Page 13 of Seducing a Frigid Lady
"Where in God's name were you?" he grumbled at Max, hearing the gentleman flop down into the armchair where his aunt had been sitting only minutes before.
"I thought I ought to let you handle them alone," Max responded, and though he did not move his arm, he could sense his cousin watching him. "Just think yourself lucky that it was not my parents. My mother would never have left without confirmation that you had secured a courtship."
Lionel groaned at the thought. Every single one of his aunts seemed determined to have him married off, and it was as vexing as it was exhausting. He was just relieved that they had not yet seen fit to gang up on him together. Alone they were easy enough to handle, but together it would have taken an army to dissuade them.
"Yes, well, it was not your mother and I am glad it is all over," Lionel snapped back at his cousin, though not without affection in his tone. "I have done my duty for the last three days and called upon all those required. Now I wish to be left alone. I shall not converse with nor even look at another soul for the rest of the day."
The growing laughter coming from the direction of Max's chair was more than a little infuriating. It caused his entire body to tense even worse than before, but instead of asking what he found so amusing, Lionel sucked in a deep breath and tried to ease off the pain in his head.
"If only it were so simple, cousin," Max told him anyway, and the growing frustration in Lionel's stomach only clenched tighter. "We have a ball to attend this evening."
At that, Lionel removed his arm from his face and turned his head sideways to look at his cousin. From this angle his cousin's amused expression was even more annoying and the urge to give him a good walloping might have been undeniable if he had more energy.
"I have had quite enough of socialising. Can you not go without me?" he demanded. "I am drained so entirely I do not believe I could stand, let alone dance."
Or be forced to listen to another lady going on about how wonderful of a viscountess her daughter would make for me,he thought, gritting his teeth against the knowledge that was exactly what he would be forced to endure.
"Would that I could, but our responses to the invitation have already been sent and it would be remiss of you not to at least show your face as the newest arrival in town," Max pointed out. Though he need not have done. Lionel knew very well the requirements of being in London though they had seemed far more appealing than remaining in close proximity to his own mother, who had become quite unbearable to be around of late. All her worrying over him not yet being wed was enough to make him want to pull out his own hair. “Besides, your parents and your aunt would expect it of you.”
Lionel groaned at that. He already knew well what his parents and his aunt expected of him. Having just sent the last hour or so speaking with one of them about it, he did not need any more reminding.
“Careful, or you shall begin to sound just like them,” Lionel scolded his cousin. “Next you will be telling me that all of the ladies I do entertain are not suitable marriage material.”
Max raised an eyebrow and scoffed. “That is likely because most of the women you entertain are not actuallyladies.”
“No, there have been a few businessmen’s daughters, a few gentlemen’s daughter and even a couple of commoners too,” Lionel laughed and rolled his eyes.
“But that is not the point. The point is that when the time comes it shall be entirely up to me to decide whomever it is I shall marry and nobody else.”
The look that Max gave him then suggested that wasn’t entirely true. Of course, he would have to run any marriage past his parents, if indeed they were still around by the time he actually did wish to marry. But at the end of the day, he was adamant that not a single person would be able to nail him to the altar until he was entirely ready and sure upon his choice.
“I merely wish to conduct the business of such matters at a slow and steady speed,” he continued when his cousin said nothing. “I would hate to end up marrying the wrong woman.”
“I have never understood your constant need to insist that marriage is only a business transaction.” The expression on Max’s face as he shook his head back and forth was slightly amusing to Lionel. The two of them had always been so very different when it came to their views on the subject.
“Whatever else could there possibly be in a marriage for the likes of us?” Lionel asked though he already suspected that he knew his cousin’s response.
“Love.”
Lionel scoffed. Shaking his head, he questioned, “And how many noblemen and gentlemen do you know who actually got to marry for such a thing?”
“Be that as it may, who is to say that you would not find it?”
“And who is to say that it would not come along afterwards?”
Lionel countered though in truth, he had already resigned himself to the fact that whether love came along or not, in the end the only thing that mattered was picking the correct wife who would help him to success in being an Earl his parents and all those around him would be proud of.
“Romance and even love can be found all over the place, though I have rarely heard of it in the marriage bed and if it is, it rarely lasts.”
With a huff, he rolled his head back to look at the ceiling and stated, “I shall be more than happy to watch your search for love, Maxi, but I do not intend to go looking for such fanciful things myself.”
Closing his eyes, he threw his arm back over his face to shield them from the sunshine once more, and let out a long exhale.
“Well, whether you like it or not, we have a ball to get ready for,” Max told him, and the sound of the armchair groaning suggested that his cousin was getting up. Lionel gritted his teeth against the urge to retort.
A moment later Max arrived at the side of the couch and tapped Lionel gently upon the knee with his own leg. “You really ought to get up and begin getting ready. Don’t you want to look your best for Lady Caroline?”
At that, Lionel moved his arm just enough to squint one eye at his cousin.Lady Caroline?Was that a name his aunt had mentioned during her rant? Had his cousin been eavesdropping?
