My Unfair Lady Read Free

chair. "And you aren't quite up to their standards, is that it?"
       "What makes you think… No, never you mind. Your brain is as quick as your tongue, and I won't set myself up for your insults so easily again." She glowered at him. "Yes, I need to be brought up to their standards. I need to be presented to the Queen. And then I assure you, I'll leave your precious lords alone and head straight back to America."
       "To your wonderful American man?" His face fell as if something about that bothered him. Could he actually be upset that she preferred an American over one of his English lords?
       "I told you, I don't want a title."
       "I'm inclined to believe you, from that silly glaze in your eyes when you mention this American." An odd feeling swelled inside the duke's chest. Now why would it bother him to learn that she already had an intended? He refused to think about it any further. "Does this paragon of virtue have a name?"
       "Monte." The girl sighed when she spoke his name.
       His teacup clattered as he slapped it down on the table. "How much?"
       "How much—oh, money. Well, as I understand it, your estate is rather sadly in disrepair…"
       His blue eyes glittered. "That, madam, is none of your business."
       His tone suggested that she pry no further into his family matters, so he had to assume that it was her faulty American upbringing that made her blurt out: "But how do you support yourself?"
       "You are an ignorant savage, aren't you? Gentlemen don't work, madam. That is what makes them gentlemen."
       "You're blunt with your words, sir," she retorted as she jumped up and began to pace the confines of the drawing room. He made it obvious that he scrutinized her every move.
        For such an unpolished woman, he thought, she had remarkable grace , as if she didn't so much as walk but flow across the room. "As you are with your questions . Don't they teach you American girls any manners?"
       "I'm not like most American girls."
       "That is rather obvious. You pour tea as if you were slopping hogs, yet you pace this room with such grace, I'd swear you were walking on water. How does a woman like you get made, anyway?"
       Summer laughed. Didn't he realize how funny the looks on his face were whenever he watched her? But perhaps only she created those puzzling frowns and that's why he wasn't used to being laughed at, the way his brows rose in astonishment when she did so. But he took it well; it even seemed to amuse him that she thought him funny when he wasn't trying to be.
       "If you let me hire you," she proposed, "you'd get to find out."
       He adjusted his cravat and smoothed back the hair that kept falling elegantly over his ears. His face settled into polite boredom. "I'm not that interested."
       "Would, let's say… a third interest in a railroad be enough to get you interested?" Summer had thought long and hard about what to offer him, and the way society in New York was about new money led her to believe the English may have that prejudice as well. Offering him cash might be something that wasn't done . The railroad was small, which was why Pa had given it to her, but profitable enough that she thought he wouldn't be able to say no.
       Although, any price would be worth gaining her the man she loved. She'd be willing to give away the entire investment, if needed.
       The duke frowned, fighting surprise and interest at the same time. He'd supported himself by entertaining the prince and was welcomed into the finest houses as a guest, all on the strength of that relationship. He wondered what it would be like to be independent again, to not have to seek out funny stories and humiliate others? Although, he reminded himself, those whom he exposed usually deserved it, but it'd be a relief not to have to depend on anyone else's generosity. And what she proposed wasn't exactly work, so it wouldn't betray his status as a gentleman.
       Summer