Read Online A Debutante's Guide to Rebellion by Kathleen Kimmel - Free Book Online

smirk.
    He frowned. He did not lose track of time. He simply didn’t. But he’d had no suspicion that so much time had passed.
    â€œOh, well,” Sophie said. “In that case, we’ll simply have to talk up Lady Eddie to our uncle, plant suggestions about his need for an heir, and then get the two of them in the same place at the same time at the next ball so that they can talk.”
    â€œThat seems remarkably straightforward,” Eddie said with a frown. “Why did you need us to come up with a plan, then?”
    â€œI suppose I didn’t after all,” Sophie said.
    Eddie narrowed her eyes at the older girl. She’d thrown the two of them together, alone, in an isolated space. Why? Was she trying to pair
them
up?
    That was probably it. She viewed Eddie as unsuitable for her uncle, and thought that if she could be distracted or compromised, it would save him the trouble of marrying her. She had not believed Sophie thought so poorly of her, but she had been wrong about such things before.
    The fact that the notion of marrying Ezekiel Blackwood inspired a faint tingle of delight only made the deception rankle all the more.
    â€œWell,” Eddie said briskly. “Thank you for your help. I should be getting home.” She started for the door.
    â€œWait,” Mr. Blackwood said. She turned, half hoping that he would—oh, she didn’t know. That he would make it all better. But instead he pointed to the bottlebrush behind her ear. “You should probably take that out,” he said.
    She snatched the bottlebrush and tossed it onto the table beside her. “Thank you,” she said again, and turned to go.
    ***
    Ezekiel didn’t understand exactly what had transpired in those final moments in the greenhouse, but he knew that he had made some sort of grave error. Lady Eddie had looked distressed in a subtle way. He was not good at the subtleties of human emotion, however, and he couldn’t say for certain what the nature of her distress had been.
    Sophie was no help. “Don’t be silly,” she said. “She likes you. It’s obvious.”
    â€œThat was not my question,” Ezekiel said. They were walking home together, a long jaunt but a welcome one. It allowed Ezekiel the chance to fit in exercise as well as conversation with Sophie, both of which were essential for a day well-spent. Also on the list: reading, eating, proper hydration. However, none of these three tasks were easily combined with exercise, so this particular arrangement was the most efficient by far. “And I don’t see how it is relevant at all. We are not trying to ensure that she likes me. We are trying to ensure that our uncle likes her.”
    He did not enjoy the roil of jealousy that followed those words. He was determined to be enlightened about this arrangement. A triumph of intellect over base instinct, in the service of friendship.
    â€œYou must see that she deserves better than to be married to a man so much older than her, for the sole purpose of providing an heir,” Sophie said. “I cannot believe that Lord Averdale would be so callous and cynical as to pursue her.”
    â€œHe’s only being rational,” Ezekiel said. “And I see no reason why she wouldn’t be a suitable wife.”
    â€œFor whom, exactly?” Sophie asked.
    â€œFor Lord Averdale, of course,” Ezekiel replied. He was not enjoying this conversation; it was extremely uncomfortable, in fact, and he was relieved when they reached the town house and Sophie excused herself to her room. After some consideration, Ezekiel made for the library. He was certain he had seen several horticultural texts on the shelves, and he wanted to investigate the proper tending of the crimson bottlebrush. That way, he and Lady Eddie would be able to—
    He stopped in the doorway. His uncle was already in the library, sitting in an armchair with a book open before him. Ezekiel could