One More Kiss Read Free Page B

gentleman with a red scarf. Ceci recognized him.” Beatrice prompted her sister with a nod.
    “Yes.” Cecilia’s panicked expression eased. “It was Viscount Bendasbrook, who has another title now.”
    “He is the Marquis Destry. His father is the Duke of Bendas. Destry is his heir.”
    “I do believe we saw Mrs. Wilson and her daughter,” Beatrice went on, guessing at the two women who had arrived with that flirtatious man.
    “Miss Wilson is not yet out and this will be her first exposure to the ton. I want you girls to be kind to her.”
    Papa did have a soft spot for the newcomer, being one himself.
    “Papa, we would not be anything but kind,” Cecilia insisted. “After all, we are in the same position.”
    “Baron Crenshaw, of course,” Beatrice said. They all knew him a bit. His estate was near Birmingham and she had danced with him more than once at the Assemblies.
    “A fine gentleman,” Papa acknowledged, “even if he has spent most of his time in London until recently. Birmingham society is lucky to have a man of his stature in residence these days.”
    “The Earl of Belmont,” Beatrice continued, though she knew nothing about him but his name.
    “Who is not worth a guinea,” their father said, consulting a seemingly ever-present mental ledger. “His father invested in hot-air balloons as a means of transporting goods. A disaster in more ways than one. Still, an earl would give you an entrée to society.”
    Both girls nodded. They knew what was coming next.
    “Your dowry and his title would make a nice package, eh? I think that’s entirely possible.”
    “Yes, Papa,” Ceci answered as Beatrice tried to control her annoyance at such an absurd suggestion. How many times would she have to tell her father that she was not interested in marrying someone with a title, if she married at all? And Ceci should not be subjected to such a fate, either.
    “Not that I would have you marry for a title,” he added, giving Beatrice a knowing look. “But I want you both to be secure and comfortable in society, for I will not always be with you.”
    “Oh, Papa,” Ceci said, as if everyone knew Mr. Brent would defy death forever.
    Her father briefed them again on the good and bad points of the rest of the men and women on the list. He was such a mix of sensibilities. He loved them, Beatrice knew that without a doubt, but he was so attuned to business that he hated to see an opportunity pass him by.
    “And there is a new addition to the list, Lord Jessup Pennistan,” Papa said as he shook his head, a confused frown replacing his usual certainty. It was so rare an expression that Beatrice leaned closer so as not to miss a word.
    “Lord Jessup has nothing to recommend him except that he is the son and brother of a duke. He has been involved in several tawdry incidents which I will not even discuss with gently bred girls, and his main occupation is gaming.”
    Never mind the gambling, Beatrice thought, it was the “tawdry incidents” that intrigued her.
    “Why, Papa,” Beatrice said, recalling where she hadheard Lord Jessup’s name before, “he is the one who came with Ellis when you called him home from London, is he not? I never met him but I recall that Ell could talk of nothing but what a fine fellow he was.”
    “Being called ‘fine’ by a man not yet twenty-two carries no weight with me. Have nothing to do with him,” her father said with his sternest expression, “but I want you both to consider all the other gentlemen carefully. Even Lord Belmont. It would be most excellent if one or, praise God, both of you made a match here. Men who would be willing to invest in the mills and the canals and even consider the new train engines under discussion would be even better.”
    “No, Papa,” Beatrice said firmly, even as Cecilia nodded. “We are not here to be bought and sold like two bolts of cloth. We are here to see how the ton suits us and if we would like a full Season in