A Sense of Belonging (Perceptions Book 1) by Wendy Soliman

Author:Wendy Soliman [Soliman, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2018-06-01T05:00:00+00:00

*

Luke watched Carlton making Miss Latimer laugh with barely concealed annoyance. He put his displeasure and instant dislike of the man down to the mood that had settled over him when he awoke that morning. With the dawn came realisation that he had reached the point of no return. It was one thing contemplating matrimony but, he was fast discovering, quite another actually making that commitment. It made sense on so many levels for him to take a wife, he thought, vigorously stirring his tea, yet his heart was most definitely not in it. He glanced at Miss Carlton, so pretty, so accomplished, so everything that she should be, and tried to persuade himself that he would be a very fortunate man if he proposed and she accepted him.

He failed.

Miss Latimer’s “powers” must be contagious, he decided with a mirthless smile. Faultless though Miss Carlton’s appearance and behaviour might be, there was an indefinable something about her that made Luke hesitate. He glanced towards Miss Latimer, wondering if she sensed it too, at the same time convinced that he himself had lost whatever wits he had possessed by even contemplating the possibility. Besides, even if his grandmother’s companion really did possess the powers that she laid claim to, she was most certainly not deploying them at that moment. Carlton had the temerity to keep her to himself for far too long, which was damned bad manners on his part. But the lady appeared to enjoy his company, and Luke had no legitimate reason to object.

‘Why are you scowling at your guests?’

Alvin’s voice snatched Luke from his reverie. ‘Was I?’ he asked.

‘She’s a diamond,’ Alvin said, mistaking the direction of Luke’s fixed gaze and assuming he had been contemplating the delicious Lily Carlton, standing a little apart from Miss Latimer and conducting a separate conversation with his grandmother.

‘Undoubtedly,’ Luke replied without much enthusiasm.

A burst of laughter had both men looking over their shoulders to where Luke’s sisters stood with a small party of younger guests. At least they appeared to be enjoying this torture, Luke thought.

‘And your intended is making an effort to ingratiate herself with your grandmother. That is not for the fainthearted, so it must count for something.’

‘You marry her if you’re that smitten.’

Alvin chuckled, undeterred by Luke’s bad humour. ‘If you have decided against her then you owe it to her to make your intentions, or lack of them, clear. She knows why she was invited and is probably already inventorying the family silver.’

Luke rolled his eyes. ‘I suppose it has to be done,’ he said, sounding like a man who felt honour-bound to keep an appointment with the hangman.

‘Not if you ain’t sure.’ Alvin took a sip of his tea and replaced the cup in its saucer. ‘But still, if the fragrant Lily doesn’t measure up to your exacting standards, I wonder if anyone ever will. You could be destined for the solitary life of a curmudgeonly old bachelor.’

‘I would be tempted, but for the fact that they deserve an opportunity to shine,’ he said, glancing at his sisters’ group.

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