Free Candice Hern by In the Thrill of the Night Page B

the whole business and would welcome any details the others had to offer.
    Grace gave an unladylike snort and crossed her arms over her chest. "Ten minutes," she said. "No more. Then we really must review the final details for the ball at Yarmouth House, and then get busy planning the next one. Ten minutes."
    The duchess, ensconced in a gilded armchair with her skirts arranged about her in studied negligence, nodded in agreement and turned her attention to Penelope. "And so, it is to be Mr. Tolliver?"
    Penelope positively beamed and wriggled her shoulders with excitement. "Yes! Is that not delicious? He is so handsome. Such shoulders!"
    "This all happened rather fast," Marianne said. "What did you do, exactly?" She flushed slightly, embarrassed to be asking such a question, so blatantly demonstrating her ignorance. But if she was going to do this, she needed a few helpful hints.
    "He has been rather attentive for years," Penelope said. "When I saw him at a card party last week, I made sure he knew I welcomed his interest. We haven't actually done the deed yet, but he is sure to be at our ball, and I'm hoping that will be the night." She bounced on her chair with girlish glee. "I can hardly wait!"
    Marianne frowned. She had hoped for more details of precisely how Penelope signaled her interest. Everyone seemed to think it came naturally, and maybe that was true and she was being overly anxious. Still, she would have welcomed a few pointers.
    "What's troubling you, Marianne?" Beatrice, sitting beside her on a settee, touched her arm gently. "You look so glum. Had you perhaps thought of Mr. Tolliver for yourself?"
    "Oh!" Marianne lifted a hand to her breast, mortified that she might be seen as jealous, which was ridiculous. The man had not even been on her original list. "No, no, I assure you, I had not set my sights on Mr. Tolliver. I hardly know him."
    "I think," the duchess said, "that Marianne was hoping you would be a bit more forthcoming, Penelope, regarding the tactics you employed to let Mr. Tolliver know of your interest." She looked at Marianne with very indulgent and very kind eyes. "Am I right?"
    Marianne nodded sheepishly. Bless Wilhelmina for being so perceptive.
    "We did promise details," the duchess said.
    "And you can be sure that when I have any interesting details," Penelope said, "I will report them. The actual flirtation is not important."
    "But not everyone has experience with flirtation." Wilhelmina turned to Marianne. "Your marriage was arranged, was it not?"
    "Yes, when I was still a girl. I never had the need to flirt. I always had David." She looked down at the hands in her lap. "I am so afraid of making a cake of myself."
    "Don't think of it as flirting," Beatrice said. "Just think of it as conversation. Ask a gentleman about himself, show an interest in his interests, and that's all there is to it."
    "Precisely," Wilhelmina said with a nod of acknowledgment to Beatrice. "Excellent advice. If you think too much about it, you will become unnerved. Just act naturally. Be yourself. You are a charming and beautiful woman. You need only smile, look him straight in the eye, and let the gentleman do the talking. He'll be entranced."
    "You make it sound so easy," Marianne said.
    "It is easy," Penelope said. "It is just talking, as Beatrice said. It is not a prescribed set of tricks and charades. Whatever you do, do not flutter your eyelashes or sigh wistfully or giggle. Leave that to the ingenues. As older, experienced women, we do not need to resort to such tactics." She leaned forward and smiled. "Do you have someone in mind, Marianne?"
    "There are a few gentlemen I am considering. If they’re interested." She looked at each woman around the room. "You promise not to repeat it if I tell you who they are?"
    "That was part of our agreement," Beatrice said. "At least that is what I understood and what I expect. What is said here stays here."
    "Of course," Penelope said.
    The duchess nodded, and everyone turned