“Right,” she murmured, her mind scrambling to pull up all the bits of information she had read over the years. Unfortunately, the only thing she could remember just then was that the first time was supposed to be terribly painful and bloody. The thought was not an encouraging one. Hardly something to look forward to and she felt herself begin to wilt. Then she recalled those moments at the ball when Robert had kissed and caressed her after pushing her into the dark room. Those memories managed to push back the fear and trepidation.

“Good.” Suzette patted her back. “So we will head out to the ball, and you go sit with him in his room while he eats, and then seduce him. We will return early and check on him and catch you in there, hopefully naked in bed,” she added. “You can do this.”

“I can do this,” Lisa agreed, shoulders straightening, and then she asked with worry. “What time are you returning?”

“We hadn’t decided on a set time,” Christiana said with a frown when Suzette hesitated.

“It’s better that way, then you will not have to fake being surprised,” Suzette assured her when Lisa looked worried.

“But what if I haven’t seduced him by the time you come back?” she asked plaintively.

“Well, you should seduce him right away,” Suzette said firmly. “Or at least as quickly as possible. The doctor has given him a tincture so he should be manageable enough and suffering no pain.”

“But—”

“Blow out the candle when you’ve done it,” Christiana suggested. “If we return and the candle in his room is still glowing, we will wait to make our entrance.”

“Oh, okay,” she murmured with relief. It would be just her luck for them to return before she’d worked up the courage to seduce Robert and ruin everything.

“All right,” Suzette smiled encouragingly. “Chin up. This will work. This time next year you and Robert will be happily married and laughing about all of this.”

“If he forgives her,” Christiana said gloomily. She was still not keen on this idea, but was giving her support because she loved Lisa and wanted her happy. And because she couldn’t think of another way to handle the matter. Lisa appreciated that.

“Chrissy, stop being such a pessimist about this,” Suzette reprimanded grimly. “We have been considering the problem for the last two days since the attack and there is really no other way to handle him. And it has to be handled soon. Those runners could return at any moment with the name of the suitor.”

“Yes, I know,” Christiana said on a sigh. “That’s the only reason I have stopped arguing against it.” Forcing a smile, she patted Lisa’s shoulder. “Everything will be fine, I’m sure.”

Lisa nodded solemnly, though she wasn’t sure of that herself.

“Are you ladies ready to go?”