Mr. Pickwick's Guide to Marriageable Young Ladies by Jill Beene

Author:Jill Beene [Beene, Jill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Beene Publishing
Published: 2020-03-31T04:00:00+00:00

He and Percy rode home at half the pace that they’d ridden to the small park. Andrews’ man had come for him soon after Eleanor had arrived at the Marchioness’ town home. He’d just finished breakfasting with Percy, who’d ridden over to partake of the sugared bacon that Edward hated, but which kept showing up on the sideboard every morning.

Percy was game for anything, and his presence that morning was a serendipitous turn of events. Edward hadn't told him much on the fast ride over, but Percy had quickly gotten into the spirit of things. It was about a woman, and that was all Percy had needed to hear. After all, how many times had Edward helped Percy out? Percy was a hopeless romantic who was determined to remain single--a strange combination, to be sure. He was in love with the idea of love, but wasn't keen on falling victim to it. It was a good thing that Percy’s mannerisms were teasing enough that no woman had ever really taken him seriously--meaning that no woman had ever been hurt by his rejection.

That was one reason that Edward was surprised at how quiet and thoughtful Percy had become once Edward had briefly described the situation. Edward had played it off as a lark, a joke--a situation that he himself was using only for his own amusement. But Percy had gone silent, contemplative, which was rare for him. It made Edward nervous, feel as if he needed to fill the silence. So he had--with what he meant to be a short synopsis of his interactions with Eleanor Gilbert so far. He’d worked hard at making the story funny and had hoped that Percy would laugh. But he hadn't, and Edward caught Percy studying him when Percy thought he wasn't looking.

Edward wasn't surprised when Percy had gotten right into the spirit of things when it came to creating some alone time for him and Eleanor. He had been surprised at Percy’s mannerisms after the too-brief encounter.

They’d barely mounted their horses and headed back the way they’d come when Percy said, “Is this the end of our single days then, Edward?”

“What?” Edward had said, genuinely surprised. “Whatever do you mean?”

“Lady Eleanor,” he said. “Not that I disapprove of your choice. On the contrary--I like what I know of her so far. She doesn't seem overly fond of you--which means that she’s either playing the coquette or she’s genuinely not interested. I must admit, it would be vastly more amusing if it’s the latter.”

“I don't believe Eleanor has it within her to be anything but genuine. Against her own better judgement, she is all that is candid.”

“Oh, it’s ‘Eleanor’, is it?” Percy asked, his eyebrows raised. “Then things are progressing at a faster pace than I suspected.”

Edward sighed. “Our families were friends a long time ago. You’re getting excited over nothing, I assure you.”

Even as Edward spoke the words, an internal voice challenged their truth.

Percy scoffed. “In all the years we’ve known each other, I’ve never seen you single a lady out for attention.

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