Her Lessons in Persuasion by Megan Frampton

Author:Megan Frampton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2023-01-24T00:00:00+00:00

Men I Do Not Wish to Marry

Men I Do Not Wish to Marry: A Not at All Comprehensive List by Lady Wilhelmina Bettesford

Any gentleman at all. No matter how blue their eyes are, or how intelligent they seem.

Chapter Fourteen

Wilhelmina nearly pinched herself to make certain this was reality. There were no fewer than five gentlemen standing around her, and at least two of them—Mr. Townsend and his friend Mr. Osborne—were exceedingly handsome.

She could see why Alethea enjoyed the attention she received because of her beauty, though Wilhelmina imagined it would be exhausting to have this attention all the time. One would want to run home and hide under the covers for a bit, just to recover.

Or she would. She didn’t think Alethea would have that wish.

She’d never experienced this before. When she’d first made her debut, she’d taken pains to keep herself to herself in the corners, and not so subtly discouraged anyone who might possibly take an interest in her. Then there was her stepping on feet, which discouraged anyone who hadn’t gotten the hint already.

And she was going to go to the opera again! She should have thought of that before, that she could go again if she wanted to. There was no need for her father and his wife to purchase someone to take her either, since she had two gentlemen offering.

Plus she had somehow made Mr. Townsend blush. She wasn’t certain quite what she’d done, just that she’d met his gaze after they’d spoken, and then pink had flooded his cheeks. She would not tell him, of course, but his blushing made his appearance move from devastatingly handsome to adorable.

While still being devastatingly handsome.

“Mr. Townsend, I would very much enjoy going to the opera.” But she wouldn’t be rude to Lord Paskins, even if he thought staring up at the stars was idiotic. He couldn’t be blamed for his ignorance. “And my lord,” she said to Lord Paskins in a gentle tone, “if there is something else you would enjoy doing—” she began, only to pause as Mr. Townsend began to cough.

“Apologies,” he said when the coughing fit was done. “Just something catching in my throat.”

“I imagine so,” his friend Mr. Osborne said, his intonation making it sound as though there was something more he was referencing.

“I’ve purchased a carriage recently,” Lord Paskins replied. “Perhaps I could take you for a drive? Say on Friday?”

Wilhelmina nodded before she had time to think about it.

Perhaps there was something to Alethea’s plan, after all—she would not be doing these things if Mr. Townsend hadn’t agreed to the fake courtship. Though did she really wish to go driving with Lord Paskins? Likely not. But she would like being outside, since the only times lately she could go outside were when she was being whisked to the dressmaker’s or taken to a party such as this one.

If she just went out for the occasional drive with eligible gentlemen, perhaps the careful watch her father and Alethea had on her would relax, and she would be able to do more of what she wanted.

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.