Chapter 46

Amanda got their undivided attention rightaway. The other women on the table now focused solely on her in stunned surprise, nobody was able to make a reply.

A proud smile curving Amanda's lips at their expression.

"It was a good long time ago when he was still so young, sixteen or seventeen perhaps... I'm older than him... only by a year or two..."

Amanda corrected when she saw her listeners frowning.

"I tell you, those days were terrific. He was one of the greatest lover I ever had."

Ava picked up her tea and took a quick, long swallow, feeling a sudden uneasiness stirred inside her.

"And he was not only prodigious in his wealth and achievement, but also in his performance and his ..." she paused deliberately to make a significant effect.

".....personal attribute."

Ava nearly spurted everything in her mouth at the last words. What a brazen woman she was. Such an unbelievably vulgar remarks. She stared at Amanda in shock and disgust.

"I'm impressed."

Lady Byrne retorted tartly with a straight face.

"By the way, how it could ever happen? Little chance he would have come to your house to court you, wasn't it?"

Amanda chuckled, reacting to the curt response in perfect indifference.

"I came to the manor every morning to bring the dairies, you know my father's farm served the household's needs at the time. I met him every single day."

Lady Byrne replied in unchanging expression, only arched her brow a little bit.

"Again, I wonder, how could it ever happen?"

"Yes, Amanda. How did it happen? I mean, how did it begin? How did he advance you for the first time?"

Mrs. Puck urged Amanda to tell more in pure enthusiasm, completely unaware of Lady Byrne's murderous glance.

"I always knew he wanted me, from the way he looked at me from the very first time, the gleam of desire in his eyes..."

Amanda halted and sipped her tea slowly, making the other women growing mad in anticipation.

"I daresay nobody knows he is very fond of painting. One day when I walked past him, he asked me to be his muse. He said he wanted to paint me."

Ava stiffened at once. The words echoing again and again in her head.

"And he really did paint me, at first. But it didn't last long. Soon he was overtaken by his wild passion and had his way with me. We had a torrid affair for months before I went to Paris..."

Amanda looked heavenwards with a dreamy smile as if she was musing on the passionate memories.

"You won't believe how wicked he could be. He whispered nasty things in my ear all the time when we made love. I didn't know how he could come up with such things, it was outrageously arousing..."

Ava got up suddenly with a loud sound of her chair grinding against the floor, startling the three women.

"Excuse me, milady. I think I should be leaving now. Mrs. Puck." She nodded to both women, not bothering to make any gesture to Amanda. The woman wasn't bothering to show her any politeness right from the start, and she wouldn't meet her again after this.

"I can't let you walk home all by yourself, dear. I'm taking you home now." said Lady Byrne.

"No, please don't bother, milady. It would be ..."

"I insist." Lady Byrne cut her in firmly. She got up and nodded at Amanda.

"Amanda, it's nice to see you, but I have to go now."

Amanda glanced at the lady nonchalantly, didn't seem to care to stand and make a curtsy. Such an ill-mannered woman, Ava thought.

"We should see each other again next time. There's a lot I want to tell you."

Lady Byrne hauled Ava and scurried away, leaving Mrs. Puck with the stack of boxes behind them. They entered the carriage and waited Mrs. Puck to come in. Soon the three were sitting in the running carriage.

"Why do we need to go so soon?"

Mrs. Puck peered back through the window, sounding more than a bit disappointed.

Lady Byrne tilted her head high and said in a cold voice.

"I don't want to waste my time listening rubbish. Amanda is too much of a braggart and a shameless liar. I daresay half of what she said is merely a lie."

"Which means the other half is true." Mrs. Puck replied mischievously, narrowing her eyes.

The lady glared at her.

"I'm not buying her shit whatsoever."

"Don't forget Amanda was chased by half of the men in this town in her younger days. You can't underrate her attraction." Mrs. Puck protested.

"A trustworthy source told me, Amanda is a sex goddess. One time with her is both a blessing and a curse. For the man will have the most terrific experience in his life, but no woman will ever be able to satisfy the man again."

Lady Byrne frowned with disgust.

"His Grace would have never considered her." She said respectfully.

"I trust he has quite a fine taste in women. Such a tawdry slut like Amanda would never have a chance."

"I think Amanda had slept with him."

Ava sat rigid in the corner as the two women arguing, listening to each word while a strong indignation burning inside her. Lady Byrne defended her virtuous duke wholeheartedly, spoke highly of him as too honorable to sleep with a woman out of wedlock.

"Nonsense!"

Mrs. Puck exclaimed in utter disbelief.

"I can't believe how naive you are! He couldn't be an untried youth!

For the first time, Ava wondered about such a thing. Lady Byrne continued like a persistent lawyer, asserting the fact that the duke had never been touched by gossip or scandal, especially the ones that relating him with a particular woman. Thus far, no woman had ever been associated with him. He had such an impeccable reputation in that matter. Ava wished she could be as convinced as the lady, but she wasn't.

She disliked Amanda at the very first sight, but now she discovered another reason for hating her. She was a shameless hussy, a tawdry slut like the lady said. She wished her boasting was a total lie, but she was afraid it was the truth. Even if it was only half true, it was bad enough.

Everything about Amanda radiating sheer sensuality. Her eyes were magical, mystical and her mouth was deliciously tempting.

Amanda's soft creamy skin was smooth and flawless. The few freckles sprinkled over her nose didn't make her face less appealing, they just accentuated her bright and warm complexion. Next to Amanda, her own complexion looked as dull and pale as a white porcelain vase.

Amanda's fiery red hair captured light in vibrant red-orange hues, tumbling over her shoulders like a flowing lava, her own black hair could never be a scorching flame under the sun like that.

Until now, she was perfectly happy with her well-proportioned figure, but it certainly could not compete with Amanda's generously endowed assets.

"I always knew he wanted me, from the way he looked at me from the very first time, the gleam of desire in his eyes..."

By firsthand experience, she knew he was not easy to impress. Did Amanda really grab his attention in the first place? She hardly believed it. Surely Amanda had her attractions, but she didn't have a mysterious sensuality and smart, sophisticated style like Delilah. Amanda was somewhat coarse and vulgar.

She recalled the first time they met. She never forgot the night she saw his eyes gleaming in the dark. But that was certainly not a gleam of desire. Her fingers curled into fist in her lap, clutching the fabric of her skirt unconsciously. She had more than her fair share of men's interests, but suddenly all seemed too little, all meant nothing.

A sudden awareness entered her head. There was another thing to consider. A much more important matter, and her mind was fully occupied with a totally unnecessary concern; comparing herself to Amanda Chapman.

Why on earth was she comparing herself with Amanda Chapman?

Her reaction to Amanda Chapman puzzled her. As long as she could remember, she had never felt insecure about her looks, even with a sister as striking as Del by her side. Another thought came upon her inevitably.

Why did it disturb and upset her, that Amanda probably had slept with him?

Her insane mind offered an undesirable answer. She skipped the silly thought, trying to concentrate on the more significant problem.

"One day when I walked past him, he asked me to be his muse. He said he wanted to paint me... And he really did paint me, at first..."

Did he do it with women lots of times? Or sometimes? Either way was terrible. Was it a trickery to have his way with a woman? Was it a game of seduction he had played more than once? She thought about each and every suspicious moment she had with him. Did he pretend to unconsider her yet flirting subtly with her at the same time? If it was a game indeed, it was a game well played