Page 29 of Seducing a Frigid Lady
As though she had heard the tone of his voice, Miss Lloyd turned her full attention on him, though she did not slow her walking. “I can only assume that by that you meanmarriage?”
Just hearing the word from her lips made Lionel gulp past the sudden lump in his own throat.
“That is what all of society expects for us all, is it not?” Lionel asked.
“Just because it is expected of us does not mean that we should be forced into it,” Miss Lloyd declared. Never had Lionel heard truer words be spoken. In fact, he had never heard any such thing from the lips of a woman of thetonand it was more than a little refreshing.
“You do not appear to have been forced at all,” Lionel commented, remembering all the things he had heard of Miss Lloyd and how she declined every advance and proposal that was made towards her. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as they walked, looking for her reaction. But as usual there was little, her ice-queen mask put firmly back into place.
“I have been lucky,” she admitted and for a moment she pursed her lips, looking as though she was not going to say anything further. Then she surprised him. “My father has made it abundantly clear to me that, should I not wish it, I shall not be made to marry.”
Now that certainly was intriguing. Never in his life had Lionel met a woman of thetonwhose single objective in life wasnotto get married.
“If your father is not pressuring you to marry, then why are you so cold towards every male member of society?” Lionel asked, the words leaving his mouth before he really had a chance to think on them.
The second they left his lips, he started to regret them, wondering whether they might be enough to offend even a woman as cold as Miss Lloyd.
“Perhaps it is because I have yet to meet a male member of society who does not demand respect simply for being born privileged.”
“Ouch!” Lionel gasped, feigning offence of his own. Was that a hint of amusement he saw twisting up the corners of her lips? He was almost certain that it was. “What might you say of me if I were to tell you I have no great love of the idea of marriage, either?”
Miss Lloyd’s steps faltered slightly at that, and when she looked at him, he was certain that he saw surprise in her expression. “My lord, you are to be an earl. You shall have the pick of the women of thetonand continue your family name just as all other men before you have done.”
“Then what you are saying is that marriage is a business arrangement?” Lionel stated, feeling exactly the same way. It was the way he had always felt on the matter, leaving him with no great love of the idea. “As that is what I have seen so many times before, men and women thrown together simply because they make the best connections, the best business, the best-looking children.”
Miss Lloyd pursed her lips, seeming to think over his words quite carefully before she answered.
“I suppose you are right.” She nodded. “Though I am sure there are a few marriages over the years that have been for other reasons.”
“And those other reasons? They do not interest you?” Lionel enquired, intrigued to wonder as to whether she might actually hope for a love match while trying to protect herself from everything else.
“I have no need to be interested in them. My father has assured me that his will shall keep me well cared for,” Miss Lloyd announced, looking as though it was of little consequence.
“He has no living heir save for me and my father has never been inclined to follow society’s rules, either.”
Lionel’s stomach clenched though he was unsure as to whether it was because of her certainty that all would be well in her future even with her father gone, or whether it was the thought that she had no intentions of marrying at all, ever.
“Then you shall not marry no matter who might come along?” Lionel asked, gritting his teeth the moment he said the question for he was not certain he would like the answer.
“I have no intentions of searching for something I do not need,” Miss Lloyd stated, shaking her head. “Whatever my future shall be, I would be happier alone than in a marriage with a man I have nothing in common with.”
Suddenly, Lionel felt as though he saw Miss Lloyd far more clearly than before. Her coldness and her willingness to stay on the outskirts of society suddenly made all the more sense. A part of him could not help but think that perhaps she was frightened.
“Miss Lloyd,” Lionel said, pausing in his walking in order to bring her to a halt with him. She looked startled for a moment, but did not release his arm. Instead, she came to stand before him, her hand still on his forearm. Placing his hand on top of hers, he squeezed her fingers reassuringly and stated, “I do believe that it is possible you and I could be the greatest of friends.”
The breath appeared to catch in Miss Lloyd’s throat as she looked down at their overlapping hands. Lionel wondered whether she felt as much heat as he did between them, though he did not dare to ask. When she turned her gaze back up to his, he half-expected her to say something cold or even disdainful.
Instead, she smiled, “My lord, I do believe that you might be right.”
For what might have been a few seconds or perhaps even minutes, the two gazed into each other’s eyes, a newfound understanding passing between the two of them. There no longer appeared to be any pretence, no need to worry over what the one might wish to gain from the other, simply a mutual understanding that neither of them was happy with society’s rules.
And just when Lionel thought that he might reach up and stroke a stray curl away from her face, to make a move on the wager they had placed between them, he heard Miss Lyttleton call from ahead, “Are the two of you ever going to catch up?”
The light-hearted laughter that tinkled from Miss Lloyd’s lips made Lionel’s heart swell and for once he could feel as though she was not quite so cold towards him.
“Shall we?” she asked, gesturing for him to take the lead, tightening her grip on his forearm. The smile she offered him was enough to shock even the hardiest of men after all he had learned about her. For a few seconds he was too stunned to answer.
Then the ice-queen mask seemed to fall back into place again and she added, “Unless all the walking has become too much for you, my lord?”
