Charming a Spy by Elizabeth Chance Page B

duke my darling. Only if you should be so lucky to have the opportunity to dance with him this weekend, you should graciously accept.”
    Kat lied, “I’m not attached to any man in particular.” She was interested in Geoff, but for an entirely different purpose than what her aunt hoped for. “But hypothetically let’s say I did have my eye one a certain person…”
    “Yes?” Aunt Ellie asked, eyebrows raised in eager anticipation.
    “How would one go about, well you know, about…”
    “Seducing a man?” Aunt Ellie finished for her.
    “Yes, I guess that’s what I mean.”
    “Oh my dear, I thought you’d never ask,” Aunt Ellie said, clasping her hands in front of her, a look of sheer delight on her face.
    “What?” Kat said, thinking she might die of embarrassment on the spot.
    “Let me tell you… catching a man’s eye is not as hard as you think. Especially for a girl as beautiful and charming as you. You could do virtually nothing and still have men worshipping at your feet.”
    “Just the same, I think I’d like to know what to do…” Kat felt her face turn the same shade of crimson as the coach interior.
    “I suppose I do know a few tricks I could pass on. But do be aware, my dear, do not use these lightly. If you set off to ensnare a man, you must be ready to deal with the consequences.”
    Kat wondered which consequences exactly Aunt Ellie was speaking of but decided better against asking for details.
    “The first secret is you must always smell delicious. Smell as if you’ve been baking a treacle tart. Men love to eat and if you smell like food, they can’t resist you. I have a secret perfume I’ll lend you that smells precisely of syrup.”
    “Smell like a dessert?” Kat was starting to wonder if she perhaps asked the wrong woman.
    “I know you’re skeptical, but it works. Do you want to learn to seduce a man or not?” Aunt Ellie asked.
    “I do.”
    “Good. The second lesson is what to wear. Never underestimate the power of a red dress. Make it flatter your figure and show a little décolletage.”
    “Aunt Ellie!” Kat said in disbelief. She couldn’t believe her guardian was actually telling her to dress provocatively. Kat looked at her current outfit. It was a modest, blue, day dress with a fichu demurely tucked in to cover her aforementioned décolletage. Maybe she could be a bit more daring. Especially if it worked to get the duke to do her bidding.
    “Lastly, touch him every chance you get, but always make it seem accidental. Pretend to stumble and grab onto his arm to steady you. Or wipe away a piece of hair that has fallen onto his brow. Use your touch to ignite his desire.”
    “Smell delicious, wear a scandalous dress, and accidentally touch him?” Kat asked.
    “Exactly, my dear.” Her aunt smiled, looking quite pleased with her pupil.
    Kat wondered if Geoff liked treacle tart. She couldn’t say for sure whether he liked her décolletage, but then she remembered the way he’d watched her in the ballroom when he first arrived. He’d stared at her like he was considering devouring her. And when they touched, well, she was sure the last piece of advice from her aunt would work.
    Eventually, the coach bucked and swayed as it slowed down at the end of the drive. A cavalry of servants stood waiting to attend to arriving guests. The duke, not surprisingly, was absent. Kat felt a pang of disappointment, which she told herself was the result of not wanting to waste another moment before she could ask him about Luke. Certainly her anxiety wasn’t because she wanted to see him again.
    The butler led the ladies into a foyer where the Prince Regent would have felt at home. Marble inlaid floors painted magnificent patterns underfoot. The stone continued on towering columns supporting a ceiling painted with winged cherubs hovering over lounging gods. Kat and Aunt Ellie stood with their heads tilted back and mouths agape for so long they almost lost the butler. He was jaded to