Miss Simpkins School: Flora Read Online Free Page A

I’m capable of issuing one. So I’m declining your kind proposal of marriage.”
    She watched as his eyes widened and his lips quirked in what she hoped was appreciation of her words. As elegant as a cat, he walked over to her and stood, his body just brushing hers. She gulped. His scent surrounded her and his breath was warm on her neck. It almost made her lose her train of thought. “Until you show me why marriage to you is better than a cottage in the country, and cats,” she finished in a rush.
    Flora swallowed hard, and wondered where that impassioned speech had come from? As she clenched her hands in her skirts, Fraser’s eyes narrowed. “And what exactly do you mean by all that?” he asked in a soft tone, and ran his finger from her neck to the top of her gown. His nail scraped her skin and set off a chain of tingles through her. “Elucidate.” One finger skimmed under the very low neckline, stroked the top of her areolae, and brushed over her nipple. The jolt to her senses made her gasp. It felt so very different from when she did that to herself.
    A thump in the corridor outside the door, and a giggle made her jump. The petulant tones of a debutante came clearly through the wood as she protested the corridor was narrow, and the library in the other direction. It was followed by the deeper tones of a man, and then a scratching noise as the door latch was moved.
    “Locked,” said the male voice again. “We need to go elsewhere.”
    The interruption brought Flora up short. What on earth was she doing? To try and seduce a man of the world was bad enough, but at a ball? What if the door hadn’t been fastened? It was all well and good, being brave and bold, but not foolhardy. If things went her way, the last thing she needed was to be ruined. She looked up at Fraser, who stood quiet and still, just watching her. He added a second finger to his first and pinched her nipple gently. The extra pressure made her pant, and her channel muscles clench.
    There was another assault on the door, and then the sound of footsteps as whoever it was moved away. Fraser withdrew his digits and took her chin in his hand to hold her face at an angle where she was staring straight into his glittering eyes. “Well?”
    Flora lost her intrepidity. “No,” she said baldly, and with a wild glance at the door, turned toward the long glass windows that opened into the garden. “I can’t.”

Chapter Four
    “I lost my nerve,” Flora said as she held a glass of wine in hands that trembled and sent the liquid dangerously near the rim of the goblet. “I told him I wouldn’t marry him on his terms, and then didn’t rise to the challenge, in either stating my intentions or showing them, even though I said I would. I’m a mouse. I was so sure of what I wanted and how I would go about it, and then he looked just so, and I couldn’t do it. I ran. How pitiful am I? The moment he challenged me I backed down.”
    She took a gulp of her wine. The warmth of its rich flavor was perfect for her mood. Flora realized it would take little to make her bosky. “I ran. Into the garden, and then to the ladies’ withdrawing room, where I fabricated a headache and went home. Goodness knows what happened, except I expect he went to Lady Senton for release.” She giggled unexpectedly. “I did notice his staff was somewhat, well, staff like. For all the good it did me. He will think me a silly woman who can’t make up her mind what she wants. One minute bold and confident, the next cowering and pathetic. Now he’ll never take me seriously.” She shook her head. “Molly, how could I be so brainless? To have such an opportunity, and not take it? He was interested, I know he was, but when push came to shove, I couldn’t carry through. I felt stupid. And you know, added to it all was the fear of being found. It seems I’m not as bold and daring as I thought. Now I’m truly at a loss to make him understand how I feel. I failed at seduction, and he