Mr. Malcolm's List Read Free Page A

confused her with someone else, for Selina herself
remembered nothing of the sort.   “I
thought if we were to present you as the perfect woman he is looking for, and
then allow him to discover you have a list, and he does not meet the qualifications
on your list, it would be a perfect
sort of poetic justice.”
    “But Julia, if he is as arrogant and fastidious as you say,
surely I will not attract his attention either?”
    “There is that possibility, but then you are better informed
than I or any other young lady has been.   You know about the list, and with some tutelage from me and my cousin
you have a much better chance of meeting the requirements.”
    Selina glanced over at Lord Cassidy, wondering how this
disheveled, comical-looking man could tutor her in the feminine wiles necessary
to attract a refined gentleman of particular tastes.   He saw her wondering glance and explained,
“Malcolm’s my good friend.   I know him better
than most.”  
      “But you agree he
deserves this prank played on him?” Selina asked him.
    Julia replied before Cassie could.   “Of course he does.   He would not have offered his assistance if
he did not think so.”   When Selina continued
to look unsure, Julia said impatiently, “Do not be such a namby-pamby,
Selina.   You will not be doing anything
to Mr. Malcolm that he has not already done himself to more than one young
lady, myself included.”
    “It is just that I think your little prank is doomed to
failure.   What do I know of attracting
gentlemen?   I doubt Mr. Malcolm will even
look in my direction.”
    Cassie looked over at Julia, wondering what his cousin would
say to that.   He knew she hated to play
second fiddle to any woman, but there was no denying that his cousin paled in
comparison to Selina.   Where Julia’s hair
was light red, Selina’s was a dark, rich, reddish-brown.   Where Julia’s eyes were pale green, Selina’s
were a lustrous, emerald green.   Where
Julia’s complexion was a fashionable white, Selina’s skin had a golden cast,
almost as if she were glowing.   Any
gentleman would look in Selina’s direction and, once they had, they would
continue looking.
    Julia mentioned none of that, however. “I think in the right
setting and with the correct set of circumstances, you can attract Mr.
Malcolm’s attention,” she said.   “I must
say, this little prank is the only thing that has tempted me to venture back
into society.   I do hope you’ll agree to
help me or we may have to cut your delightful visit short.   I doubt I would be in the mood for much
socializing.”
    Selina immediately grasped Julia’s meaning.   She had been invited with a specific purpose,
that of assisting Julia in humbling Mr. Malcolm.   If she refused to assist Julia in this
endeavor any entrée into London society would be denied her.   She sighed,
weighing her options.   As much as she
disliked the idea of setting herself up as a mantrap it did sound as if Mr.
Malcolm would be receiving his just deserts.   And there was always the very real probability he would never even
notice her, in which case Julia could not blame her if the plan failed.
    “So what is it you want me to do?” Selina asked, and Julia
smiled in triumph.

 
 
    Two
     

 
 
 
    One week later, Selina was regretting her hasty agreement to
Julia’s plan.   She had already spent half
of her annual income on the new wardrobe that Julia said was essential to
catching Mr. Malcolm’s eye, she had yet to attend even the most innocuous
social event, and her head was spinning with the contradictory instructions
Julia was giving her.
    “You must exude a certain elegance of mind, a knowledge of
the world, while still retaining the naïveté that gentlemen find so charming,”
she told Selina, as they sat beside each other on a sofa in the Thistlewaite’s
drawing room, with Cassie sitting across from them.
    “Do you know anything about the Corn Laws?” Cassie