Pride and Pleasure Read Free Page A

like the others at all! It would be evident straightaway that I would never consider a man such as you with even remote seriousness. It is quite obvious you and I do not suit in the most fundamental of ways, and everyone knows I am too observant to fail to see that. Quite frankly, sir, you are not my type of male.”
    The look he gave her was wry but without the smugness that would have made it irritating. He conveyed solid self-confidence free of conceit. She was dismayed to find herself strongly attracted to the quality.
    He would be troublesome. Eliza did not like trouble overmuch.
    He glanced at the earl. “Please forgive me, my lord, but I must speak bluntly in regard to this subject. Most especially because this is a matter concerning Miss Martin’s physical well-being.”
    “Quite right,” Melville agreed. “Straight to the point, I always say. Time is too precious to waste on inanities.”
    “Agreed.” Bond’s gaze returned to Eliza and he smiled. “Miss Martin, forgive me, but I must point out that your inexperience is limiting your understanding of the situation.”
    “Inexperience with what?”
    “Men. More precisely, fortune-hunting men.”
    “I would have you know,” she retorted, “that over the course of six Seasons I have had more than enough experience with gentlemen in want of funds.”
    “Then why,” he drawled, “are you unaware that they are successful for reasons far removed from social suitability?”
    Eliza blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
    “Women do not marry fortune hunters because they can dance and sit quietly. They marry them for their appearance and physical prowess—two attributes you have already established I have.”
    “I do not see—”
    “Evidently, you do not, so I shall explain.” His smile continued to grow. “Fortune hunters who flourish do not strive to satisfy a woman’s intellectual needs. Those can be met through friends and acquaintances. They do not seek to provide the type of companionship one enjoys in social settings or with a game table between them. Again, there are others who can do so.”
    “Mr. Bond—”
    “No, they strive to satisfy in the only position that is theirs alone, a position some men make no effort to excel in. So rare is this particular skill that many a woman will disregard other considerations in favor of it.”
    “Please, say no—”
    “Fornication,” his lordship muttered, before returning to his conversation with himself.
    Eliza shot to her feet. “My lord!”
    As courtesy dictated, both her uncle and Mr. Bond rose along with her.
    “I prefer to call it ‘seduction,’ ” Bond said, his eyes laughing.
    “I call it ridiculous,” she rejoined, hands on her hips. “In the grand scheme of life, do you collect how little time a person spends abed when compared to other activities?”
    His gaze dropped to her hips. The smile became a full-blown grin. “That truly depends on who else is occupying said bed.”
    “Dear heavens.” Eliza shivered at the look Jasper Bond was giving her. It was . . . expectant. By some unknown, godforsaken means she had managed to prod the man’s damnable masculine pride into action.
    “Give me a sennight,” he suggested. “One week to prove both my point and my competency. If, at the end, you are not swayed by one or the other, I will accept no payment for services rendered.”
    “Excellent proposition,” his lordship said. “No possibility of loss.”
    “Not true,” Eliza contended. “How will I explain Mr. Bond’s speedy departure?”
    “Let us make it a fortnight, then,” Bond amended.
    “You fail to understand the problem. I am not an actor, sir. It will be evident to one and all that I am far from ‘seduced. ’ ”
    The tone of his grin changed, aided by a hot flicker in his dark eyes. “Leave that aspect of the plan to me. After all, that’s what I am being paid for.”
    “And if you fail? Once you resign, not only will I be forced to make excuses for you, I will