Lady Adventuress 02 - The Education of Lord Hartley Read Free Page A

merely trying to help her become what she ought to be, but this inevitably left her feeling extremely inadequate. Her aunt had made no secret of the fact that she thought training Maggie for society was a task that she ought to have undertaken long ago.
    It was entirely Lord Chenefelt’s fault that things had been left so late because he had always been intolerably dismissive of the whole idea. And now Maggie was a disaster waiting to strike.
    Even when Lady Compton had still been Miss Verity Dacre, a fresh-faced debutante, she had been considered a pillar of society, navigating each tricky turn with the utmost grace.
    If only Maggie could possess even half her elegance!
    It also hadn’t escaped Maggie’s notice that, despite her many social obligations, Aunt Verity had always shown a genuine interest in Maggie and Frederick. Maggie remembered how kind she had been, over the years, to come to Chenefelt whenever Maggie had needed her.
    As Maggie shut the door behind her, still hesitant, Lady Compton looked up from her letters and gave her niece a welcoming smile, which was quickly replaced by a look of concern.
    “Margaret, my dear, whatever is the matter? You’re all flustered. Is your hair wet? And your gown!”
    Somehow, those words were enough to cause tears to cascade out of Maggie’s eyes, and she furiously wiped them away.
    Maggie hated behaving like some silly milksop. “Oh, Aunt Verity,” she cried, coming to sit beside her at her escritoire. “Why does everyone think me a silly child?”
    Before Verity could reply, Maggie continued on breathlessly, “It is simply dreadful. Frederick was playing shuttlecock with Hart on the lawns, and the lemonade got knocked over me, and…”
    “Lemonade? My dear, you are telling banbury stories – slow down, please, and explain. I cannot follow.”
    Maggie stood up and began pacing the room while she recounted the story, her face warm. She made no mention of the kiss.
    Lady Compton listened sympathetically as her niece told her tale, a look of understanding on her face.
    Maggie did her best to explain the embarrassment she’d felt, her eyes flashing with frustration at her inability to stop being so awkward and so hopelessly invisible.
    “It is as though, no matter what I make of myself, I shall never be the lady everyone expects to see,” she finished mournfully.
    She didn’t add that, if she couldn’t become that lady, Hartley would never think of her as anything more than his childhood friend. And did that even matter if he was going to offer for the beastly Lady Alice?
    “Why does he have to be so exasperating and blind? He called me a ruffian yesterday, and asked after my governess today! I abhor him absolutely, and yet… It is cruel that there should be men like the Marquess of Hartley!” Maggie cried.
    “Whatever do you mean, dearest?” Lady Compton asked, amusement in her eyes.
    “I am not entirely certain. I should stop thinking about him. Only – he is so very handsome. One cannot help but notice it, you know. And yet he thinks of me as a…a…a magpie! A clever, scruffy bird!”
    Aunt Verity laughed gently, patting her niece on the hand. “A magpie? What a silly boy. No matter their age, men are always boys, it seems – and often insufferable ones. Do you know, your Uncle Compton wouldn’t even speak to me until the Duchess of Strathavon made him? But I think I understand your trouble, my Maggie. Would it really be so very bad to be clever, do you think? A great many of the most respected ladies of the ton are very clever indeed, and greatly admired for it. I have every confidence that you are just a lily waiting to bloom. Or a nightingale waiting to sing, if it’s birds you want.”
    “Bloom! I cannot even walk a step in my presentation gown.”
    “Even so. You know, men are very absurd creatures – unable to see the treasure right under their noses. It merely takes some guidance, some patience and the occasional show of character to make