Free Dawn in My Heart by Ruth Axtell Morren

invited.”
    â€œNot yet, we haven’t been.”
    He raised an eyebrow.
    â€œI’m sure we shall receive an invitation,” she added quickly. “We have gone to all the major receptions there since Prinny became regent. But I believe since Papa passed away, the royal summonses are slower in arriving. Mama begins to fidget as the time draws closer.”
    â€œI am glad, then, to be able to relieve her mind.”
    â€œI have never met the Duke of Wellington,” Gillian marveled. “I can hardly wait to meet such a brave man. He has saved England and much of the Continent.”
    â€œHave you been following the campaigns closely?” he asked, slanting her a curious look.
    She could feel the color rising in her cheeks. “Yes, just as everyone else in England has.” Not caring to delve into the topic too deeply, she returned to the previous matter. “To think Mama has agreed to an abandoned stray from the streets!”
    Taking the change of topic in stride, he said, “This dog is of good stock.”
    â€œOh, yes, the finest,” she said, laughter bubbling up. “If you are to be believed, she can probably trace her lineage back to Charles the First’s favorite pooch.”
    â€œI may have exaggerated the facts to your mother, but I didn’t altogether lie. This dog has some illustrious spaniel blood. If it has been, er, tainted along the way with some lesser-known varieties, that doesn’t take away from the fact that she’s almost purebred.”
    â€œâ€˜Almost’—that won’t convince Mother.”
    â€œThen let us hope she believed my story.”
    She laughed again. After a moment, she turned to him. “You can be very charming and believable when you wantto be. Do you only do it when you wish to obtain something from someone?”
    â€œThat usually is the case.”
    â€œI think you could get almost anything you wanted if you set your mind to it.”
    â€œDo you?” he asked noncommittally.
    â€œDon’t you set your mind to it very often?” she asked, remembering his ungracious behavior when they’d first been introduced.
    â€œIt is wearing, I’ll admit. And so often not worth the trouble, wouldn’t you agree? Or are you yet so young that you haven’t suffered any disillusion?”
    She remained silent, preferring to concentrate on holding the dog in check on its leash.
    But Lord Skylar was not finished with the thought. “I still find it hard to believe you have remained free these years in London. There is no young gentleman who has stolen your heart? No drawerfuls of avowals of everlasting love and no keepsakes—a lock of hair, a monogrammed handkerchief…?”
    â€œNo, there is nothing!” she answered a little too warmly.
    â€œA young lady with your attributes?” he asked in disbelief. “Your mother hasn’t kept you that locked up. And Templeton, no matter how forbidding she might be, wouldn’t put off a true suitor—”
    â€œMy father would have wanted me to wait for someone—” She stopped.
    â€œYes?” he prompted when she didn’t continue. “Someone like…?”
    â€œLike you,” she said on a moment’s inspiration. Maybe if she flattered his vanity, he would be satisfied and let the subject drop.
    He chuckled. “Wealth and a title—have there been a dearth of good candidates fulfilling those requirements these last three seasons?”
    â€œWell, with the war on, you know, so many young men have gone off to Spain.”
    â€œBut not elder sons.”
    She could feel his keen eyes on her. “Well, there was no one,” she repeated. “Why haven’t you married all those years out there in the Indies?” she asked, turning to him. “I can’t believe there were no suitable candidates out there.”
    He prodded at a fallen leaf with his walking stick. “Perhaps I