Valentine's Day by Elizabeth Aston

Author:Elizabeth Aston [Aston, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Short Stories, Single Author, Romance, Historical, Single Authors, Historical Romance, Holidays
Amazon: B00HNUN6DS
Publisher: StoryFront
Published: 2014-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Farther down the line of the dance, another pair were not nearly so approving of how Valentine and Lord Marbeck danced together. Lady Amelia had long since made up her mind to marry Lord Marbeck. She found him attractive, he was wealthy and a nobleman, and she had indulged in some agreeable flirtation with him. He was notoriously a man not to be caught in any woman’s matrimonial net, but she knew, for one of her brothers had told her, that the bets were being laid in the clubs that this time flirtation might turn to something more serious.

And why should it not? She was far prettier than that gypsy he was dancing with, all dark hair and flashing dark eyes. She was as well born as he was; she had a good portion…That thought made her frown, for her own fortune was not near a hundred thousand pounds, a sum large enough to tempt any man. Although probably not Marbeck, whose own wealth was considerable enough for him to marry where he chose.

As the dance came to an end, Amelia and Sir Richard Brindley exchanged glances. He said, knowing his words would wound, “Marbeck seems mightily taken with Miss Welburn. What a waste, that her substantial fortune should be added to his own immense one.”

Amelia said, “He is a good friend of Lord Mountjoy’s; I daresay he is only dancing with her out of politeness.”

She spoke with an air of indifference, but Sir Richard was not taken in. In truth, Amelia had seen a warmth in Lord Marbeck’s eye as he bowed to Miss Welburn that she didn’t like at all.

She said, “Would not Miss Welburn make a good wife for you, Sir Richard? I know you would like to marry an heiress.”

“She is not the kind of woman I would willingly choose for a wife. She has a wildness to her that appeals, but it could never make for domestic happiness. No, Amelia, do not glare at me for complimenting another woman. Miss Welburn does not have your looks, but believe me, there is a vital charm to her that attracts men. But for me, her most attractive feature—and one that overrides her rather strange background—is the size of her fortune. I could rub along with a wife if I had control of a fortune so substantial as hers. Especially since, once married, I need not see very much of her. I have my own way of spending my time.”

Lady Amelia, despite her carefully cultivated air of fragility, was no fool. She had been brought up in a masculine household with five brothers and an irascible father, so she knew a good deal more about the habits and inclinations of men than most young women of her age and breeding. She knew where Sir Richard’s tastes lay, and she pitied the woman who might marry him, but she owed nothing to Miss Welburn and cared not a jot whether she might have an unhappy marriage. What was that to her?

“You had best go and ask her for a dance, then.

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