Page 64 of The Smuggler’s Escape

Dorothea sighed. “I hope so. In the meantime, I’m missing a lecture and a poetry reading, and God knows what else.”

“In that case, we must hatch a plot to expedite your return to London. What do you say, Dan? Would you like to develop a tendre for Miss Darsington?”

Now it was Dan’s turn to redden. “I say, Richard! You don’t hesitate to make one look a fool, do you?” He turned to Dorothea and bowed. “Miss Darsington, I should be delighted to fall victim to your manifest charms.”

Dorothea blushed again. “Thank you, Mr. Davison. You’re not heir to a huge fortune, I trust?”

“No, no, I’m hopelessly ineligible,” Mr. Davison said.

“My mother will be happy to make that clear,” Richard said. “You may start by taking Miss Darsington on a tour of the church, while I retrieve Noelle from the alehouse. Maybe we should get Harry Walsh to help out, too. He’s always ready to lay siege to a pretty woman.”

“Not Lord Harry!” Dorothea cried. “He’ll try to make me flirt, and I don’t know how.”

“What better opportunity to learn? Your mother will be desperate to get you out of his clutches. Harry’s poor as a church mouse.”

“I can’t flirt,” Dorothea said. “I’ve tried, and it’s completely beyond me. It’s far, far worse than resisting my mother. The way Lord Harry looks at me makes me horridly uneasy. Mr. Davison will do very well, thank you.”

“Coward,” Richard said.

“Yes, that is true. I wish I could be as bold and brave as Mademoiselle de Vallon.” She sighed. “I admire her very much. I’m sure she will make you an excellent wife.”

“Tell her so, will you?” Richard asked. “She’s having second thoughts, cold feet, and so on and so forth. I’d really rather she didn’t change her mind.”

“Oh, no, she mustn’t do that,” Dorothea said with a shudder. “For much as I like you, I couldn’t possibly marry you, and the feeling is mutual, I’m sure.”