Romance: Detective Romance: A Vicious Affair (Victorian Regency Intrigue 19th England Romance) (Historical Mystery Detective Romance) by Lisa Andersen Read Free Book Online Page B

to walk among nature,” she went on, and then stopped. Could she tell him that it was the natural arts that also interested her, the terminology and characterization of plant life, and not just the prettiness of this or that flower? Not with Mother present . She couldn’t state her interest in anything approaching intellectual study, a subject most inappropriate to a lady, a head-straining subject, a hysteria-inducing subject.
    “And I enjoy painting,” she said. Here, at least, she needn’t fear Mother and Auntie Alice’s scorn. Painting, if done in a ladylike manner, was permitted. She talked for a time about her love of painting, which was nowhere near as her love of reading or nature, but still quite large, and then she asked the Brigadier, if it were not too forward, about him self.
    “I have an income large enough to sustain a household with right servants and a small patch of land,” Charles said. His fingertips danced across the table, either from nerves or excitement. Auntie Alice looked at them with barely hidden disdain. He is a Brigadier and you are an unmarried spinster, Auntie! How dare you look at him like that! The scorn was a surprise to Eve, and with an effort she forced it back. “But ever since returning from the war I have been adrift and directionless. Most of my old friends died in the war, I am afraid to say, and I am an outcast now. I am an outcast because I am a scarred man, as you can see, and because I have made myself an outcast. Balls and parties and the lumière de la vie of high society no longer interest me terribly. That is why I sat beside you at the ball, Miss Somerset. I sensed, by your countenance and the way you looked upon the ball, that you, too, had become jaded with the whole affair.”
    Three seasons of pruning and prancing and smiling and dancing. One does become tired!
    The Brigadier seemed to be building up to something. Suddenly he leant forward and looked down at his hands, making him look half-wild, leaning forward like that in a drawing-room. “I confess I did not come here simply to visit with you, Miss Somerset, Mrs. Somerset, Miss Wilton. I confess I had another reason for coming to Wells. As I have said, I have a homestead and servants, a middling income, and a distaste for participating indefinitely in high society.
    “Yes,” he went on. “I had another reason altogether for coming here today. I wish to ask, Miss Somerset, if you would be my wife. And as you are her guardian, Mrs. Somerset, I would ask your permission to make such a request.”
    A proposal! Eve thought, her heart hammering within her chest.
    Auntie Alice let out a long breath.
    Mother started as though struck. “My!” she exclaimed, before regaining her composure. “This is a surprise!”
     
    *****
    Charles left soon after making his proposal to an indefinite answer from Mother. “I would appreciate it if you gave us some time – a week, say – to deliberate upon your proposal. You can of course call on us again in that time if you wish.”
    As soon as Charles had left, Eve went to Mother. “Please, say yes, Mother,” Eve said.
    “You wish to marry him?” Mother said. “You have only met him twice.”
    “You only met Father once!” Eve cried. “Many women don’t even meet their husband before marrying him! You know that!”
    “There is no need to get so excited,” Mother said. “I merely wish to think on the decision. It is no small thing, agreeing to marriage .”
    “He has a house and servants and an income, Mother,” Eve said, knowing that she was more likely to get to her in this way. “He has the means to properly care for me. And you do want grandchildren, do you not?”
    “Of course I do,” Mother said quietly. “It’s just—I will lose you, my sweet daughter.”
    In her excitement, Eve hadn’t considered this aspect of it. Of course Mother was right. If she said yes and Eve married Charles, Mother would be without a daughter. It would just be her and Auntie