AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She did just that and barely managed to avoid dashing her head upon the ground when Daniel effortlessly caught her and promptly tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. Jenny trailed after them but maintained her distance.
As they walked about, Emily caught sight of one of the ladies looking rather shocked before turning to her companion and whispering.
“This…I think you are attracting too much attention, Your Grace,” she told him, her eyes darting about.
He smiled as he patted her his arm. “Consider this another of my lessons, my dear—men want what others want.”
Emily frowned in confusion. “Why would they?”
“Because it is part of the chase,” he explained succinctly. “I have never before been seen escorting a young lady for a stroll in Hyde Park, and now, they see me with you. What do you think will be the first thing that comes to their minds?”
“That you have taken me up as a charity case,” she muttered, bitterness seeping into her tone. “And it is not too far off the mark either.”
The look he gave her was one of incredulity. “Not exactly. When they see me with you, word will spread all over the Ton, and everyone is going to wonder if I have, perhaps, seen something in you that they have missed. Your dear Viscount will also hear of this and, gauging me as a possible rival for your affections, will double his efforts to win your heart.”
Emily blinked at him before bursting out into peals of laughter, the sound clear as bells in the sunny afternoon. “I have never heard of something so...soincredulous!”
“In that case, you have very little idea of how the minds of those in society work. I assure you, by tonight, the gossip mill will be abuzz with speculation.”
She cast him a sideways glance. “So, youdoconsider me a charity case.”
“I would call this a strategic stroll to bolster your desirability,” he rebutted with a calm smile. “And just in time for the Hadley ball next week.”
“You seem to have it all planned out,” she looked at him with admiration, “but what makes you think they will fall for this ruse of yours?”
His Grace, the Duke of Gilleton, was tall with broad-shoulders and possessed of a self-assured air of a man who knew his place in the world. He had a sizeable income from several successful businesses that reached all the way to India.
He was also sinfully handsome with dark hair, blue eyes, and a smile that made her forget herself at times.
In short, he was every young lady’s dream and every mama’s goal—if he was not such an unrepentant rake, that is.
But still, his aloofness and unavailability only served to make him even more desirable.
“Because,” he said softly, “I have far more experience with how the minds of these people work.”
He said it with so much assurance that Emily found it hard to contradict. She had spent the last two seasons failing miserably, while His Grace, it would seem, managed to successfully evade the matrimonial trap ever since he inherited his father’s title.
I could take a page out of his book, Emily wondered.It would seem that not only men enjoyed going after what is beyond their reach, but young ladies did, too…
Emily, however, would gladly settle for a man she could get along with and who had a sufficient income so as to provide for her and their family to live comfortably.
* * *
Unbeknownst to Emily, Daniel was also studying her, quietly enjoying the play of expressions on her delicate features. Today, she had been dressed in yet another unattractive garment, but in the warm afternoon sunshine, her hair had turned a brilliant gold-red, her complexion clear and luminous, her lips a luscious pink that tempted a man to steal a kiss…
Frowning at his own thoughts, he pulled himself back and reminded himself that he was here only because he was helping her snag a suitable husband she could live with. Briefly recalling their conversation at the Hawthorne ball, he had caught a glimpse of her romantic tendencies which were in direct conflict with his views on marriage.
Beyond this…physical attraction he wasalmostdeveloping for Lady Emily Montgomery, they would never suit. She was a veritable innocent with notions of love and romance tempered only by a surprising levelheadedness whereas he never believed in those things and avoided the matrimonial traps young ladies had set out before him.
Besides, Benedict would kill me out of some misguided brotherly sense of honor, he mentally scoffed. The Earl of Hardy was a good friend of his, but that did not mean they agreed on all things.
He glanced back at her maid, who hastily dropped her gaze when he looked at her. He subtly raised an eyebrow at her, and she nodded jerkily with a wide smile before slowing her steps significantly.
Well, at least she does seem to have some wits about her,he thought to himself. After all, to be a success, Emily would need all the help she could get when the odds and her own stepmother were already stacked high against her. She could not afford to have a simpleton for a maid.
“So…” Emily’s soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he turned towards her with a raised eyebrow. Under his gaze, she blushed a becoming shade of pink once more. “If you were the Viscount or any other suitor, what should I say to you that would make me seem, ah…moredesirable?”
He looked around them and saw that they were quite a distance from the crowd and had reached a relatively secluded area of the Park. Jenny had fallen behind somewhere on the path, leaving them momentarily quite secluded. A reluctant smile tugged at his lips at the sight of her upturned face, her eyes wide and trusting as they sought him for advice.
