The Marriage Lesson Read Online Free

you, but a not-unpleasant shade of medium brown. What do you think?” She fluttered her lashes. “Are my eyes pleasant?”
    “Exceedingly pleasant.” The corners of his lips quirked upward. His eyes were a dark blue and rather pleasant as well.
    “I thought so.” She grinned and replaced her spectacles, then turned, grabbed the decanter and refilled her glass. “And the color of my eyes isn’t the only thing you don’t know.”
    “Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” he said mildly.
    “Oh, no, my lord, you’re the one who’s had enough.” She shook the decanter at him. “You are drunk.” She replaced the decanter and shook her head. “Or mad. I haven’t quite decided.” She drew a healthy swallow and wondered why she hadn’t experienced the wonder of brandy years ago.
    She glanced around curiously. “This is really a wonderful room. I could happily spend my life in such a place.” The side walls of the long library were covered with shelves of books reaching from the floor to the ceiling. She crossed the room and walked slowly past the rows of volumes, scanning the titles. “There are entire worlds here just waiting to be discovered. Have you read any of these?”
“A few. I admit I am no scholar, but I’m not a complete dolt.” He paused. “You said there were things beyond the color of your eyes that I didn’t know.”
    “I’m certain there are all manner of things you don’t know,” she said loftily.
    “Probably, but I believe this may have been about you.”
    “Well . . . ” She took a thoughtful sip. “To start with, your plan won’t work.”
    “My plan?”
    “Your plan to marry us all off as quickly as possible.” She leaned back against a bookshelf and smirked.
    “Is there anything I said tonight that you didn’t hear?” he said wryly.
    “I don’t believe so. I heard your assessment of my sisters and myself. And Aunt Louella, of course.” She laughed. “Rather accurate, actually. Oh, and then there was the offer you made to your friend to let him have his pick of us. Exceedingly generous of you.”
    “Damnation.” Thomas had the grace to look properly chagrined. “I do apologize.”
    “As well you should.” She raised a shoulder in a casual shrug. “This is a very large room, but voices do seem to carry well from one end to the other.”
    “I shall make a note of it for future reference. And remember to check the sofa for hidden visions as well.” He drew his brows together. “Why won’t my plan work?”
    “Because, Thomas, I have no intention of marrying.” She sipped at her brandy. “Marriage isn’t the least bit adventurous or exciting and I have no desire for it whatsoever.”
He snorted. “Nonsense. Every woman wants to marry.”
    “Not me.” She stepped away from the shelves and waved in an expansive gesture toward the rows of volumes. “Look at these, Thomas. They’re filled with quests and dangers and excitements. I wish to experience some of them for myself. I want to experience life itself. There’s an entire world of things I’ve yet to do. I want to meet interesting people and have grand adventures and travel to exciting places like Venice and Cairo and, well, live what I have only read about. And I can’t accomplish any of that if I shackle myself to a husband.”
    “Come, now, Marianne,” he said in an altogether too condescending manner. “You cannot possibly—”
    “Hah! I know your kind.” She pointed her glass at him. “You’re one of those men who believes women should be boring and proper at all times and never have a bit of fun.”
    “Not at all.” He grinned in a decidedly wicked manner. “I am not opposed to women enjoying themselves. A certain kind of woman, that is. However”—a firm note sounded in his voice—“I do not extend that particular freedom to young women under my protection.”
    “You shall simply have to reconsider.” She drained the last of her brandy and headed toward the decanter.