A Lesson in Forgiveness by Jennifer Connors Read Free Book Online Page B

and spoke to him about his duties as the regional squire. Not a topic of great interest to her, just better than listening to the lovesick Mr. Thompson talk about the superior Miss Jennings.
    After dinner, Bethany's mother pushed her to join the other young ladies to get to know them better. So, not wanting to be harangued any longer, Ginny did as she was told and wandered over to the group. The current topic was who would be the first to become betrothed. Seeing her chance to speak, Ginny remarked, “I believe that Miss Jennings may be receiving an offer soon enough.”
    Not having been noticed until she spoke, the girls all turned and stared at Ginny. The girl introduced to her as Miss Alvinia Slowden-Plough looked her square in the eye and asked, “What makes you think that?”
    Every girl stared at Ginny with rapt attention. Obviously they were too busy gossiping about her to consider that she might be a woman of information. “Mr. Thompson spent the better part of dinner describing Miss Jennings's many attributes. Your talent and beauty surpass us all.”
    Miss Jennings blushed and Miss Slowden-Plough snorted in derision. “Really, Miss Hamilton. I would say you have not been paying much attention to the rest of us and our dealings with the other gentlemen. Why, Lord Huntington complimented me before dinner on my selection of gown. He said it brought out the color of my eyes.”
    Smiling the fake smile of pretending you care, Ginny replied, “How nice for you. I have not yet spoken to him, but he seems a very astute fellow.” Ginny wondered for a moment if any of the girls picked up on her sarcasm.
    Alvinia, who was just warming up, continued to regale the troop with all the compliments she'd received over the past two days. Rolling her eyes and praying for patience, Ginny stood still and waited to be saved. Alvinia was that girl in high school who absolutely knew she was better than everyone else and had no qualms about letting you know exactly what was wrong with you, in the hopes of masking her own insecurity.
    “Really, Trinity, you need to stand up straighter. No man likes a slouch.” Turning an eye to Ginny, she said, “Miss Hamilton, Bethany, isn't it?” Ginny nodded. “I believe you should discuss with your maid your hairstyle. It seems a bit old fashioned to me.” This caused a round of nervous giggles from the group.
    Ginny smiled and said, “Thank you, Alvinia. I shall consider doing just that. I should tell you that you have something in your teeth. I believe it may be parsley.”
    Gasping, Alvinia quickly left the room in search of a mirror. All the girls looked at Ginny with something close to awe. Ginny guessed that up until that point, they were too afraid to speak a word against Miss Slowden-Plough. There was only one way to handle a bullies: humiliate them.
    The men began to rejoin the group, so the giggle fest was about to begin. Putting on a face of blank contentment, Ginny wandered to the other side of the room, once again taking her position at the window. Who will approach me tonight , she thought, not really caring if anyone did. One of the best things about living someone else's life was that you could totally screw it up and not care otherwise.
    Tonight it would be Lord Huntington's turn. He was older, probably into his forties, with attractive eyes and graying hair. He was soft spoken, but as Ginny had sarcastically stated earlier, quite astute. Luckily for Ginny, he wasn't prone to flattery or hyperbole like some of  the other gentlemen. All in all, they had a very satisfying conversation about his country home in Suffolk.
    Later when readying for bed, Tabby asked how the evening went. Putting on her nightgown, Ginny sat to have her hair let down and said, “I am beginning to realize that none of these men care about me.” Tabby snorted as if to say no kidding.
    Laughing, Ginny continued, “I mean, none of them ask questions about me. I know all about Lord Clarendon's childhood