A Series of Unfortunate Proposals: A Historical Regency Romance Novel by Catherine Keaton

Author:Catherine Keaton [Keaton, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-27T00:00:00+00:00

That evening, when the hour had grown late enough to warrant the entire house turning in for the night, Elinor decided to spend some time crocheting her project by her fire and went down from her bedroom to the schoolroom to retrieve it. She had left it there to instruct Beth on the skill during the day.

Down inside the darkened schoolroom, she located the patch of cloth and turned around to head back upstairs, but suddenly Mr. Hewlett appeared in the doorway, his eyes sharp and unyielding.

“Here you are, Miss Grant,” he said through gritted teeth. He took a swig from a glass of red port he held in his hand, letting out a loud sigh.

“Mr. Hewlett?” Her eyes widened from the shock. His presence was entirely unprecedented. “You are never in the schoolroom. What are you doing here at this late hour?”

“I followed you.” He lacked any mirth in his tone, something she had yet to witness from him. It unnerved her more than his usual rude demeanor.

“Why would you have followed me, sir?” She placed her crocheting work-in-progress close to her breast as if it could shield her from something, but from what she did not know.

“Because you have obstructed me,” he said, slowly closing the gap between them. “You have interfered.”

“In what way do you mean?” She had no earthly idea what he could be referring to. “I cannot see how I have obstructed you in any way.”

“You told your sister to stay away from me, did you not?” He took another swig from his drink. “I can hardly even speak to her any longer. She is only interested in Valentine these days and shrugs me off like an annoying little dog.”

“I… I did do that,” she admitted.

“Why?” he asked.

“I told her not to expect a proposal from you because you would almost certainly need to marry for money. She obviously does not have money, thus she ought to place her sights elsewhere.”

“You chased away my little plaything.” He snorted as though breathing out smoke from his nostrils. “I am cross with you for it.”

“I am afraid I am not sorry for my interference, sir,” she said, looking him directly in the eye. He had come too close for comfort, but she would not back down from a bully in her face. “Since our mother died, I have been my sister’s keeper, and I will guide her as I see fit. She is, however, free to do as she pleases, and if she listens to her elder sister, as she ought, then she is wise to do so. You could only have ever been interested in ruining her and nothing more.”

“Is that your real reason for warning her off me?” he asked, smirking. “Or is it because you are jealous of her?”

“‘Jealous?’” Elinor nearly choked on the word just to enunciate it. “That is ridiculous.”

“I can see it in your eyes—she is beautiful, charming, young.” He spoke as though a snake whispering something to convince Eve. “A

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