The Earl's Wager by Rebecca Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

too young to lose your mother.”
    “As were you.” He gazed at her so intensely she noticed the deeper gold flecks in his green eyes.
    A twinge of something pulled at her conscience. It was bad enough losing her mother at age twelve; she couldn’t begin to imagine what having her for five fewer years would have been like.
    She didn’t want to like Will Sutton or feel any level of sympathy for him and tore her gaze away, reminding herself she was here to make his job difficult. Surely he’d quit if he determined she was a lost cause.
    He gestured toward the table. “Shall we take our seats?”
    “Of course.” As she glided past him, she caught him gazing at the neckline of her dress again. His jaw tensed, and there was a definite tightening of the skin round his eyes.
    Immensely pleased, she hoped this meal would end quickly and she could move on. They sat across from each other, and the footman placed a bowl of soup in front of each of them.
    “If we were at a formal dinner party, you’d make conversation with the gentleman seated beside you. But because these are merely lessons, I chose to sit across from you this time.”
    “I’ll never understand why so much fuss goes into where everyone sits,” she commented.
    “Not only where we sit. Don’t forget the order in which we enter the dining room. I’m speaking of dinner parties, of course.” He lifted his spoon, so Georgia did the same.
    “Yes, I know the gentleman of the house selects the highest-ranked woman to lead in first.”
    “Not always,” Grandleigh replied. “It can be the most respectable according to age, or in some cases a stranger to the party who needs a proper introduction.”
    “Well, hallelujah, I have a chance of being the first person escorted into a dining room at a dinner party. I never thought to aspire to such grand accomplishment before.”
    He rolled his eyes upward.
    She twirled her spoon before submerging it in her soup and was thrilled to see her comment annoyed him. Although, she couldn’t help noticing the unique green of his eyes—not sea green, and not mossy green, but something in between. “I fear you’ve given me something to pine over and wish upon a star for.”
    “Go ahead and make light of our customs, but tradition is everything and of the utmost importance in England.” He set his spoon down with a slight thud. “Instead of being difficult about it, I suggest you accept it and immerse yourself in all I’m trying to teach you.”
    “How am I being difficult about it?” she quipped. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
    “Perhaps, but your tone suggests you aren’t entirely happy about it. And sarcasm doesn’t help your cause.”
    Ah, yes, the cause. The cause to get her married off. Why would she want to make it easy on him by being complacent? If she was going to have to participate in this tutoring arrangement, then she may as well make it fun.
    She scooped the vegetable soup into her mouth and purposely left some broth on her bottom lip. After setting the spoon down beside her bowl, she fixed her stare on Grandleigh. Slowly, she stuck her tongue out to retrieve the spilled broth.
    “You might want to be a little more careful.” He stared at her mouth.
    She tipped her head to the side. “About what, my lord?”
    “Leaving food on your face. Decrease the amount of soup in your spoon next time.”
    She blinked several times. Then she ran her tongue across her upper lip as well, hoping the motion would bother him.
    Absently, he moved his hand toward his mouth. “Use a napkin to wipe it off.”
    She slipped her tongue back into her mouth. “My tongue works.”
    As though he needed to sit up straighter, he adjusted himself in his chair. “Yes, I can see that it does.”
    Georgia couldn’t help letting a small giggle escape.
    His extremely handsome eyes narrowed into slits. “You were doing that on purpose, weren’t you?”
    Hmm, and smart too. Although she considered playing innocent, she didn’t