Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn Read Free Book Online Page B

evening had been proper. It could hardly get worse.
    “I don’t mean to make assumptions,” he continued smoothly, “but based upon the hue of your gown, I can only deduce that you are unmarried.”
    She gave a quick nod.
    “Which means that under no circumstances should I be telling you that I was out here with a woman who is not my wife.”
    Oh, she
should
be scandalized. She really should. But she couldn’t quite manage it. He wasjust so
charming.
He oozed it. He was grinning at her now, like they were sharing a secret joke, and she couldn’t help it—she wanted to be in on the joke. She wanted to be part of his club, his group, his anything. There was something about him—a charisma, a magnetism—and she knew, she just
knew
that if she could travel back in time, and in space, she supposed, to Eton or wherever he’d spent his formative years, he would have been the boy whom everyone wanted to be near.
    Some people were just born with it.
    “Who are you avoiding?” he wondered. “The most likely candidate would be an overly eager suitor, but that wouldn’t explain your flight all the way out here. It’s just as easy to lose oneself in a crowd, and far less dangerous to one’s reputation.”
    “I shouldn’t say,” she murmured.
    “No, of course not,” he agreed. “That would be indiscreet. But it will be much more fun if you do.”
    She pressed her lips together, trying not to smile.
    “Will anyone be missing you?” he asked.
    “Eventually.”
    He nodded. “The person you’re avoiding?”
    Annabel thought of Lord Newbury, and his pricked pride. “I imagine I have a little bit of time before he starts searching.”
    “He?” the gentleman said. “The plot thickens.”
    “Plot?” she countered with a grimace. “That’s a poor choice of words. It’s not a book anyone would wish to read. Trust me.”
    He chuckled at this, then patted the blanket again. “Do sit. It’s offending every one of mygentlemanly principles that you’re up there while I’m reclining.”
    She gave him her best imitation of arch confidence. “Perhaps you should stand.”
    “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly do that. It would make it all so formal, don’t you think?”
    “Considering that we have not been introduced, formality might be just the thing.”
    “Oh no,” he objected. “You have it all backwards.”
    “Then I should introduce myself?”
    “Don’t do
that,”
he said with the barest hint of drama. “Whatever you do, don’t tell me your name. It’s likely to awaken my conscience, and that’s the last thing we want.”
    “You do have a conscience, then?”
    “Sadly, yes.”
    That was a relief. He wasn’t going to pull her off into the darkness, and he wasn’t going to maul her as Lord Newbury had done. Regardless, she ought to return to the party. Conscience or no, he was not the sort of gentleman with whom a young unmarried lady ought to be alone. Of that she was absolutely certain.
    Again, she thought of Lord Newbury, who
was
the sort of man she was supposed to be with.
    She sat down beside him.
    “Excellent choice,” he applauded.
    “It’s just for a moment,” she murmured.
    “Of course.”
    “It’s not you,” she said, feeling a bit cheeky. But she didn’t want him to think that she was staying because of him.
    “It’s not?”
    “Over there.” She pointed toward the side garden, flicking her wrist in a little wave. “There’s a man and a woman, er …”
    “Enjoying each other’s company?”
    “Exactly.”
    “And you can’t get back to the party.”
    “I’d really rather not interrupt.”
    He gave her a commiserating nod. “Awkward.”
    “Very much so.”
    He frowned thoughtfully. “A man and a man would be more awkward, I think.”
    Annabel gasped, although she didn’t really feel the indignation she ought. It was far too intoxicating to be near him, to feel included in his wit.
    “Or a woman and a woman. I wouldn’t mind watching
that.”
    She turned away,