Page 18 of The Rules of Matrimony
“Number two,” he said, oblivious to her concern, “no growing attached to the other’s family. I took that from another good friend. We cannot be too careful when it comes to emotional attachment.”
She nodded again. “I don’t see that being a problem for you, but I like most people. I will do my best to respect your rules and not grow attached.”
“Good. Number three, no reading, researching, or acquiring lessons on romance. I took that—
“From another good friend?”
He nodded.
She did wonder if he actually did have any friends at all, with his intimidating glower, or if he’d picked up these oddities on the street. It would be rude to question him on that matter, so she attempted another route. “These rules are a bit strange.”
He leaned his forearm on his leg and rotated more toward her. “I am preparing you for whatever may come. If you agree to this match, you must know you will be taking on a few enemies. They look rather innocent next to my father and your uncle, but they are people who cannot be ignored.”
She didn’t like the sound of this. “Who are they?”
“A renegade of mothers. The deceptive, conniving kind who do not take no for an answer. They have the uncanny ability to predict your next move before you even think it. The next thing you know, you’ll be in love with me and I you.”
She wondered if she dared lean forward to see if he smelled of the drink like he’d suggested earlier. What a curious man he was. “Surely you exaggerate.”
“I wish I were. They will not go easy on us. We will be a challenge to them, and they cannot resist such a thing.”
He was a viscount and she an invisible wallflower, so perhaps he knew more about matchmaking mamas than she did. “What do we do?”
“We beat them at their own game.”
She gave a slow nod. “By following the rules you listed?”
“And by avoiding my friends since they are all a little addlebrained at the moment.”
“Then, you do have friends?” She’d blurted the question before she realized it.
He smiled. Actually smiled. He hadn’t done that since she’d admitted that her mother had engaged her to a dead man. “I should be affronted you sound so shocked. Impossible as it sounds, I do possess a few true friends, although many will profess to be close to me when they are not.”
She forced a smile of her own. “Then, it shouldn’t be too hard to avoid them.”
“That’s the spirit.”
She gave the smallest shake of her head. “This is a lot to take in.”
He nodded. “I have no desire to pressure you to make such a life-changing decision with me hovering over you. I will return on the morrow to receive your answer and speak with your uncle. The specifics of our contract will remain between us alone as a mutual understanding, while your marriage settlement will be arranged with Mr. Nelson.”
She opened her mouth to answer, but a barking noise caught her attention. She looked just beyond Lord Reynolds to see a large, white cat chasing a little Yorkshire Terrier. “That’s terrible.”
“It is?”
She waved her hands. “Not you. That.” She pointed to the cat-and-dog chase. “Doesn’t the dog have any shame, running from a cat?”
“That cat is bigger and probably protecting its home.”
But what if the terrier didn’t have a home? She felt a sudden kinship with the helpless creature. It felt like watching her problems chasing her down, why she tried unsuccessfully to flee from them. It was suffocating. “I have nothing against the cat or the dog, not really, but we have to do something.”
“We do?”
“One of them is liable to get hurt.” Just as she was liable to get hurt no matter what path she chose. Everything in her life was out of her control—she was considering marrying a stranger, for heaven’ssake—but couldn’t she do this small thing? She set aside her shawl. “Help me down.”
“Miss Tyler, I don’t think—”
She was already standing, waiting for Lord Reynolds to move. He reluctantly climbed out of the carriage and assisted her.
