Training Lady Townsend Read Online Free Page B

Aurelia recognized his distaste for her. She felt it in every part of her body whenever he was around. Her companions’ idle chatter tapered off as he stopped before their table.
    “Will you have some tea, Lord Townsend?” chirped Lady Wilhelmina. “Or one of these delicious confections?”
    “There’s only one delicious confection I’m hungry for at the moment.”
    Aurelia flushed hot as his eyes settled on her. The women giggled as though he was charming, but she felt humiliated. Must he profess to be
hungry
for her? How crass, how gauche...how completely made up. She hated that they must playact false affection between them.
    “Lady Aurelia,” he said brightly. “I couldn’t stay from your side a moment longer.”
    She was obliged to offer her hand, and when she did, he bowed over it, brushing a kiss across the back of her glove. “Lord Townsend,” she replied in a voice she hoped sounded equally bright. “It’s a lovely party, isn’t it? The weather is fine.”
    “The beauty of the day pales in comparison to your charms.”
    Mockery. Lies. If only Lord Warren were here, she wouldn’t feel so agitated, but since her official engagement to Lord Townsend, the man had made himself scarce. Lord Townsend gave her a desultory smile. She imagined he knew every one of her thoughts and mocked her for it.
    “Ladies,” he said, looking around at her companions, “would you be so kind as to spare my dear Aurelia? I had hoped to stroll with her about His Grace’s picturesque grounds.”
    By asking her friends for permission, he’d more or less stymied her ability to decline. She sighed and rose to take his arm. He covered her gloved hand with his and guided her past clusters of party guests, along the outer perimeter of the duke’s gardens. When she glanced over, she didn’t see his face, but rather the outline of his muscular shoulder, encased in his meticulously tailored coat. Must he tower over her? But his father was tall, and his mother too. She supposed she would bear grotesquely tall children unless she could find a way out of this engagement.
    “It is a lovely day, isn’t it?” she said, because she couldn’t think of anything else to say to his daunting shoulder.
    “Yes, and a lovely party, as you mentioned some moments ago. You seem to find everything lovely. What a charming quirk.”
    Aurelia wished she could quirk him right between his eyes with the heel of her slipper. “I only meant to make polite conversation.”
    “Ah, well. I can do that too if I apply myself. Which facile and boring topics shall we discuss? We’ve already touched on the weather, but I suppose we can revisit it.” He turned his head up to the sky. “What a beautiful day, with the clouds and the breeze, and the flowers blooming so madly.”
    Aurelia refused to be baited. “I do think it’s beautiful. It was kind of His Grace to host this party in our honor.”
    “His Grace likes to do kind things. He’s a very proper chap.”
    “You call the duke ‘His Grace’? I heard you were close friends.”
    “We’re longtime friends, and I’ve called him many things in the course of our history, but in such a
lovely
setting”—he emphasized her word with exaggerated mockery—“I find myself inclined to adhere to formalities.” He gave her a speculative look. “Is that what you and your friends do at your tea table? Gossip about me and Arlington?”
    “No, we don’t do anything of the sort. It’s only that your name comes up in conversation, now that we’re engaged.”
    “That must be a trial for you.”
    Aurelia decided not to answer. In truth, it was a trial, just like everything else about this engagement. This was the third social event they’d attended in one another’s company. The opera had been easy—they’d simply sat beside one another in silence until they could leave. Riding in Hyde Park had been easy too, since the bustle of people and carriages made conversation impossible.
    This garden party