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Authors: Jessica Jefferson
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Recognizing the voice of James’ sister, Amelia, he slowly opened his eyes.
Then he recognized her walking partner—Miss Ambrosia Tisdale. As he set his book on the bench and began to rise to greet the ladies, he took note of her appearance. She looked lovely in her pink striped walking dress and perfectly coiffed hair. But then again, he couldn’t imagine a woman like Miss Tisdale tolerating looking anything but . . . perfect.
“Good day, Lady Middlebury.” He bowed. “And good day to you, Miss Tisdale.” He bowed again, fixing his eyes on hers, never looking away.
Miss Tisdale curtsied politely and mumbled something about the weather being unseasonably warm.
Hardly the response he was looking for.
“Yes, it is truly a good day to be out of doors. Out of doors and amongst such beauty ,” he added, gaze intently focused, narrowed on his target.
“Is there something wrong with your eyes?” Ambrosia asked, her voice firm.
Duncan gave her his best lopsided grin, a look he had perfected in order to evoke just the right amount of irresistible boyish charm. “Quite the contrary. I believe I am seeing things, people really, more clearly than I had before.”
Ambrosia narrowed her own gaze toward him. “You keep squinting. Does that commonly occur whilst you read? The same thing happened to my sister, Rose, and she had to start wearing spectacles. Perhaps you need spectacles, Lord Bristol? Or if it is not your failing eyesight it could be something a bit more grave. Possibly the start of some sort of eye ailment? You should hope for the spectacles, I have heard eye ailments may have quite serious effects and are said to be quite terribly uncomfortable.”
Duncan’s shoulders sank slightly.
He had agreed with James that the best, well, at least the quickest, way to accomplish his Uncle’s request would be to marry Miss Tisdale. James had insisted on orchestrating an elaborate plan, though Duncan believed the extra effort was unnecessary. He was, after all, quite confident in his abilities and didn’t see how the seduction of some rigid would-be spinster could prove any difficulty. He would simply stand by and be himself, and let her come to him.
After all, she had been willing enough in the Montgomery’s library.
Only she hadn’t come to him. Quite the opposite, really. In fact, if he were a vain type of man, he would go so far as to suspect the chit was purposefully avoiding him.
Kenning had made certain that Duncan received an invitation to every possible social gathering within a day’s travel of London. In turn, Duncan had gallantly made the effort to attend every musicale, every drum, every rout, and every dinner party that he received invitation to, only to find that Miss Tisdale was never in attendance. It was as if she had dropped out of society altogether.
And truth be told, it was particularly challenging to seduce a woman that you never actually saw.
To add insult to injury, he had learned that one of the betting books at White’s held a long running challenge regarding the engagement of Miss Tisdale. Apparently, faith was running low and the wagers rewarding her potential spinsterhood had increased dramatically. It would appear the task was far less feasible than he had initially believed.
And so, here he was. He had resorted to espionage, obtaining information from James’ sister that resulted in Duncan’s calculated positioning at Hyde so as to intercept the two ladies during their promenade.
Finally, the due diligence had paid off. The hunter had found its prey and his plan could at last be set in motion.
He had set an unfortunate precedent, having teased her mercilessly at every encounter. And there was the inconvenient truth of his reputation that he would need to overcome. But he still had quite a bit of charm, so despite the obvious barriers, the task of courting Miss Tisdale should have been easy enough. He was a celebrated rakehell, after all, and the seduction of some
Recognizing the voice of James’ sister, Amelia, he slowly opened his eyes.
Then he recognized her walking partner—Miss Ambrosia Tisdale. As he set his book on the bench and began to rise to greet the ladies, he took note of her appearance. She looked lovely in her pink striped walking dress and perfectly coiffed hair. But then again, he couldn’t imagine a woman like Miss Tisdale tolerating looking anything but . . . perfect.
“Good day, Lady Middlebury.” He bowed. “And good day to you, Miss Tisdale.” He bowed again, fixing his eyes on hers, never looking away.
Miss Tisdale curtsied politely and mumbled something about the weather being unseasonably warm.
Hardly the response he was looking for.
“Yes, it is truly a good day to be out of doors. Out of doors and amongst such beauty ,” he added, gaze intently focused, narrowed on his target.
“Is there something wrong with your eyes?” Ambrosia asked, her voice firm.
Duncan gave her his best lopsided grin, a look he had perfected in order to evoke just the right amount of irresistible boyish charm. “Quite the contrary. I believe I am seeing things, people really, more clearly than I had before.”
Ambrosia narrowed her own gaze toward him. “You keep squinting. Does that commonly occur whilst you read? The same thing happened to my sister, Rose, and she had to start wearing spectacles. Perhaps you need spectacles, Lord Bristol? Or if it is not your failing eyesight it could be something a bit more grave. Possibly the start of some sort of eye ailment? You should hope for the spectacles, I have heard eye ailments may have quite serious effects and are said to be quite terribly uncomfortable.”
Duncan’s shoulders sank slightly.
He had agreed with James that the best, well, at least the quickest, way to accomplish his Uncle’s request would be to marry Miss Tisdale. James had insisted on orchestrating an elaborate plan, though Duncan believed the extra effort was unnecessary. He was, after all, quite confident in his abilities and didn’t see how the seduction of some rigid would-be spinster could prove any difficulty. He would simply stand by and be himself, and let her come to him.
After all, she had been willing enough in the Montgomery’s library.
Only she hadn’t come to him. Quite the opposite, really. In fact, if he were a vain type of man, he would go so far as to suspect the chit was purposefully avoiding him.
Kenning had made certain that Duncan received an invitation to every possible social gathering within a day’s travel of London. In turn, Duncan had gallantly made the effort to attend every musicale, every drum, every rout, and every dinner party that he received invitation to, only to find that Miss Tisdale was never in attendance. It was as if she had dropped out of society altogether.
And truth be told, it was particularly challenging to seduce a woman that you never actually saw.
To add insult to injury, he had learned that one of the betting books at White’s held a long running challenge regarding the engagement of Miss Tisdale. Apparently, faith was running low and the wagers rewarding her potential spinsterhood had increased dramatically. It would appear the task was far less feasible than he had initially believed.
And so, here he was. He had resorted to espionage, obtaining information from James’ sister that resulted in Duncan’s calculated positioning at Hyde so as to intercept the two ladies during their promenade.
Finally, the due diligence had paid off. The hunter had found its prey and his plan could at last be set in motion.
He had set an unfortunate precedent, having teased her mercilessly at every encounter. And there was the inconvenient truth of his reputation that he would need to overcome. But he still had quite a bit of charm, so despite the obvious barriers, the task of courting Miss Tisdale should have been easy enough. He was a celebrated rakehell, after all, and the seduction of some
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