Beauty and the Earl by Jess Michaels

when he kept repeating his mantra that he would not, could not keep her.
    She brushed aside any unwanted feelings his declaration might have foolishly caused in her and turned to Rachel as the other servants left her room.
    “Thank you,” she said to the girl. “Will you oversee the laundering of the gown?”
    She motioned to the discarded outfit, and the girl swept it up. “Of course, miss. Will you need anything else?”
    “I’ll help her,” Olivia volunteered.
    Rachel bobbed out a nod and once again Violet was grateful for a servant she knew well. Rachel had been with her long enough to be accustomed to the fact that she and Olivia often spent long hours gossiping and chatting, sometimes while requesting privacy. Rachel didn’t even find it odd anymore, nor did she intrude.  
    And right now, Violet did not want intrusion.
    “Very good,” the girl said. “I will come back in an hour to help you dress and do your hair.”
    She slipped from the room without another word, shutting the door behind her.
    The moment they were alone, Olivia faced her. “You are trying to drive me mad! What did you say when Windbury asked you to stay with him?”
    Violet shrugged from her robe and stepped into the tub. Before she answered, she sunk under the scented waters with a sigh of pleasure. She ached from the sexual acrobatics of the previous night, though she would not take back a moment of pleasure.
    “Violet!” her friend said with a laugh as she dragged a chair up next to the tub.
    “I told him I would consider the request,” she finally replied.  
    Olivia leaned back, eyes wide. “Consider it? I thought that was your whole purpose in coming here.”
    Violet grabbed the soap and scrubbed a thick lather onto her hands as she pondered the point. “It is,” she admitted. “But I need him to want me, to pursue me.”
    Her friend laughed. “Ah, I see. A merry chase, even if it is only pretended on your part. You are cold.”
    Olivia only meant it as a teasing statement, but Violet stiffened. Yes, she was manipulating Liam, but was she truly cold? She didn’t do anything to hurt him, after all.
    Though she couldn’t imagine he would be happy if he knew the truth of why she had come to Bath and who had sent her.
    “Does he want to be your protector?” Olivia asked, interrupting her thoughts.
    Violet shook her head. “No. It is as has always been rumored about him. He doesn’t want a woman to keep.”
    “And yet he asks you to stay with him throughout the duration of your stay here.” Olivia arched a brow. “I have always heard a woman could only expect a night or two in his company.”
    Violet shrugged. “I suppose, as you say, I have manipulated him into wanting more.”
    That was certainly the only explanation she had for his desire for a longer affiliation.
    She looked at her friend. “I was going to tell him that I am in town with a friend and ask if you could join us at his estate.”
    Olivia’s eyebrows lifted. “Me?”
    “You can keep his guard or friend or whatever that man is busy.”
    “Malcolm?” Olivia asked, her tone very even, though Violet thought she saw something in her friend’s eyes.
    She leaned closer, but it was gone, so she nodded. “Malcolm. I didn’t see him last night or this morning, but I think if I stay there, he might take an interest in my intentions. That could prove difficult for me.”
    Once again, she was hit hard by the ulterior motives of her seduction, but she ignored the guilt that threatened to undermine her plans. There was a reason she was doing this. A reason far more important than Liam.
    It would all be worth it in the end.
    “Malcolm,” Olivia said with a dreamy smile, interrupting Violet’s thoughts. “He was awfully handsome. And quite a good kisser. I wouldn’t mind distracting him.”
    Violet silently thanked her friend for her teasing as she laughed and the mood lightened.
    “Then I shall write Lord Windbury this afternoon and tell him I will accept