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“I am not teaching you boxing.”
She turned her head to where he too lay a few feet from her. He stared at the ceiling, and she studied his left profile. The man was astonishingly handsome.
“You are teaching me how to fight,” she murmured.
“Yes. And fighting is unfair, gritty, raw, and violent.”
Something unspoken lingered in the room, and she felt uneasy. “You do not think I am capable of…of fighting if required. I am too ladylike and gentle,” she said, with a reproving glance at the earl.
Yet Verity acknowledged it was a deep fear in her heart. What if all this risk was for naught. What if she never used the skills she learned and worse…what if she was called upon to use them and could not. The shame of it would kill her.
“While you are an apt pupil, you are very delicate.”
“I am stronger than I appear,” she snapped.
“Perhaps. If your brother will not defend your dignity when needed, a husband would.”
“A marriage will be announced soon.”
He jerked as if he’d been slapped.
“You are engaged?”
“No, but I am aware of the man whom I wish to marry. Well not the man himself but of his attributes and q
ualities.”
The corner of the earl’s mouth curled upward. “And what merits are pleasing to Lady Verity?” His smile was the most irresistible she had ever seen, and his tone was like dark velvet.
She blushed and looked away.
“Come now, your fierceness has been incurable so far, do not attempt shyness now.”
She scowled at him, and the dratted man smiled. “I do not mock the sincerity of your desire, I am only curious about you.”
There was that warm glow inside again.
“My ideal husband is fair and very elegant. We are of a similar height, and he is slim in built. The ton should respect him, but he does not need to be overly popular. He is kind, humorous, smart, and attentive. We should be quite close in age so that we grow old together with little chance of one dying long before the other. He should bring me flowers often, sing with me for I so love singing.”
“Good God,” he muttered. “I cannot credit ladies have such stipulations. I think it is impossible to dictate who the heart should fall in love with.”
Love. Such a tender sentiment from the earl startled her. “And I suppose you believe in love?”
“Of course, why would I not?”
She had no reply to that arched question. “I do declare men have expectations as well. Most in society wish for a wife of fortune, and to have little interest beyond serving their husband and household.”
“I have no such ridiculous expectations,” he uttered darkly.
She smiled triumphantly. “But you have others! Do you not wish to marry a woman of quality? One whose father has political influence? You have yet to make your mark in parliament and your ambitions lean in that direction. The rumors say so.”
“I suppose that means it must be true?”
“True enough. Both ladies and gentlemen have an expectation in their heart as to what they want in their partners. They are simply different,” she said with a touch of hauteur.
He grunted, as if annoyed. “And what will your husband who sounds to me like one of those elegant and proper dandies think of you knowing to fight, and how you came by the knowledge?”
She bit back a laugh. “He will not know unless necessary.”
