Free An Unsuitable Bride by Jane Feather

that.
    Marcus seemed startled by her question. He shared many of Perry’s intellectual interests, science first and foremost, but he would be the first to admit that they were not always paramount in his pursuit of enjoyment. Perry, he had always thought, had a mind of a higher class altogether. “I doubt I would enjoy a wife who had no interest in things of the mind. But I would not wish for a bluestocking, either.”
    “Indeed. Such ladies can be infuriatingly opinionated on occasion,” Peregrine observed.
    Alexandra shot him a look of scornful disbelief and then saw too late that he was grinning. She realized to her chagrin that he was teasing her, and she had fallen neatly into the trap. And then it came to her that he was teasing her . Not Mistress Hathaway, the librarian, but herself. She took an overhasty gulp of sherry and spluttered as it went down the wrong way.
    Peregrine removed the glass before it spilled in her lap and solicitously proffered his handkerchief. She shook her head, waving it away as she fumbled for her own, her cheeks scarlet.
    “Oh, poor Mistress Hathaway,” exclaimed LadyDouglas. “Fetch water, Marcus, at once, before she chokes.”
    “No . . . no, indeed, ma’am. It will pass.” Alex gasped into her handkerchief. It was all too absurd. She felt foolish and childish, the shell of her carefully constructed character disintegrating into a million cracks.
    Once the paroxysm had passed and she had herself in hand again, she rose to her feet. “I fear I must go back to the Abbey, ma’am. Sir Stephen will be looking for me. We have some business to deal with this afternoon, and I have been absent from my duties for too long already.”
    “Oh, I was hoping you would stay and have a light nuncheon with me,” Eliza said with a moue of disappointment. “I am so starved of company, sometimes I think I will begin talking to myself. And that, you know, is a sign of madness. I’ll probably end my days in Bedlam.”
    “Oh, ma’am, don’t be absurd,” Marcus declared, half laughing. “You know perfectly well I will not countenance such a thing. Besides, you have an engagement to play cards this evening with Lady Lucas, her sister, and her cousin. They’ll talk the hind leg off a donkey, given half a chance.”
    “Oh, for shame, Marcus. Such vulgarity,” his parent exclaimed.
    “Thank you for your hospitality, Lady Douglas.” Alexandra curtsied and made for the door.
    “Allow me to accompany you to the house, MistressHathaway.” Peregrine, with alacrity, had reached the door ahead of her and was bowing her through.
    “There is no need, sir. I know my way perfectly well,” she said, ducking her head in the manner she had acquired as she resumed the part of the dowdy Mistress Hathaway. It had the advantage of concealing her eyes where she knew he would still read her anger at him for playing with her when he had no idea what was at stake.
    “Oh, I wasn’t presuming to guide you, ma’am,” he said, taking her cloak from the hook by the door. “Allow me.” He draped it around her shoulders, his fingers for an instant brushing against her neck, sending an electrifying tingle down her spine. “But I intend to protect you from bears and any other evil creatures lurking in the woods.”
    “There are no bears in Dorset,” she retorted, feeling her character slip again. Firmly, she set her lips and determined to say not a word on the walk back to the house if he insisted on accompanying her.

Chapter Four

    Peregrine made his way back to the Dower House after his silent walk with Mistress Hathaway. Infuriatingly, she had refused to answer any of his conversational sallies, however outrageous they had been. He had been trying to provoke the swift comeback she had given to his provocative comments in Lady Douglas’s salon, but the sparkling challenge of one Mistress Hathaway had been replaced with the dull monotones of the other. Did no one else see this dichotomy? How could they miss