EVEN THE WILDEST RAKES HAVE THEIR WEAKNESSES

ind the doors of a glass-fronted bookcase when a

. Me

t she had the deepest respect for his reputation. Only in his thirties, Matthew Gilbert was perhaps the premier rare bookseller in Lon

ing volumes of ecclesiastical history on your shelves.

ource in my back room. If you'd care to vis

omer who might

st Joseph had acquired, on the fatal trip when he'd met his death. She'd a

ilbert's clien

ou soon," he said

ou wish to see me. I shall spend much

lse would any succe

But her good mood at rubbing shoulders with a major figure in

ly. "Ladies are not permitted to

y n

lumes of an uns

full height of five feet,

bookseller. And I wish to

ry eye in the room rose from its bi

s to impress, including Mr. Gilbert, had heard her demand a notorio

r a moment, trying to summon the courage to argue her case, whe

et me see to thi

gratitude and resentment, with a touch of wry amusement at her own expen

e at seeing her smiling and curtsying to a man who looked as though he had a stick up his respectable arse. Irrationally, perhaps, he felt possessive of the little bookseller. She

rooms, masquerades, entertainments hosted by fashionable courtesans. Unlike Chase, Compton was also welcome in ev

it at Cain's expense, coining a series of stupid names for him? The Sinful Marquis (too obvious), the Unchaste Marquis (a bad pun), the Meretric

that of his saintly father. As usual Cain's stomac

hoice of book,

n I'll step aside and leave it to you, Compton. Let me recommend the thirty-five postures. You could use some lessons

she found inferior. Rath

outh in a mockery of concentrated thought. "Oh, yes, I believe she came to me. Without anything very flatt

e, since you were all but born in a brothel." Compton's ton

ter's stance. He could see the other

d down his no

vocative grin. "But forgive me if I'm wrong and you sought thes

n to cause a scandal. Cain tossed another stick on the fire. "And speaking of

instead, to his great surprise, he

s found in this bookcase. But only those," he added with a hint of mock piety on otherwise expression

ce had to number among the worst of Juliana's life. Almost as infuriating was the

t for examination. He returned to their table with the red

the presence of her fellow bookmen never bothered her. Her attention, like theirs, was engaged by the ass

ot Chase's. An indefinable bouquet-cleanliness, a hint of tobacco mixed with some kind of pricey masculine unguent-a

examination was something as untitillating as a

f its repute-or ill repute. He placed the volume be

ently. Innocent enough, it appeared, until she discovered exactly what wa

s that rather plump and almost n

t embrace or kiss. She glanced back at the picture. Kiss in this case, defi

he remarked, trying to proj

Chase's voice was

time the man was doing the "kissin

f the engraving," she s

d. "I can see he's makin

d nothing but perfect gravity, and

inding, with little idea if she made sense. Every minute the book lay open before them she was aw

breasts felt tight. She glanced down to make sure the hardening of her nipples wasn't apparent through the fabric of her gown. The heavy mourning

Merton. That was

ly sure that in this case th

like to show me today," he co

ouple of errands to perfor

old day,"

snowing. Then she would ha