The Marriage Lesson Read Free Page B

not had nearly enough.”
    She shrugged. “As you wish.” She selected a glass and handed it to him, then took another for herself and followed him to the table.
    He filled his glass and she held out hers. He glanced at it and his brows pulled together in disapproval. “I scarcely think—”
    “For heaven’s sakes, my lord. I am not a child.” She snatched the decanter from his hand and poured a moderate amount into her glass. “I am well used to brandy and other spirits.” It was a lie, of course. She’d had little more acquaintance with brandy than she had with kissing. She cast him a confident smile, raised the glass to her lips and drew a long swallow.
The intense flavor flooded her senses, the liquor burned in her throat and for an instant she wondered if she’d die horribly right there in front of him. She stifled the need to gasp and clamped her jaws tight, but she couldn’t stop her eyes from watering.
    “How is it?” he said innocently, but a laugh lurked in his eyes.
    “Excellent,” she lied.
    “I think so.” He swirled the brandy in his glass and tried to hide a smirk. “I quite like a brandy before bed.”
    “Or two or three, no doubt,” she murmured and sank into a chair. She took another, much smaller sip and her glasses slid down her nose. Actually, it wasn’t bad. A pleasant warmth spread through her. She smiled up at him and waved at the other chair. “Would you care to have a seat?”
    “I believe I’d prefer to stay right here.” He perched on the edge of the desk and considered her thoughtfully. “So you’re Marianne.”
    “I believe we’ve established that.” She sipped again. No, this wasn’t bad at all. She pushed her glasses back into place and gazed up at him. “I’m the aging, intelligent bluestocking.”
    He winced. “You heard me?”
    “I couldn’t help it. I was on the sofa.” She gestured at the far end of the room. She hadn’t planned on let ting him know she had overheard his conversation, but at the moment she couldn’t resist confronting him. “You are rather rude, you know.”
“I never would have said a word if I had known—”
    “Piffle.” She waved away his objection. “Regardless of what you say now, it’s still what you think. However”—she took another swallow—“you are right.”
    “I am?” he said cautiously.
    “Um-hmm.” She nodded. “I am an aging intelligent bluestocking. And I quite like it.”
    “Do you, my Lady Marianne?”
    “I do indeed, my Lord Helmsley.”
    “Why?”
    “When one is viewed in such terms, one’s behavior is far less confined. People are not nearly as shocked when you do the unexpected, when you break the rules others abide by.”
    He raised a brow. “And do you break a great many rules?”
    “Not yet, but I fully intend to.” She raised her glass to him. “And I shall begin by calling you Thomas. It seems appropriate. After all, you did nearly ravish me.”
    “Don’t remind me. I didn’t realize who you were. Obviously the result of an overactive imagination coupled with a poorly lit room and, admittedly, the influence of a good deal to drink. Although”—he narrowed his eyes—“I am not drunk. Still, I would never take such liberties with the sister of my dearest friend.”
    “Why not? He’s taken such liberties with your sister.”
    “That’s entirely different. My sister was a widow when they met. You are an innocent young woman straight from the country and under my protection as well. Kissing you, or anything else, is not acceptable.”
“What a shame,” she murmured. “Thomas, would you care to know what else you were right about?”
    “I’m not sure,” he said cautiously.
    She leaned toward him, her glasses again skidding down her nose. “I am quite attractive.”
    He laughed. “Indeed you are.”
    “But there is something you were wrong about.” She rose to her feet, stepped close to him and pulled off her spectacles. “My eyes are brown. Not a deep brown, mind