“He may desire some token of your affections.”

“Yes, Maman.” Sophie lowered her eyes so her mother wouldn’t see her mischievous enjoyment.

Poor Mama! She had been raised in a French convent and had likely come to the marriage bed exceedingly ill prepared. Given that Eloise had married an English marquis so obsessed by France and things French that he preferred the French spelling marquis to the English marquess, her daughter had been raised in a house thronged with French émigrés. Her nanny was French, the servants were French, the cook (of course) was French. Eloise had no idea just how earthy discussions had become in the nursery, long before Sophie had even made her debut. The last thing Sophie needed was instructions on what men wanted from women.

“You may allow him one kiss, perhaps two, at most,” Eloise said heavily. “I am sure you will understand the importance of this limitation, Sophie. I am thinking of you. Your reputation …”

Now Sophie’s eyes flashed and she looked directly at her mother, who was, however, gazing at a spot somewhere to her left shoulder.

“You have insisted on wearing gowns that are little more than scraps of tissue. Your neglect of a corset must be obvious to all, and sometimes I have wondered if you are wearing a chemise. I have many times been embarrassed by your behavior, your flirtatiousness, if one can call it that. You have the chance of an excellent marriage here and I demand that you not ruin your prospects by encouraging the Earl of Slaslow to take liberties.”

Sophie could feel her heart beating angrily in her throat. “Are you implying that my behavior has been less than correct, Maman?”

“I certainly would say so,” her mother responded. “When I was your age, I would no more have dreamed of spending time alone with a man than I would of going to America. No man kissed me before your father. I knew my place and what was proper to my position. You, on the other hand, have shown no respect for the position to which you were born. You have consistently embarrassed your father and myself with your fast behavior.”

Despite herself, Sophie felt a curl of mortification in her stomach. “I have never done anything out of the proper, Maman” she protested. “Everyone wears these clothes, and manners are more liberal than they were when you were my age.”

“I take part of the responsibility. I have allowed your extravagant escapades to continue, and I have overlooked many of your lapses. But now you are to be a countess, and what may possibly be overlooked as youthful spirits in a girl can never be done so in a countess.”

“What lapses? I have never allowed a man to take liberty with my person!”