The Pursuit Of Marriage Read Free Page B

like to encourage. She knew she wanted someone respectable but not dull. Exciting but not dangerous. Strong but not overbearing. Loyal and trustworthy but not a lapdog. And this mythical paragon would love her without reservation for the rest of his days. In short, the man of her dreams would be very nearly perfect and probably did not exist. Leo said something she didn’t quite catch, but she smiled and nodded nonetheless. Perhaps he was right about lowering her standards if she did indeed wish to marry. She wanted marriage, but marriage alone was not enough. And if she was true to no one else, she should be true to herself. If that meant never marrying at all, so be it. It was not a pleasant prospect. She did not relish the idea of one day being the aging, eccentric aunt to Delia’s children. Perhaps the cause to which she planned on giving her earnings should be her own future? At least if her fate was to become the peculiar, maiden aunt in the family, it would be nice not to have to depend entirely on Effington financial support. She could say what she wanted to her brother and her sister and anyone else within hearing about her independence, earning her own way, and doing precisely as she wished, but deep down inside she knew she didn’t really believe any of it. Or, at least, not all of it. Cassie would give just about anything to be in her sister’s place. To be happy and well wed and in love. But she would rather be alone than trapped for the rest of her days with the wrong man. Cassie Effington absolutely would not lower her standards. No matter how great the price.
    Viscount Berkley, Reginald Berkley—Reggie to those who knew him best—slid off his horse and ignored the pain that shot through his ankle when his foot hit the ground at an odd angle. Not especially difficult to do. His blood surged with the elation of victory, and Reggie suspected he would not feel much of anything save triumph at this moment.
    Except, of course, compelling curiosity.
    At once he was besieged by jubilant acquaintances and well-wishers, their exuberance in direct proportion to their winnings. At last the crowd thinned, dispersing toward the offered repast or, more likely, to collect wagers owed.
    “Well done, old man.” Marcus Holcroft, the Earl of Pennington, clapped his closest friend on the back and grinned. “I wasn’t entirely certain you could pull it off.”
    “Did you wager against me then?” Reggie asked absently, scanning the crowd for another glimpse of the intriguing young woman whose direct gaze had briefly met his. Marcus gasped in mock dismay. “I would never do such a thing.” His grin returned. “However, it was rather tempting. Effington is well known for his prowess in the saddle and a reputation for success. Still, you are not without a certain—”
    “Who is that?” Reggie spotted the lady and nodded in her direction. Marcus followed his friend’s gaze and chuckled ruefully. “That, my dear Reginald, is the sister of the man you just defeated.”
    “I thought as much.”
    Certainly Reggie had seen the twin daughters of Lord William, the brother of the Duke of Roxborough, before. At a ball or a park or an outing or something somewhere. They were of an age where they’d been out in society for probably a half dozen seasons. Indeed, he counted their cousin Thomas, the Marquess of Helmsley, among his closest friends. He might even have been introduced to one or another at some point in years past, although he couldn’t for the life of him recall it. And surely he would have remembered. Not simply because this female pretending to pay him no notice was lovely—there were any number of others he could name that were far more lovely—but there had been something quite distinct about her when her gaze had met his. Something intense and compelling. Something that had quite taken his breath away.
    “But which one is she?”
    Pennington glanced at the lady, then indicated a couple some distance away.