Page 64 of Never a Bride
“I know I’m gifted at agriculture, but I can’t grow his grapes for him, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
She laughed, then quickly covered her mouth. “Oh, no, ’tis something else. Have you noticed how…uneasy Maxwell is with young ladies?”
“He is rather clumsy in his speech. I thought the ladies found that endearing.”
“But it bothers Maxwell, and I fear he’s quite given up on the idea of courting an appropriate young lady.”
Appropriate? What the hell didthatmean? Did she think Willoughby wasn’t moving fast enough for her? Hellfire, it was enough to make him want to shake her—or hold her tight and prove with his mouth that Willoughby wasn’t right for her.
“If he puts his tail between his legs and hies off for Sussex, what does it matter to me?”
Her face was a pale smudge in the darkness. “Alex, do be civil. You—you’re very good at charming the ladies. You know what to say, what to do.” She took a deep breath. “Do you think you could tutor Maxwell? His shyness would disappear if he but knew what to say, what was expected of him.”
He could only stare at her in astonishment. She wanted her newest suitor trained? Byhim? Were there only parts of Alex she tolerated, and these she would graft onto Willoughby and make a new man of him?
His brain was muddled, his chest constricted, and he felt a violent need to slam his fist against the stone balustrade. Never had a woman made him feel so at a loss, so desperate to make her see reason.
All of a sudden, he saw himself clearly, and was appalled. Why was he so upset? He could find a way to use this to his advantage, to make Emmeline see that Willoughby would never be the right man for her.
She stepped closer and looked up at him. “Will you do it, Alex?”
“I’m not sure I can, my lady. Such skills might be something a man is born with. No one needed to teach me.” He dropped his voice lower, knowing it made her come even nearer.
“But surely you can try?” she pleaded prettily, even put a hand on his arm.
She should be the one giving lessons, he thought.
All for that fool Willoughby.
He knew in that moment what he would do. “You would need to help me.”
A little frown creased her forehead. “But I know nothing of such things.”
“Without you, I won’t have the first idea of what to teach him. You must be with us every moment, guiding us with your common sense.”
“Oh, but I couldn’t possibly journey to your lodgings. My presence might be misinterpreted.”
“Then Willoughby and I could come to you. Is there a private room where we could work?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“Then that is settled. Now, I am to teach him what, exactly?”
“What to say to young ladies, how to—to—flirt with them.” She blurted out the last part quickly, and he knew her blush must be scarlet by now.
“Flirt? I never think of calling it that. I pay women the respect they deserve, treat them the way they want to be treated.”
“Well, that might be going too far, Alex.”
“Really? Then you do not like things like this?” He caught her hand and brought it up to his mouth, letting his lips learn the smooth feel of her skin. When he didn’t release her quickly, he felt a slight tremor run through her hand.
“I—I’m sure other ladies enjoy…such things.”
Still holding her hand, he glanced up at her. “Does Maxwell do this?”
“No.”
“Ah, then this is a skill I can teach.”
