Her body was still shaken by his kisses, but her mind was finally clear. Alex treated women like interchangeable coins. Had she not met him years ago, she would probably have been drugged today by the sweetness of his kisses and his incredible physical allure. But he had had the same effect on her three years ago, and yet he had walked calmly away from the encounter and promptly forgotten her. Even though he had taken her virginity. Obviously, what seemed to her a devastatingly erotic encounter had simply been business as usual to him. And the only reason he was asking her to marry him now was to get a permanent nursemaid for his daughter. She’d be damned before she’d marry someone just to care for his child, especially given that her husband would be out seducing women in a park every time she turned her back.

Her eyes were distinctly cool as she looked at Alex, walking silently next to her. If only he didn’t make her heart turn over just to see him. Even now, walking next to him, her body was fraught with desire. She longed to walk closer, to run her hand up his arm, to …

What if she did marry him? They would share a bed. Unconsciously, she sighed out loud. But no. She steeled herself. Her father respected and loved her mother. She had to keep their example in mind. This earl was a strange man, abrupt, sometimes impolite. He would be difficult to live with. She wanted someone who would love her, even if she herself didn’t feel a blazing physical desire for him. Desire was no basis for a marriage.

They walked silently back to the carriages. The rest of the party was already grouped there. Pippa seemed to be perfectly happy (and now clean); one of Alex’s servants was playing with her under a tree. Daphne, on the other hand, was distinctly annoyed. One elegant slipper tapped under her light gown. The Earl of Sheffield and Downes had easy ways as a host that did not suit her French sense of propriety. And Lady Charlotte, she noted with some distaste, looked even more disheveled than she had an hour ago. English aristocrats! She would never understand them! No one would ever catch her looking as unkempt as that duke’s daughter.