The Problem with Seduction by Emma Locke Read Free Book Online

said.”
    She was not disappointed. He was clearly babbling and she’d never once considered marriage to him. She barely even knew him. Nonetheless, she’d never received a proposal of marriage before. It must be natural to expect to hear words of undying devotion or at least a persuasive argument when a man finally came up to scratch. This mangled request for her hand mortified her. He couldn’t be more obvious about his aversion to the idea of saddling himself with her.
    Even with all of her experience, she would never understand men.
    He drew up and patted the rich velvet of his coat. “Well, then, that wasn’t as bad as I expected. I knew you were a right sort. If Lord Antony asks, you will tell him I did it, won’t you? Not that I expect my brother to come here, but I can never predict where his sense of righteousness will take him.”
    “Why on earth would he have wanted you to propose to me?” she blurted before she could feign ennui and act instead as though men regularly arrived on her step with nonsensical ideas of matrimony. She did deserve some sort of explanation, didn’t she?
    Con looked about the room, then strode to an overfilled wingback. “Shall we sit?”
    She wanted to know why he’d made such a patently absurd proposal, but a glance at the clock reminded her that Oliver would be waking any moment now. And surely it wasn’t in her best interest to bother with Con’s reasons. Maybe she was curious to know what peculiar ideas banged around in his head, but what did it matter to her if he was as mad as a hatter? “I think you should be leaving.”
    “Just a moment, please. Until I have my wits and then I will go, I promise.” He didn’t wait for her to agree. The chair squeaked as his weight sank heavily onto it. He still looked a bit green around the gills. “My legs are shaking something violent. Don’t you know, I’ve never proposed to anyone before? I wouldn’t have, but my brothers made me feel like a complete cad about it.”
    She crept closer. Her fingers felt around for the back of the sofa. She leaned toward the sturdy frame, a bit shaky herself, and regarded the handsome young man she’d underestimated. Blond hair spiked fashionably about his head. Mussed pieces stood out on one side where he’d run his hand through it. His elbows rested on his knees, his broad shoulders hunched a bit, and a trace of a self-deprecating smile tilted his lips. Even winded-looking, he took up half the room with his presence.
    “The thing is,” he continued, giving her a sidelong glance, “Tony thinks I ruined your business that night in the gaming hell. Something about you not being able to find work anymore because I announced you’d been with me when you’d had an agreement with Finn.” He looked sheepish. “Have I said it delicately enough?”
    She didn’t need him to tell her that no man wanted an unfaithful mistress, any more than he wanted to risk being made a fool of in front of his friends. But she hadn’t expected Lord Constantine to concern himself with the implications of that. She took a moment to assimilate what she thought she knew about him with what he’d just revealed.
    She’d obviously misjudged him. She’d thought him as silly and reckless as his oldest brother, who she knew by association from her years as a Cyprian. She’d imagined Con to be like Roman, but with even less sense of responsibility. An aimless younger son who’d happily divest her of her ten thousand pounds and meander on his merry way. She’d also thought he’d be immune to the subject of lightskirts. But while he hadn’t blinked once at her scheme to paint him as a philanderer, it was clear now that he was a bit more innocent than she’d presumed. He colored pink at having to explain that half of London thought she was not just an expensive bit of muslin, but a fickle slut. Roman would have announced it with a hearty laugh and a wink.
    She smoothed her hands over the scroll frame rolling along