Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“In other words, he is boring. I quite agree. Fletcher loves nothing more than his hunting hounds. If you want him to talk then mention the beasts and he won’t shut up.” I spoke poorly of Fletcher just to get more of that spark behind her spectacular expressions. She would not fawn over me like most ladies here tonight while I spoke to her, and I found it was quite enjoyable.
“And what of you? If you are such an excellent conversationalist, what would you talk about to a lady you have just made acquaintance?”
I could not recall a time when a female had chosen not to flirt with me, especially while in London. This was an odd experience for me, but if I were being honest, it was … refreshing. I oft began a conversation with ladies prepared for them to use their feminine wiles to draw me in. This one not only had an opinion, but she was openly curious about mine. If she was in London to find a husband, she was not going about it the right way. I daresay even her beauty could not distract from her sharp tongue and mind. At least not in this setting.
“I would show interest in her and find out what makes her smile. Listen to her words and not blabber about my own. If I am to spend a moment dancing with a lady then I want to remember her by the things that delight her not simply by who she is,” I replied honestly.
Her sapphire eyes widened slightly; however, she didn’t smile coyly or soften, but then had I truly expected her to? If simple words had broken down the fortress she had built around her then she would be no true challenge at all.
“I see,” was all she said then she glanced back at the ballroom. “I’ve been gone long enough. I must return.”
She was running away and we both knew it. “It was a pleasure, Miss Bathurst,” I said with a genuine smile.
Her eyes narrowed then as she studied me. “I do not recall giving you my name.”
I gave a small nod. “I asked of you the moment I witnessed you refuse my brother.”
She sighed then, as if reminding her of how she’d treated Ashington was cumbersome. “Again, I did nothing to your brother but correct him. A title means nothing if you wield arrogance and power because of it.”
“Unfortunately, the rest of London doesn’t agree,” I replied. Nor would the eligible gentlemen of this season fancy hearing such. She was a treasure indeed.
Miriam Bathurst flashed a small sad frown as if I’d snatched away her last hope that the ton wasn’t as shallow as they seemed. Watching her walk away from me, I felt an odd sense of guilt for being the one to inform her of such a truth.
I watched her as she stopped to get a glass of lemonade and yet before she could leave the table, three men had surrounded her. I knew their faces and none of them were verbally ready to handle Miriam Bathurst. She would require much more than a young man who fancied himself in love with her beauty. Her mother must have allowed her into the library instead of forcing needlework upon her or other silly involvements. Miriam Bathurst was clever.
Taking my eyes off her, I met the heated glare of my brother. He wasn’t happy to see me but then I couldn’t recall a time in our adult years that he was pleased by my presence. Once we had been rather close, but those years seemed a lifetime ago. Our childhood had changed that and I regretted it, but I would not let that regret carry any weight on my decision to follow through with my well-constructed plan.
I gave him a nod and smirked. Yes, dear brother, I am here to make sure you are humiliated far worse than what Miss Bathurst presented you with tonight. You should be nervous.
Shifting my focus to Lydia Ramsbury, I knew she’d be easy to lure away. There would be no true challenge with that one. My brother knew nothing of romance. He was too cold and indifferent to the desires of a woman. Lydia was a business transaction for him. Choosing his countess had nothing to do with true affection but then neither did it with his peers. They were all so mundanely boring.
I, on the other hand, hadn’t stayed in London’s confining society. Paris had taught me much about the allure of romance. Ashington had the title, of course, but he had no idea how to seduce a lady. If only he’d chosen a more interesting woman. Lydia wasn’t exciting in the least. She represented no challenge at all. If, in fact, I was correct in my estimation that Lydia Ramsbury was who my brother intended to make his bride.