Read Online To Catch A Spinster (The Reluctant Bride Collection) by Megan Bryce - Free Book Online Page B

suits my son better. He would never be happy with a silly girl. The matter I wish to bring to your attention is the fact that my son has already proposed to Miss Blakesley.”
    Mrs. Blakesley fluttered her handkerchief and bit back a squeal. “All six of my daughters married! Oh, Mrs. Jenkins, this is not an emergency!”
    “She refused him.”
    “Pardon?”
    “Miss Blakesley turned him down.”
    Mrs. Blakesley’s eyebrows drew together and she leaned back heavily in her chair. “My daughter has refused the only marriage proposal she will ever receive?”
    Mrs. Jenkins nodded.
    Mrs. Blakesley folded her hands carefully in her lap. “I understand the emergency now, Mrs. Jenkins.”
    “Thank you. We both have children who remain unmarried far longer than one would wish. I intend to rectify that.”
    “Indeed. I shall help.”

    “Olivia.”
    “Mama? What is the matter?”
    “I was visited by Mrs. Jenkins today.”
    Olivia looked down at her painting, mentally cursing herself. She should have expected this. Nathaniel was not the sort to give up easily.
    “I was not aware you knew Mrs. Jenkins.”
    “Of course we’ve met, Olivia. Our children were spending quite a bit of time together. In fact, some people would have been expecting an announcement soon.”
    Olivia sighed. Whatever Mrs. Jenkins had told her mother, and Olivia was more than a little worried about that, it wasn’t good. She could tell by the calm, monotone voice.
    “An announcement seems a bit premature to me. But perhaps tongues start to wag as soon as a man asks for a dance.”
    Her mother bent down until her nose nearly touched Olivia’s cheek. “It wouldn’t have been premature if you had accepted his proposal.”
    “Ah. That was a bit quick. I hadn’t expected you to hear of that quite yet.” Or Mrs. Jenkins. Had Nathaniel told her? Everything?
    Mrs. Blakesley walked to an empty stool and dragged it across the room, positioning it beside Olivia. She smiled stiffly and sat.
    “I had thought Mr. Jenkins to have the approval of your brothers. Have you discovered some serious flaw in his character?”
    Olivia muttered, “Brothers-in-law, Mother. You of all people should know I have no blood brothers.” Her mother’s forced bonhomie was more frightening than her anger.
    Mrs. Blakesley ignored her. “Perhaps he has a gambling addiction?”
    “I doubt it.”
    “He lost his temper and frightened you?”
    “Mr. Jenkins? Please, Mother. He’s certainly lost his patience with me, but never his temper.”
    Her mother watched her for a moment, then turned to stare out the window.
    “He’s kissed you, hasn’t he?”
    Olivia couldn’t stop the blush from blossoming across her cheeks. She ducked her head, hoping her hair blocked her mother’s view.
    “Oh, Olivia. He has!” She cleared her throat. “A man’s passions are not to be feared, Livvy.”
    Olivia’s mouth dropped open and she stared at her mother in horror. “Moth-”
    “No, it was not proper for him to kiss you, but not entirely unexpected. He has scared you.”
    Olivia placed her paintbrush gently on the easel. Perhaps she could tiptoe out of the room and drown herself?
    Her mother continued. “A man’s urges are sometimes wild and uncontrollable, Livvy. But a wife’s duty is not always a duty. It is possible to...to enjoy a husband’s embrace.”
    Oh, dear God. “Mother, please! There is no need, really. Mr. Jenkins did not scare me!”
    Her mother breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, good. Because there really is nothing to fear.”
    Olivia turned to her mother and grabbed her hands, hoping to forestall any more embarrassing reassurances. “He did not scare me, Mother. And if I were to marry, I would be quite lucky to have him as a husband. But I am not wifely material. I would be awful! I do as I please and neither you nor Papa has ever been able to make me do otherwise. That is not a good quality for a wife. You must admit that.”
    Her mother looked torn between a