APretenseofLove Read Online Free Page B

wife.”
    “What about all that bluster about not marrying until the
last moment possible to beget an heir?” Her voice dropped an octave and her
lips pursed as she imitated Ben. “The old man can’t force me to marry. I’ll
find a temporary bride and when the old man passes on, I can return to my Bird
of Paradise.”
    He flinched at that last part. “Did I really say as much?”
    Jean turned her face toward the oncoming carriages. “If not
in exact words, then in content. And I have no intentions of being any man’s
mistress.”
    “Gilbert would have my head for even thinking such a thing.”
His thoughts did stray on occasion to wondering how passionate she could
become, but he’d never put her in the same class as a lightskirt.
    She was quiet for a bit. Ben turned the phaeton into Hyde
Park, following the flow of riders and conveyances. How had he been foolish
enough to think he could simply arrive on his aunt’s doorstep and Miss Seton
would fall into his arms? They’d gotten on well enough that he’d magnified
their friendship into something more passionate.
    Now he’d lost control of this situation. He only wished to
spend some time amiably with Miss Seton, to remind her of the hours they’d
spent in comfortable seclusion at Three Gables. Then he could press his suit.
He needed to start fresh. “Is London everything you hoped it would be?”
    Miss Seton toyed with the hem of her glove. “It is more
crowded than I had imagined. But there is always something to do, another shop
to visit, even if one doesn’t buy anything.”
    His brows pulled together. She should be free to purchase
everything she desired. “My aunt was told to send me the bills for anything you
needed. Is your wardrobe lacking? Do you have enough bonnets? I had included
all of those as necessities when I made our agreement.”
    She laughed and put her hand on his sleeve. “Never worry. I
have more gowns than I could possibly wear in a year, and shoes to match all of
them. Mrs. Granderson was quite efficient in that department.”
    “Then what do you lack? What sort of thing do you admire but
not purchase?”
    “Do men only visit the shops when they require something? I
am certain women don’t limit themselves so. We admire trinkets and laces and
ribbons enough to fill a shop of our own. We’ve no intention of purchasing half
of what we comment on.”
    “I suppose there are some gentlemen who enjoy the sport of
shopping as much as the ladies. I could see little purpose in it, myself. I’d
just as soon send someone to pick up what I need. If my valet wore the same
size, I’d have him go for fittings too.”
    A gentleman on horseback trotted up on Miss Seton’s side of
the carriage. “I thought that was you, Miss Seton. You look splendid today.”
    “Mr. Baxter, how are you?” Her voice overflowed with
politeness.
    “Quite well, thank you. And your mother is well?”
    Ben ignored the inane conversation. How did she stand such
drollery? My mother is well, my sister is well, I am well, my cat is well …
Ben noticed two more gentlemen had stopped to flatter her as well. Traffic was
building up behind them, yet if he spoke of it, he might be taken as jealous or
possessive. Neither would paint him in a good light, so he seethed in silence.
    Miss Seton appeared to be aware of the waiting carriages.
“If you’ll excuse us, we must keep moving. Good day.”
    Biting back the urge to ask who the gentlemen were and how important
they were to her, Ben said, “I have always been struck by the incongruity of
the fashionable hour at Hyde Park. One wants to see and be seen, yet one cannot
pause to greet an acquaintance without causing a traffic jam.”
    “It’s like the ballrooms, isn’t it? One may take a turn
about the room, yet often one does so at her own peril.”
    “There should be a simpler way to find a husband or wife.”
    She turned to face him. “Are you suggesting we stick to
arranged marriages? Remove all the posturing