A woman’s tools for seduction aren’t what they once were. Blood red lipstick and killer mascara are all very well, but they pale in comparison to the seductive power of a fan. From rapping a suitor’s knuckles to peeping behind with coquettish eyes, a fan is the must-have accessory for any regency lady.
In the following extract from Braving Madness, the antagonist Miss Taunton uses her fan to full effect on the hero Lord Edward Carrington:
Lydia rapped the fan against his chest, the blades hitting each other in a volley of clatters. “I do love a bold man, a man of action and of impulsive decisions.”
Edward’s only impulse was an urge to flee. He held his ground.
She trailed the fan up his chest, catching his coat buttons with the tip. Compared to this calculated flirtation even simpering misses would be preferable. “But aren’t you a little too confident of yourself?” she said through pouting lips. “What if I don’t care to be married?”
Then the rest of the eligible male population could breathe a sigh of relief.
Jessica Baker 