A Pretense of Love by Aileen Fish

Author:Aileen Fish
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: 0
Published: 2013-07-31T20:00:00+00:00

Two nights later, she had the opportunity to ask him this. Mrs. Granderson had invited Jean and Mrs. Seton to attend the theater and sit in the box belonging to her particular friend, Lord Everton. Jean was not at all surprised when Mr. Tilbury arrived, alone, just before the curtain went up.

Jean sat between him and her mother without speaking a word through the entire first act. When intermission came, he offered to allow her to stretch her legs. Needing some way to disperse the displeasure simmering inside her, she accepted his arm and stepped into the crowded passageway.

It was the wrong place to speak to him, but she had little choice when he said, “My aunt tells me you received a basket of ices recently. What an odd gift for anyone to send.”

“Do not play coy with me, Mr. Tilbury. I am not so naïve as to not know who sent the gift.” Try as she might, she couldn’t keep the tight inflection from her voice. “It was very presumptuous of you. A gentleman wouldn’t send gifts to a lady knowing how it might reflect on her character.”

He smiled and was pushed against her by the crowd. “Forgive me. This is a bad spot to hold a conversation. Shall we keep moving? I hadn’t meant to presume anything, but merely thought you would enjoy the sweets.”

“And so you sent them during your aunt’s at home hour, making certain there were enough that even the gentlemen callers must partake of them.”

His lips pulled down in a mock frown. “I couldn’t send just one…”

“But why send any?” Jean whispered loudly, wanting to be heard by him, but only him. “I do not wish you to spend any more money on me than you already have.”

Closing her eyes, she realized how that would sound to anyone nearby. She could be ruining her reputation in the eyes of the ton. She should return to her mother and wait to speak to Mr. Tilbury when they were in the privacy of Mrs. Granderson’s home.

Mr. Tilbury wouldn’t drop the subject. “I thought only of my aunt and her guests and had no other motive. Your brother would wish me to see that your visit to London is everything you wish it to be.”

She mentally thanked him for that bit, should anyone be eavesdropping. But she hoped he could see in her eyes what she wanted to say. “Gilbert wouldn’t expect any favors that might be misunderstood by others.”

He gazed down as her when they reached the box, but didn’t pull aside the curtain right away. “I wrote to Gilbert several weeks ago, so there may be no misunderstanding of my intentions.”

Jean’s lips parted to reply, but no words came out. No words formed in her mind, as if it went completely numb. Mr. Tilbury led her to her seat, spoke with his aunt and her friend, then sat beside Jean as the curtain rose for the next act.

The nerve of the man. He’d written to her brother of his intentions without even telling her what he planned.

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