Always a Maiden (The Belles of Beak Street #5)(8)

She’d have to touch him to move past him. “I’d like to leave, sir.”

“Lady Susanah, may I ask what exactly is it you’d like me to do?” He took a step closer to her.

She folded her arms across her chest as if to provide succor to her wounded heart. Her heart was not wounded, merely her pride, she told herself with a defiant shake of her head. “I’d like you to move aside, so I might return to the company.”

He took another step closer. “You startled me.” His voice was gentle, almost soothing. “Perhaps I misunderstood the nature of your request.”

“Don’t patronize me. You understood perfectly well.” And if he hadn’t, well when she’d blurted out that he was a rake, it should have made things quite clear.

“I’m not certain I do.” He took another step closer and his midsection was almost brushing her folded arms. He watched her, but as the thin light was from above and his face was tilted down, shadows cloaked his expression.

Her stomach fluttered. She swallowed and relied on years of social training to stand her ground. But perhaps not all was lost. Perhaps she could convince him to help her, yet. If she could just manage to open her mouth and use words. But her vocabulary seemed to have deserted her. All the careful planning of how this conversation might go hadn’t begun with his saying “no” or disabusing him of the notion that she might want him as a husband.

He waited.

Words scrambled in her mind, but she discarded them before letting them pass her lips.

“You would like me to teach you how to be flirtatious?” he prompted.

“I would like you to teach me whatever the belles use to land husbands,” she blurted out. “You said that was passion.”

His lips twisted as if he were trying to restrain a laugh. “You may not want to use their tactics.”

Her eyes must have adjusted to the streams of moonlight coming through the skylight. She wished that it was enough light to see the green or brown of his eyes. “I would use any tactics at this point. My father is attempting to arrange a marriage to Lord Farringate, and it did not end well the first time he tried to arrange a marriage for me.”

It had ended in a terrible coil that only grew worse. She’d been mortified. It had taken everything she’d had to hold her head high, certain she was the butt of every joke for a whole season. And even if this arrangement came off, she couldn’t imagine it would be better. There was a cruel cast to Lord Farringate’s mouth.

“I thought you wanted to marry a man with a title,” Mr. Cooper said.

Something about the coaxing nature of his voice allowed her to be much more candid with her thoughts than she normally would be. That and his proximity to her person made it hard to think of a polite dissemblance. His very nearness without touching her made it hard to breathe. “I won’t be allowed to marry a man without prospects.” The one time she’d questioned if a certain untitled, but quite wealthy, gentleman might be acceptable, she’d been firmly disabused of the notion. Her chin dropped and she mumbled. “Or so I’ve been told.”

She was expected to marry into her class or at the very least only a rung or two below hers in the hierarchy. An earl was a rung beneath her father in the ranks, and Lord Farringate was only an earl.

Mr. Cooper’s hand lifted as if he meant to touch her and her breath caught. “These ambitions are not your own?”

The answer wasn’t so easy. Of course, they had been. She had been raised to believe she was destined to marry a man of significant rank. “I never thought it would be so difficult.”

His hand landed on the wall behind her. It wasn’t as though there was much room in the tiny landing where they were standing, but somehow it was a bit of a let down that he wasn’t touching her.

He leaned close enough she could feel his warm moist breath on her cheek. “What is it you think I could teach you?”

She lifted her shoulders. “I don’t know, but you have some success with seduction. I would think you could teach me the female’s side. Or at least teach me what makes a man’s heart beat faster.”

He leaned in and the expectations started all over again. “So if I have the gist of this, you want me to teach you how to seduce some lord into marriage.”

She gave a quick nod, then chewed on her bottom lip. But he seemed to be waiting for a verbal response. “Or a duke or a future duke…” Just so long as he own his own residence and was well enough off to not be influenced by her parents.

His eyes narrowed just the slightest bit. “Why not a prince?”

Her back bumped the wall and only then did she realize she was backing away. “If he would take me away from my parents home, then a prince would do.”

“Is there a particular gentleman you have in mind?”

“No, but there aren’t that many potential candidates. Unmarried dukes, marquesses, or earls or their heirs aren’t running around in droves. But I haven’t settled on one.” As if it would be up to her.

“Why not marry Lord Farringate? He meets your criteria.”

“He scares me,” she whispered.

Mr. Cooper watched her, his expression inscrutable. “You should be scared of me.” His voice was husky and low and a shiver ran through her. “Passion is a dangerous thing to play with, my lady.”