Read No Marriage of Convenience for Free Online Page B
Authors: Elizabeth Boyle
vows. A man filled with remorse, driven by his sins…
Perhaps that was the explanation behind the earl’sbookish manners. He’d been terribly wicked as a youth, and now he was paying for the sins of his misspent adolescence.
Somehow, Riley doubted it.
Instead, she filed the idea away. If they managed to keep the company afloat, they’d open the fall season with it. And dedicate it to the Earl.
“So I take your silence to mean the man did not fall at your feet, forgive you our debts, and beg for box seats next to Prinny’s for opening night?” Aggie asked, his tone light and jesting, the notion of a man who hadn’t done so, utterly unthinkable to him.
At this, Hashim made a snorting noise, as if even he felt the insult to his mistress.
Aggie turned slowly in his chair, looking first to Riley, then to Hashim, then back to Riley. “You mean he was impervious to you ?”
“Yes. In fact, he hardly seemed to notice me.” Riley got back up and paced carefully through the littered room.
The very notion was aggravating. She wasn’t foolish enough to think it was her acting skills that were the reason for their theatre’s success. No, their ticket sales were fueled by rumors of her past—making the men of London all that more anxious to unmask the mysterious Madame Fontaine.
So they kept purchasing subscriptions, watching her plays, and vying in countless ways for her attentions.
And Riley continued to refuse politely—though that didn’t stop the arrogant louts from bragging about their exploits with her. She knew Cousin Felicity’s story about her night with the Prince’s regiment was only a small tale compared to some of the other grandiose exploits she’d heard bandied about.
She wondered if any of them realized she’d probablybe dead if she’d done half the things the ton attributed to her licentious and all too fictional life.
Aggie appeared to be considering the idea that this man hadn’t fallen prey to her wiles, when suddenly his mouth curved into his famous sensual smile. “Perhaps I should have gone. Perhaps I would have had more influence with him. Perhaps a lady isn’t his—”
Riley shook her head. “No, he would not have appreciated your charms either.”
Of that she was positive.
While he might be outwardly bookish and scholarly, there was no doubt in her mind that Lord Ashlin was definitely a man who liked the attentions of a woman.
Just not hers.
Why it rankled her she couldn’t be sure, for she’d never considered herself a great beauty. But tolerably pretty?
Why he was probably as blind as his cousin, she told herself. Yes, that was it, he was nearsighted and he was too rolled up to buy new spectacles.
But even that excuse didn’t soothe her ruffled vanity.
“So what happened?” Aggie asked, interrupting her thoughts.
Riley continued to pace carefully about the littered apartment. “As we decided this morning, I tried to give him a down payment, as a goodwill gesture. To keep him appeased until we open. But the man would hear none of it. He was more concerned about keeping his papers straight and his harebrained cousin under control.”
The mention of a cousin perked Aggie’s more Lothario-like propensities. His hand drew up to rest over his heart. “I take it by harebrained, you mean this cousin is a lady?”
“Yes, Aggie, a lady cousin. And don’t start getting any ideas.” And while Aggie never went out of his way to seek female companionship, he was never one to turndown their fawning attentions or their riches, and often talked of making an advantageous and convenient marriage to secure his retirement.
An activity, Riley knew, that was going to get her friend into a lot of trouble one day with an aggrieved relative or an outraged son. She took the pot of paint out of his hand and passed him a different shade. “I doubt she has any money, at least, any for you.”
At this Aggie appeared unconvinced.
Riley shook her finger at him. “If there was any
Perhaps that was the explanation behind the earl’sbookish manners. He’d been terribly wicked as a youth, and now he was paying for the sins of his misspent adolescence.
Somehow, Riley doubted it.
Instead, she filed the idea away. If they managed to keep the company afloat, they’d open the fall season with it. And dedicate it to the Earl.
“So I take your silence to mean the man did not fall at your feet, forgive you our debts, and beg for box seats next to Prinny’s for opening night?” Aggie asked, his tone light and jesting, the notion of a man who hadn’t done so, utterly unthinkable to him.
At this, Hashim made a snorting noise, as if even he felt the insult to his mistress.
Aggie turned slowly in his chair, looking first to Riley, then to Hashim, then back to Riley. “You mean he was impervious to you ?”
“Yes. In fact, he hardly seemed to notice me.” Riley got back up and paced carefully through the littered room.
The very notion was aggravating. She wasn’t foolish enough to think it was her acting skills that were the reason for their theatre’s success. No, their ticket sales were fueled by rumors of her past—making the men of London all that more anxious to unmask the mysterious Madame Fontaine.
So they kept purchasing subscriptions, watching her plays, and vying in countless ways for her attentions.
And Riley continued to refuse politely—though that didn’t stop the arrogant louts from bragging about their exploits with her. She knew Cousin Felicity’s story about her night with the Prince’s regiment was only a small tale compared to some of the other grandiose exploits she’d heard bandied about.
She wondered if any of them realized she’d probablybe dead if she’d done half the things the ton attributed to her licentious and all too fictional life.
Aggie appeared to be considering the idea that this man hadn’t fallen prey to her wiles, when suddenly his mouth curved into his famous sensual smile. “Perhaps I should have gone. Perhaps I would have had more influence with him. Perhaps a lady isn’t his—”
Riley shook her head. “No, he would not have appreciated your charms either.”
Of that she was positive.
While he might be outwardly bookish and scholarly, there was no doubt in her mind that Lord Ashlin was definitely a man who liked the attentions of a woman.
Just not hers.
Why it rankled her she couldn’t be sure, for she’d never considered herself a great beauty. But tolerably pretty?
Why he was probably as blind as his cousin, she told herself. Yes, that was it, he was nearsighted and he was too rolled up to buy new spectacles.
But even that excuse didn’t soothe her ruffled vanity.
“So what happened?” Aggie asked, interrupting her thoughts.
Riley continued to pace carefully about the littered apartment. “As we decided this morning, I tried to give him a down payment, as a goodwill gesture. To keep him appeased until we open. But the man would hear none of it. He was more concerned about keeping his papers straight and his harebrained cousin under control.”
The mention of a cousin perked Aggie’s more Lothario-like propensities. His hand drew up to rest over his heart. “I take it by harebrained, you mean this cousin is a lady?”
“Yes, Aggie, a lady cousin. And don’t start getting any ideas.” And while Aggie never went out of his way to seek female companionship, he was never one to turndown their fawning attentions or their riches, and often talked of making an advantageous and convenient marriage to secure his retirement.
An activity, Riley knew, that was going to get her friend into a lot of trouble one day with an aggrieved relative or an outraged son. She took the pot of paint out of his hand and passed him a different shade. “I doubt she has any money, at least, any for you.”
At this Aggie appeared unconvinced.
Riley shook her finger at him. “If there was any