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“You know, don’t you?” he said quietly He atching her closely “You knoho I am?”

She closed her eyes “I know it is a shame you cannot face the truth How can Francesca be true to herself if you are not?”

“Francesca has a will of her own, Madame, and I cannot sway it”

Her eyes opened, fever bright “But there are ways of bending her to your will, Mr Thorne My daughter is very like her father She is not at all proper, oh no, no matter what she believes She wants adventure To experience life through adventure The more risky…the more risqué, the better” She smiled “You can help her to do that You can show her how to be true to herself”

He sighed “Can I?”

“Oui You can make her very happy”

Sebastian smiled He had the sort of smile women swooned for She beckoned him closer to the bed

“Tell me, Mr Thorne, have you ever made love to a woman at a ball?”

Sebastian closed the door softly behind him Aphrodite was asleep He was rattled, he admitted it Give him a thief or a ht at houard She kneho he hat he was She knew about Francesca

Thinking over what she’d said, he wondered if he would have the courage to do it He was Mr Thorne, the , the ht bleakly, could he attend a London society ball?

“There you are”

Surprised, he looked up She was standing with her hands on her hips “I thought you were supposed to be a cultured courtesan,” he said, as “You look runtled fishwife”

“I aed fro her eyelashes at him “I like this place,” she said “Plenty of food and nice soft beds And they only let the better toffs in Soirls the other day, and now he’s barred froether”

“You mean you’d leave Dipper?” he mocked

She grinned “Nah Dipper’s special”