Back to His Lordship by Jen Geigle Johnson

Author:Jen Geigle Johnson
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2019-10-22T04:00:00+00:00

12

When Oliver arrived home, his mother was waiting for him in the front room. “Is that you, son?”

“Yes, mother. What are you doing in here?” She had nothing with her, no needlepoint, not even a book. She sat stiffly with her hands in her lap.

“Who were you with?”

“I went to Vauxhall with the duke and duchess and their friend, Lady Eva.”

“Their friend. And how do they know this friend? When none of the rest of us has ever heard of such a person as Lady Eva?”

“I don’t know. From what she says, her family lives on a small estate in the north of England. Her father is a baron.”

“Who we’ve never heard of.”

He didn’t admit that the same lack of knowledge of her family had concerned him as well. “I don’t know, Mother. Whoever she is, she seems perfectly respectable. For the first time, I’ve been interested in knowing a woman better.”

“What do you think of her?”

“I enjoy our time together. I’m not certain it will come of anything. But I might spend more time with her to find out.”

His mother’s lips pursed. “I’ve invited a family to come to tea tomorrow. I would like you to be there to help entertain their daughter.”

“Mother, I don’t need your assistance in choosing how I spend my time.”

“I think you do.”

“Please, Mother. She might be someone I cannot abide. And then I will be left entertaining her at balls and expected to not neglect her. Once introductions are made, once the familiarity of our home has become a part, there are expectations.”

“Precisely. Please, humor your mother, if nothing else. While this Lady Eva might be intriguing for the moment, you might be wise to find someone who has been raised as you have, who understands the workings of the ton, your expectations in the House of Lords, someone who can complete you and make you happy as well as knows how to run a proper estate.”

Could Lady Eva run an estate? She had such outlandish views of things. He’d never been so shocked to discover she had such strong Whig tendencies. And to hear her talk passionately about subjects so decidedly beyond her understanding was at first interesting to him but then worrisome. He couldn’t have her spouting off any of her thoughts to their friends and family or to other members of the house of lords.

He had to be careful how he moved forward in the current opinions that were unfolding around him. The disappointment that had fueled a disheartening sense of doom where their potential was concerned made him doubt any further potential with her. He sat down with a disheartened plop next to his mother. “Who is this woman you would like me to meet?”

She patted his knee. “Oh, thank you, son. I hoped you’d be agreeable. She’s well sought after. Most men would be happy to be aligned with her and her family. Her dowry is excellent, and she’s a lovely person besides. Lady Everly.”

He’d seen her. What

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.