Page 49 of The Number of Love
“More intelligent than any young man I’ve ever met. They don’t like that.” She didn’t look apologetic. If anything, the twitching of her lips looked smug.
And why not? Why apologize for one’s strengths? Of course, she no doubt assumed she was smarter than him too. And maybe she was. He didn’t know her well enough to say, but Dot certainly thought so.
His smile didn’t budge. “Plenty of men take no issue with that. Especially given that you’re also beautiful—”
A snort interrupted him this time. “Hardly.”
He lifted his brows. “Are you quite serious?”
She looked at him as though he were daft. “My mother was beautiful. As is my brother.”
Now it was his turn to interrupt with a snort of laughter. “I’m sure your brother greatly appreciates being called that.”
“Oh, he knows he is. And he’s made a living from it.”
“I suppose his musical talent had nothing to do with that?”
She finally leaned back a bit in her chair, and her smile wentlight and bright. Interesting—speaking of her brother made her relax. “His talent made him a professional violinist. His beauty made him a celebrity.”
He chuckled, since that was probably true. “And you think you bear no resemblance to him?”
“I know I don’t. I take after my father.”
The professor whose work had apparently brought enemies down upon them at the start of the war. He lifted his cup again and saluted her with it. “Well, I’ll have to respectfully disagree on the beauty question, and I daresay many other men do too. But if romance is of no interest to you, then I suppose our opinions don’t matter.”
“Not in the least.” She tilted her head to the side, apparently unaware of how it lengthened her neck and made her jawline look so fetching. “And why are you even saying such things?”
Never in his life had he met anyone quite like Margot De Wilde. Drake took another sip of his tea to give himself time to school his lips. “It’s called flirting.”
She stiffened again. “But ...why?”
“Because you’re intelligent. And you’re beautiful. And you’re interesting.”
And baffled, apparently. Which only made her all themoreinteresting. She shook her head. “But to what purpose? Is it meaningless, to pass the time? In which case, I’d rather talk about something else. Or are you angling for a fleeting amorous encounter? Because I’m not the type. And if you’re interested in courtship, you ought to know now that I have no intention of marrying.”
He studied her over the rim of his cup. She looked completely serious. “Ever?”
“Not for the next decade, at the very least. I have plans.”
“Mm.” He ought to call his interest ill-advised and leave it at that, then. He was in no great rush to find a Mrs. Elton, especially while the war dragged on, but he certainly didn’t mean to wait another decade to do so. But still ... puzzling her out would prove an entertaining distraction while he was laid up. “University, Dot said. What then?”
“A professorship, ideally.”
Drake couldn’t keep his brows from drawing together. “I’ve never known of a female professor.”
“They’re rare. The second in England just attained her status in 1913. And both that I know of are professors of English literature. I am well aware that I will face maddening prejudice if I dare to enter the sciences or mathematics. But I’ll do it anyway.”
“And woe to whoever stands in your way?” He smiled so that she knew he meant it to be encouraging. Mostly. He wasn’t sure why some people always had to be rocking whatever boat they were on, but if it was for a real purpose and not just because they liked the rocking, it was different. And this young lady didn’t seem to subscribe to movement for its own sake, that was for sure. “So university, a doctorate perhaps, and then a professorship. Marriage only when you’ve achieved all that?”
“If then. With marriage comes children—they are one of the purposes of the institution after all—and while I’m a proponent of them in general, I have no interest in procuring my own specifically.” She changed the angle of her head, as if she were listening to something, and then flinched. “My mother hated it when I spoke this way. Once her own children were grown, grandchildren became herraison d’être.”
A woman who had no interest in either marriageorchildren. Hewouldbe intrigued by such, wouldn’t he? Because the chances of winning her heart were all but nonexistent and promised a headache even if he succeeded. He liked a challenge, but this would cross over to the absurd.
She blinked at him again. “You failed to answer my question, Drake, about the purpose of your flirting.”
“So I did.” And he heard the neighbor’s door close, indicating Dot would return in another moment with the potatoes that wouldn’t fit in their own crowded oven, which would effectively end the odd conversation anyway. “You can be sure it’s not with the goal of a dalliance—I’m not the type either. But whether it’s to no purpose or the ultimate purpose ... I suppose I was testing the waters.”
Brows lifted, she stood. “Are they shark-infested enough to convince you of the futility?”
