Read Online Fallen Angel by Charlotte Louise Dolan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Charlotte Louise Dolan
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like the plague. Yet now you seem to be going out of your way to surround yourself with them.”
“Surround myself?” he asked. “You exaggerate, Miss Jolliffe. Your sister and brother-in-law are scarcely sufficient in number to surround me.”
“But my niece, Antoinette, who is to be presented this Season, is to dine with us also, as well as my brother-in-law’s two nephews, Bevis and Cedric Wasteney.”
“Even so, that is not an impossible number to contend with,” he said, not looking the least bit put out. “But you are still looking worried. Having offered you my protection—in a manner of speaking—on the journey back to London, do you now feel obliged to reciprocate by protecting me from your relatives?”
Verity’s thoughts, which had been confused for the last several hours, finally settled, and she realized what it was that she was afraid of. “I am well aware, as I am sure you are also, that people in the higher levels of society delight in making sport of others—that sometimes they cultivate a friendship only so that they can later relate amusing stories to their cronies.”
“I assure you,” he said, “that I never tell stories, amusing or otherwise.”
The smile he gave her was seductive ... but also every bit as false as any she had ever seen in London society. Before she could question him further, however, she heard voices in the hallway and knew that their few moments of privacy were at an end.
Quickly and efficiently shunted aside by her sister, Verity soon grew quite fed up with her relatives. Not only was Antoinette flirting far too boldly for a young lady not yet out, but even Petronella was batting her eyelashes at Lord Sherington as if she were not a good eight or ten years his senior.
Paying no attention to the antics of his wife and daughter, Ralph was attempting to discover his lordship’s opinion on various political issues, and to add to the confusion, Bevis and Cedric were trying to interest him in investing in a horse currently running at Newmarket.
Somehow through it all Lord Sherington managed to remain polite and make the correct responses without committing himself to anything, but Verity felt her own frustration mounting with every passing minute.
Retiring to her customary chair in the corner, she wished she could make all these chattering people vanish, leaving her alone with Lord Sherington.
Just when she thought she could not stand it another minute, Otterwall announced that dinner was served.
Standing up, she heard Lord Sherington say, “Since it is potluck, I am sure there is no need to stand on ceremony.”
Then before she realized his intention, he was beside her, offering her his arm.
“Oh, but my lord, we had thought—” Petronella began to simper, but Verity wasted no time.
Quickly, before her sister could intervene, Verity laid her hand on Lord Sherington’s arm. Unless her sister wished to make a spectacle of herself by physically separating the two of them, Lord Sherington was now Verity’s dinner partner.
Unaware of the drama that had just taken place under his nose, Ralph offered his wife his arm and led the way into the dining room.
The meal had been superbly prepared, but closer acquaintance did not make Miss Jolliffe’s relatives any more palatable, Gabriel decided by the time the ladies withdrew, leaving the gentlemen to their port.
Offending Miss Jolliffe’s relatives was hardly the way to make her fall in love with him, but he decided to do his best to keep the contact between the Wasteneys and himself to a minimum during the courtship. And after the wedding he would have no compunction about cutting the connection quickly and ruthlessly.
Luckily, it should only take a sennight, or perhaps a fortnight, for Miss Jolliffe to fall in love with him. Unfortunately, this single evening already seemed to have been dragging on for an entire week. He could only pray that none of the females in the household were musically
“Surround myself?” he asked. “You exaggerate, Miss Jolliffe. Your sister and brother-in-law are scarcely sufficient in number to surround me.”
“But my niece, Antoinette, who is to be presented this Season, is to dine with us also, as well as my brother-in-law’s two nephews, Bevis and Cedric Wasteney.”
“Even so, that is not an impossible number to contend with,” he said, not looking the least bit put out. “But you are still looking worried. Having offered you my protection—in a manner of speaking—on the journey back to London, do you now feel obliged to reciprocate by protecting me from your relatives?”
Verity’s thoughts, which had been confused for the last several hours, finally settled, and she realized what it was that she was afraid of. “I am well aware, as I am sure you are also, that people in the higher levels of society delight in making sport of others—that sometimes they cultivate a friendship only so that they can later relate amusing stories to their cronies.”
“I assure you,” he said, “that I never tell stories, amusing or otherwise.”
The smile he gave her was seductive ... but also every bit as false as any she had ever seen in London society. Before she could question him further, however, she heard voices in the hallway and knew that their few moments of privacy were at an end.
Quickly and efficiently shunted aside by her sister, Verity soon grew quite fed up with her relatives. Not only was Antoinette flirting far too boldly for a young lady not yet out, but even Petronella was batting her eyelashes at Lord Sherington as if she were not a good eight or ten years his senior.
Paying no attention to the antics of his wife and daughter, Ralph was attempting to discover his lordship’s opinion on various political issues, and to add to the confusion, Bevis and Cedric were trying to interest him in investing in a horse currently running at Newmarket.
Somehow through it all Lord Sherington managed to remain polite and make the correct responses without committing himself to anything, but Verity felt her own frustration mounting with every passing minute.
Retiring to her customary chair in the corner, she wished she could make all these chattering people vanish, leaving her alone with Lord Sherington.
Just when she thought she could not stand it another minute, Otterwall announced that dinner was served.
Standing up, she heard Lord Sherington say, “Since it is potluck, I am sure there is no need to stand on ceremony.”
Then before she realized his intention, he was beside her, offering her his arm.
“Oh, but my lord, we had thought—” Petronella began to simper, but Verity wasted no time.
Quickly, before her sister could intervene, Verity laid her hand on Lord Sherington’s arm. Unless her sister wished to make a spectacle of herself by physically separating the two of them, Lord Sherington was now Verity’s dinner partner.
Unaware of the drama that had just taken place under his nose, Ralph offered his wife his arm and led the way into the dining room.
The meal had been superbly prepared, but closer acquaintance did not make Miss Jolliffe’s relatives any more palatable, Gabriel decided by the time the ladies withdrew, leaving the gentlemen to their port.
Offending Miss Jolliffe’s relatives was hardly the way to make her fall in love with him, but he decided to do his best to keep the contact between the Wasteneys and himself to a minimum during the courtship. And after the wedding he would have no compunction about cutting the connection quickly and ruthlessly.
Luckily, it should only take a sennight, or perhaps a fortnight, for Miss Jolliffe to fall in love with him. Unfortunately, this single evening already seemed to have been dragging on for an entire week. He could only pray that none of the females in the household were musically
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