Lord Will & Her Grace by Sophia Nash Read Free Book Online Page B

months' time? And by the by,
I accept your challenge."
    "Accept my challenge? I did not—" she said
before he interrupted.
    "Oh, yes, you did. But I've forgotten. You
are Welsh and the Welsh are known for reneging on challenges."
    She was well and truly hooked if the look on
her face was any indication. She was a gambler at heart.
    "Well, I shall prove you wrong, sir."
    "Now we must discuss the terms, chérie ."
    "The terms?"
    She seemed to have forgotten her prior
dislike of the endearment. "Yes, what each of us would gain from
this understanding. I daresay I shouldn't have to give you a
farthing if you're successful before me, given the promise of
fifteen thousand a year."
    She had a disturbing gleam in her eye. "Oh,
you would get off too easily, my lord. Let us say that you would
have to walk clear around Hyde Park during the social hour dressed
in an ensemble I should pick out for you."
    William threw back his head and laughed. "No
doubt it involves some hideous Welsh fisherman's rags? Oh, you are
very good, mademoiselle. Very good indeed," he said, smiling. "But
now it is my turn. I fear I must be equally devious. If I'm able to
find a female I would be willing to actually marry"—and here
he shuddered theatrically— "thereby giving up my current lifestyle,
and if she should accept my proposal, you would be required to—to
burn all those disgusting peasant rags you own, and wear only
proper, pretty gowns to Farquhar's specifications. And no
pantaloons, ever."
    "What?" She looked distressed.
    "Well, we must make it worth the effort. And
furthermore, each much approve the other's choice of spouse,"
William said. "As I am a gentleman," he said, taking her arm and
wrapping it within his own before continuing toward the villa, "I
feel it only sporting if we agree to assist or teach each other in
the provocative arts of securing a partner."
    "I'm not at all sure I will approve of your
ways."
    "Yes, but you must try to be unprejudiced. As
you said, I'm familiar with what gentlemen are looking for."
    She gurgled with laughter. "Oh, all right.
But what if we both fail in this ridiculous endeavor? I for one
find it a distinct possibility." She was looking him over from the
tip of Farquhar's ridiculous new hat to the overly tight breeches
in crimson.
    "I never fail, mademoiselle."
    "I see," she said, suppressing a smile.
    "It is agreed then. Now regarding the
lessons. I propose the first shall begin tomorrow, in secret. It
seems you favor taking the air along the seashore. I shall
inadvertently be strolling along the same path as you tomorrow,
precisely at the ungodly early hour of ten o'clock."
    "And what will the lesson entail?" "Let's
start alphabetically, chérie , shall we? Let's see.… A for
Attitude, B for Behavior and let us say also"—he eyed her primly
restrained breasts— "Bosoms and how they should be displayed to
their best advantage." He fully expected her to strike him for that
indiscretion but it seemed he couldn't shock her. She might have
turned an alarming beet red in embarrassment, but she apparently
viewed him as an intimate friend— like a sister .
    "All right, my lord. And I shall teach you
about C, D, and E—Character, Distaste for dandies, and the Error of
your ways—all of which my father taught me well."
    At least she recovered from embarrassment
rapidly. She now wore the gleefully happy expression he enjoyed
teasing to full blossom.
    "Ah, I see. You hope to truly reform me then, Chérie ."
    "Indeed, my upbringing demands it. Shall we
begin? Or do you need time to contemplate the course of our mutual
education?"

Chapter Four
     
     
    “WHY would I need to know where you're going
so early in the morning?" Farquhar brushed the shoulders and back
of the light gray coat adorning William. The valet peered around to
look at Will's reflection in the cheval glass. "It's not my place
to be wondering that sort of thing, is it now? Not even when you
wouldn't rise this early for a meeting with royalty."