he estate, there was a

without a word, her face an impassive mask. She carried a silver tray. On it sat a crystal gob

d, her voice devoid of all emotion. "The draught will help His Grace's bod

smallest mercy. Seraphina felt a hot flush of shame creep up

istress Kettl

as she unrolled the scroll. It was a detailed anatomical chart of the male body, with specific points

morizing every line, every instruction. This was not abou

feverish skin. Taking a deep breath to steady the frantic beating of her heart, she

oil lamp turned down low. The air sm

his face were softened. He was brutally handsome, she realized with a strange sense of detachm

s her h

goblet heavy in her hand. This was the final thres

k, Lady Philippa's contemptuous gaze. They thought they had broken her, trappe

olve ha

she tilted the goblet, letting the viscous liquid trickle into his mouth. She

change. A faint flush appeared on his pale skin. His

ght was

took one last, shuddering b

e experience was a blur of shame and physical discomfort. His body was unresponsive, a dead w

r nails digging into the fine linen of the bedsheet

f his hand twitch against the mattress. A tiny, spasmodic movement. She

as o

psed onto the rug, curling into a tight ball, her body shaking with

ided, leaving behind a hollow empti

s exactly as he had been, his expressio

to his chin, smoothing the sheets, eras

close to his ear, and wh

gave me a name and a home. I will g

agged her exhausted body back to her ow