back to bed.
    He tried to remember what her small, gently curved breasts had looked like in the candlelight but the only image that formed was one of dark, taut nipples pushing against the soft fabric of her lawn nightgown.
    Deliberately he pressed his memory further and found he could recall a hazy picture of his wife lying on the bed, the nightgown drawn up above her knees. Her bare legs had been graceful and elegant and he recalled his excitement at the thought of having those legs wrapped around him.
    He also remembered discarding his dressing gown as a sweeping