His Reluctant Lady (3 page)

She caught sight of her sister as she
curtsied to Lord Dabney. Forcing aside the urge to look over her
shoulder and see if Mister Robinson was watching her, she went over
to her sister. “How was your dance?”

“
Lovely, just lovely,” her
sister gushed. “He told me all about his favorite book.”

“
Which is?”

“
I don’t
remember.”

“
You don’t
remember?”

“
Well, to be fair, I wasn’t
listening to what he was saying.” She let out a wistful sigh and
smiled. “I just love hearing his voice.”

“
I don’t know what to do
with you, Sophie.”

Agatha waited until they were at the
side of the room before searching for Mister Robinson. As soon as
she saw him, he gave her a knowing smile and nodded. She quickly
averted her gaze and criticized herself for being foolish enough to
make eye contact with him. He just gained an advantage because now
he knew he was on her mind. Blast it, but she should’ve been more
careful!

“
What did you think of
Mister Robinson?” Sophie asked.

She forced a nonchalant shrug. “What’s
there to think? He’s a gentleman like any other.”

“
Do you detest
marriage?”

“
It’s not marriage I detest,
Sophie. It’s the loss of freedom.”

“
Loss of freedom?” She
laughed and inspected her gloves. “You were only married for one
day. What possible loss of freedom could you have endured in that
time?”

“
None. But it was the threat
of it. Before I married, I wasn’t at liberty to pursue my interests
because I had to concern myself with finding a husband. Then I got
married, and the money was my husband’s to do as he saw fit. When
he died, the money fell to me, and I could do whatever I wanted to
with it. That’s freedom, Sophie. No one tells me what to do with my
money, and I’ve managed to make a nice profit with some
investments. Just because I’m a lady, it doesn’t mean I can’t make
wise decisions.”

“
Of course not.”

“
But gentlemen don’t
understand that.”

“
Must you take such a morbid
view on gentlemen?” Sophie pressed, a frown on her pretty
face.

“
You’re right. A few
gentlemen are admirable.” There was Ethan, and she had the greatest
respect for him, especially since he supported her endeavors and
treated her with respect. “But I think most gentlemen are wonderful
for most ladies. You will do well in marriage. You’re meant for it.
Balls, the theatre, paying social visits to your friends… You’ll
enjoy that kind of life.”

“
You could, too, if you had
the right husband.”

Agatha resisted the urge to laugh. Such
a husband would not be coming into her life. What gentleman wanted
a wife who wrote gothic horror novels and submitted tasty morsels
of gossip to the scandalsheets? Her husband had been so horrified
to learn the truth that he strictly forbade her to do it anymore.
Fortunately, he hadn’t lived long enough to enforce his
mandate.

Forcing her mind off the
past, she scanned the room for a suitable gentleman for her sister
to dance with. The least her sister could do was show Lord Dabney
he wasn’t the only potential suitor she had. She intentionally
ignored the area of the room where Mister Robinson was, and her
gaze settled on Ethan who was talking to a couple of gentlemen. She
wondered if they were the sort who’d make a good match for her
sister. Knowing Ethan’s reputation, it was hard to tell. Even
though he had stopped asking her to make up scandals for her to
report in the
Tittletattle
on his behalf, she wasn’t sure if he kept the best
company.

The only way she was going to find out
was to talk to the gentlemen surrounding him. “Let’s go over
there,” she whispered to her sister. “Now that you’ve had your
dance with Lord Dabney, you can make him think you have others at
your beck and call.”

“
I’m glad you came with me
tonight. You know so much about gentlemen.”

It helped that she knew Ethan who
didn’t hesitate to answer all of her questions regarding the way
gentlemen thought. She had asked him such questions because of her
writing, but it helped in real life, too. She smiled at her sister.
“Make sure you laugh loudly when the gentlemen tell you jokes and
tell them how intelligent they are when they give you an opinion.
Even if their jokes are dull and their opinions ridiculous, they
need to think you look up to them. If you do that, you’ll have them
falling over themselves to get to you, and when Lord Dabney sees
that, I believe he’ll pursue you for a change.”

“
How clever!”

“
But don’t thank me until
he’s chasing you.” As they approached Ethan and the three
gentlemen, she made eye contact with Ethan and gave a slight nod in
her sister’s direction.

He waved to her. “Lady Richfield, might
we have a moment of your time?”

She paused, her sister
following suit, and the two approached them. Ethan and the
gentlemen offered a bow, so she and her sister offered a curtsy in
return. She never cared for all the formalities of polite society,
which was one of the reasons she loved writing for the
Tittletattle
. It was a
much needed release to be able to do something wicked for a
change.

Ethan introduced the gentlemen and
added, “Lord Pennella loves to travel. In fact, he just returned
from Spain.”

“
Did he?” Agatha glanced at
her sister with raised eyebrows. “My sister went to Spain three
years ago.”

“
She did?” Lord Pennella
turned his gaze to Sophie and smiled. “What did you think of
it?”

“
It was beautiful country,”
she shyly replied.

“
Perhaps we should discuss
it while we dance?” he offered.

Agatha indicated that she should
accept, so she did. Agatha looked for Lord Dabney and saw that he
was watching Sophie. There. Her plan was working beautifully. No
wonder Sophie hadn’t secured a husband yet. She wasn’t doing the
things necessary to make her attractive to the gentleman of her
choice.

“
I hate to see a lady
without a dance partner,” Ethan told the gentlemen before turning
to Agatha. “May I?” He offered her his arm.

Agatha nodded and accepted. Once they
were dancing, she asked, “So you’re happy being a married
gentleman?”

He grinned. “I am. I didn’t think I’d
be, but my wife is perfect.”

“
It’s a shame not all
marriages result in love.”

“
I didn’t think mine
would.”

Unable to resist the teasing tone in
her voice, she said, “I know. You thought your life was coming to
an end right before your wedding.”

He chuckled. “It was silly how I
reacted, now that I think about it.”

“
Well, you were giving up
your dream of living a quiet life in the country so you could
escape the chaos that is London.”

“
Yes, that was my dream, but
I find I don’t mind London so much now that I don’t have to put up
a huge pretense of being a notorious rake.”

“
There’s nothing like a wife
to straighten a gentleman’s path.”

“
Or make it so that he can
straighten his path without looking as if he was a fraud all
along.”

“
I’ll consent to that,” she
replied.

“
And what of you?” Ethan
asked. “What brings you out to a ball? I thought you’d rather pull
out all of your hair than be here.”

“
My sister was in need of a
chaperone.”

“
Ah. You’re a good sister to
suffer being here.”

She caught sight of Mister Robinson who
was dancing with another lady. He shot her a smile. Heat rose to
her face and she quickly looked away. This was nonsense! She
shouldn’t keep looking at him. But to be fair, she hadn’t been
looking for him this time. “Ethan, how well do you know Mister
Robinson?”

“
I wondered when you’d ask
me about him since you were talking to him when you gave me your
book to submit to Minerva Press.”

“
It was a meeting by
chance.”

“
I thought as much. You
wouldn’t go around dressed as a gentleman to chat with other
gentlemen.”

“
No, I wouldn’t.” She
paused. “You seem to know him well.”

“
We met at White’s. He’s a
good friend, ideal for your sister. Though if you’re looking for
someone suitable for your sister, he lacks a title.”

“
Maybe…”

“
However, if the lack of a
title doesn’t bother you, I could introduce him to your
sister.”

“
They were introduced,” she
replied. “She fancies Lord Dabney, so she danced with him instead
of Mister Robinson.”

Ethan’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, then you
were inquiring about Mister Robinson because you’ve taken an
interest in him?”

“
No, of course
not!”

With a teasing grin, he said, “If you
say so.”

The music ended, saving her from having
to respond. After she gave the obligatory curtsy, she went to find
her sister, thinking that she would find some more gentlemen for
her to dance with. The night couldn’t be over soon enough as far as
she was concerned. The busier she was, the faster time passed and
the sooner she could get home.

Chapter Three

Christopher watched Lady Richfield. She
was an exquisite beauty. Dark brown hair twisted on top of her
head, revealing a slender white neck that begged to be kissed. He’d
heard the neck was a sensitive part on a lady’s body, and he was
more than tempted to see if that was true. But her neck wasn’t the
only thing he’d like to kiss. Her full, rosy lips begged to be
kissed as well.

His gaze went higher as he watched her
walk away from Ethan. High cheekbones, a sharp nose, surprisingly
dark blue eyes, and a high forehead. His gaze went lower and noted
the maroon dress that accentuated her curves, especially her full
breasts. She walked with grace across the room, and she shifted her
head slightly. For a moment he thought she might, once again,
venture a look in his direction then blush prettily as she looked
away. But she didn’t glance his way, and he sighed in
disappointment.

She had danced with Ethan, and maybe if
he asked Ethan about her, he could find out more about her. His
gaze went to Ethan who was talking to the Duke of Rumsey. From the
looks of it, Ethan wished he was talking to anyone but the duke.
Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to find out more about Lady
Richfield, he wove around some people. When he reached Ethan and
the duke, Ethan was pale and beads of sweat covered his forehead.
He glanced at him and shot him a silent look asking him to help
him.

“
I mean it, Lord Edon. I
won’t have you disgracing my daughter,” the duke said, his
expression serious.

Christopher raised his eyebrows. Ethan
had married the duke’s daughter two months ago, and in that time,
he hadn’t heard of a single scandal, something highly unusual for
Ethan who prided himself on his reputation as a rake…or at least he
had prided himself on it before he got married.

“
I’m not doing anything
inappropriate with Lady Richfield,” Ethan insisted.

Stepping up to them, Christopher said,
“He’s right, Your Grace. Lady Richfield and I have begun a friendly
acquaintance.”

The duke turned to him and narrowed his
eyes at him. “You have?”

“
Yes. In fact, I danced with
her before Lord Edon did,” Christopher replied.

“
A dance doesn’t prove
anything.”

“
With all due respect, Your
Grace, I believe Lord Edon was trying to tell you the same
thing.”

The duke’s mouth twitched and he
couldn’t be sure what the gentleman was thinking, but he saw the
light of amusement in Ethan’s eyes and was glad he was able to
speak up on his friend’s behalf.

The duke turned his cold eyes to Ethan.
“I’ll be watching you.”

As the duke walked away, Christopher
shook his head at the gentleman’s retreating back. “So that’s your
father-in-law.”

“
Yes. He’s been a thorn in
my side ever since my mother arranged the marriage. Thank you for
interrupting things when you did. I thought for sure he was ready
to challenge me to a duel.”

“
Surely, you
jest.”

“
You haven’t fenced with
him.”

Christopher chuckled. “No, I haven’t
had the misfortune.” Fencing wasn’t his pastime of choice,
especially when it involved an irate gentleman. His gaze went to
Lady Richfield who offered a polite smile to Lady Cadwalader who
talked to her. “Ethan, how well do you know her?” He motioned to
Lady Richfield, thinking that the more he saw her, the more
attractive she got.

“
Who? Lady Cadwalader or
Lady Richfield?”

“
Lady Richfield, of
course.”

“
Fairly well.”

“
Well enough to be on a
first name basis?” Christopher asked, turning his attention back to
Ethan.