Read Online Compromising Miss Tisdale by Jessica Jefferson - Free Book Online Page B

naïve chit was no match for his arsenal of well-honed skills.
    Which is precisely why she should have blushed when he spoke of her beauty, not muttered some rubbish about the weather. And she should have giggled incessantly when he gave her his best smoldering look, not accuse him of being inflicted with some sort of infectious eye disease.
    He could charm the chemise off a governess in less than an hour—Miss Tisdale should at least have the good manners to pretend to be affected.
    All should haves and no action made Duncan an irritable man.
    Fancying himself some sort of marriage mercenary, he adjusted his tactics and the compulsory small talk began. He asked after Amelia’s family, she in turn inquired after the well-being of his uncle, whose illness had recently become general knowledge throughout the Ton . All the while, he observed Ambrosia out of the corner of his eye, unwittingly cognizant of her evasiveness. She seemed to make every effort to avoid actually looking at him and never bothered to comment unless he actually questioned her directly. Even then, she gave a simple, one syllable response.
    She was the epitome of civility. Cold civility .
    But Duncan didn’t want civility. He knew underneath her gracious façade lay a streak of fierceness. And where there was intensity, there was passion. He wanted a reaction.
    “Miss Tisdale, are you ill?”
    She took a breath before looking at him. “I feel perfectly fine. Why do you ask?”
    “You don’t seem to be acting yourself today.”
    “May I inquire as to exactly just how I should be acting?” she asked curtly.
    “Spirited.”
    Amelia laughed and playfully smacked his arm with her fan. “Spirited? Miss Tisdale? Nothing could be further from the truth. Why, she’s the very picture of composure. Obviously, you do not know Miss Tisdale very well. Perhaps you have confused her with one of her sisters again.”
    He nodded in agreement. “Perhaps. Though, I would like to clarify the issue further at Lady Tisdale’s ball. I would so like for us to become more familiar with one another. I feel we have a great deal in common.”
    Ambrosia’s features seemed almost tranquil, not at all near the end he was working toward. “I can assure you, Lord Bristol, that we have little, if anything at all, in common. I doubt a ball would be of any help in proving otherwise.”
    “Really, absolutely not one similarity,” Amelia added just for good measure.
    Duncan thought for a moment. This meek girl was not the woman he had met before, which made him even more intent on provoking her. “Are you suggesting, then, that I come to call on you?”
    The game was a bit like poking at a resting animal with a stick.
    Ambrosia vehemently shook her head in disagreement, appalled by his insinuation. “That is certainly not in the least as to what I am suggesting.”
    He smiled, genuinely entertained by her immediate response.
    “But how else are we to learn more about each other if the ball is not the most appropriate place to do so?”
    “There is little you need to learn about me, Lord Bristol.”
    “Pish! I can think of any number of things. For example, do all your sisters have such lovely eyes?” Poke .
    “Pardon me?” she stuttered, obviously taken aback by such boldness.
    “Trouble hearing? Allow me to speak louder. I was referring to your eyes. They are the most lovely color of blue,” he bellowed, knowing good and well that she heard him just fine.
    Ambrosia stood up a bit straighter, supported by what he assumed to be righteous indignation making her at least an inch taller. “I suppose I did hear you correctly the first time.”
    “They’re the first thing I noticed about you. Could it be that all your sisters are so fortunate to have such stunning eyes?” Poke .
    She glared at him. “There is nothing stunning whatsoever about my eyes. I have two of them as do all my sisters. Quite ordinary, really.”
    “Your eyes are hardly what I would consider to be