Enter the naughty world of The Ladiesâ Sewing Circle, where Victorian sensuality is simmering just under the surfaceâ¦.
In A Gentlewomanâs Predicament, Sofia Harewood is determined to discover all there is to know about lovemaking, and finds it in the form of the sexy and mysterious Monsieur Chamfleur, who introduces her to a whole new world of wicked delights.
In A Gentlewomanâs Ravishment, Mrs. Prudence Enderby has erotic daydreams about being abducted and ravished by a man other than her husband, but never imagines her private fantasies will be brought to life by a masked man who whisks her off to a boudoir.
In A Gentlewomanâs Pleasure, Miss Lucy Dawson has all but given up hope of experiencing the full pleasure of lovemaking, until she encounters a tantalizing stranger who reawakens her desires.
In A Gentlewomanâs Dalliance, Mary Brigstock confesses she wants her husband to spank her, and an expert disciplinarian arrives to show them how to turn their wicked fantasy into a realityâ¦.
1887
It all begins at the Ladiesâ Sewing Circle.
Somehow, I find myself revealing my predicament to Lady Arabella Southern, and instead of being horrified, sheâs unexpectedly sympathetic.
âOf course, my dear Sofia. It is a predicament, and you owe it to yourself to ensure things turn out differently in your second marriage. Especially as an independently wealthy woman like you can have her pick of any number of suitors.â
âBut Iâm not even being courted by any gentlemen yet, Arabella.â I smooth down my dove-grey gown. âOfficially, Iâm still in half mourning. Surely, itâs unseemly to be thinking about intimacy again so soon?â
âItâs never too early to educate oneself, Sofia. In this modern age a young woman is entitled to look out for her own welfare. Goodness me, my dear, we have a member of our sex on the throne of England.â
âI hardly think our good queen ever had any difficulties of an intimate nature, Arabella. Just think how many children she had, and itâs common knowledge that she and Prince Albert were idyllically happy.â
âAs could you beâ¦with Mr. Trenthamâ¦or Lord Lothertonâ¦or the earl of Davyâ¦if you play your cards right, my dear.â
âAh, but thatâs my problem, Arabella. I have to learn how to play the game itself first, so to speak.â
She gives me a little nod, and taps the side of her nose. Then reaches into her reticule and brings out a small white card.
Mme. A. Chamfleur, Intimate Advice to the Gentlewoman, it proclaims in a very handsome copperplate script, followed by an address in Hampstead, and the words Consultations By Appointment.
âGo here, Sofia my dear, go here.â Arabella smiles as she presses the little rectangle into my hand. âGo here and youâll learn all you need to know.â
Is that so? I wonder⦠Shall I go?
Well, here I am, a week later, standing on the step of a rather imposing residence. My carriage is speeding away already and my heartâs thudding behind my corset Iâm so nervous. I reach out and ring the bell before I can change my mind and bolt.
Within seconds, the door swings open and I get quite a surprise. Instead of the parlor maid Iâd been anticipating, a handsome and rather cocky young man with light brown hair stands in the doorway. Heâs fashionable dressed in a rather flashy waistcoat and sharp-cut narrow trousers. His level gaze is disturbingly bold.
Before either of us speaks a single word he looks me up and down, slowly and probingly, his blue eyes sharp as if heâs imagining my breasts, my hips and my belly beneath my clothes!
Itâs a thoroughly disquieting experience, but it makes my heart leap and bump even harder, and a strange, tense feeling gather and twist in the pit of my belly. Iâm almost compelled to reprimand him, but he forestalls me.
âAh, youâll be Mrs. Harewood, eh? Weâve been waiting for you. Do come in.â
He steps back, to let me pass, his eyes still on me.
The hallway is pleasant, high-ceilinged and airy. A number of small prints adorn the walls, but Iâm in no mood to peruse them. Not while Iâm still being perused myself, and so insolently.