Miss Simpkins' School: Lydia Read Online Free

him alone. George is a fair man, and he will know if you are in earnest. He is well liked by his peers, and the ladies whom he favors or lets down gently, and considered to be a gentleman by all. For you see, he only plays with those who know the rules.”
    “If he weds me he won’t. Ride ladies, whether they know the rules or not. I will be his mount, and only I will be his plaything,” Lydia had responded fiercely. “Rules be damned, I will not share.”
    “Bravo,” Hermione had replied. “Now it’s up to you.”
    So it is up to me to do it.
    ‘”No answer, my lord?” Lydia hoped she didn’t show how her knees knocked, and her stomach churned. She strove to keep her voice light, almost amused, and level. She moved from one foot to the other in order to relax her toes, which she’d scrunched up in tension, and did her best to take deep, level breaths. Whoever said worry had a smell was correct. It hung in the air like the wood smoke from the fire. Sweet, sickly, heavy, and vaguely menacing. As if it could take over. “I’m disappointed, I was sure you wouldn’t leave a lady to wait for your response.”
    “Oh, I think you know the reply, my dear.” He rubbed one hand over the other. “I admire your intentions, if not the way you essay them. Tell me, where does your mama think you are?”
    The change of subject made her start, and she had to unscramble her brain before she could answer him. “Ah, with Tilly Hammond and spending the night with the Countess of Addersley. Addersley has had to make an unexpected visit to one of his estates, and it was decided Adriana shouldn’t accompany him in her condition. She is due to increase very soon, and the only journey Ash wants her to undertake is to be confined at their country home. It is very convenient.”
    “As you say.” Once again the saturnine expression on his face made her restless. “Stop fidgeting.” He snapped the words out and stopped her mid-movement. How her jaw didn’t gape, Lydia had no idea. “Come here, kneel at my feet, bow your head, and let us set out the ground rules.”
    What? Now she was certain she was slack-jawed. “Ground rules?” She walked across the room, stood a few feet away from him, and hesitated.
    He stretched out his arm, took her hand, and tugged. For several seconds she resisted the pull on her arm. Just as the twinge of discomfort hit the edge where it would morph into pain, George relaxed his grip. He didn’t let go, just stared in a way designed to make her insides go to jelly, and her quim start to quiver. By the knowing look on his face he fully understood the effect he was having.
    “Am I expected to know what you mean?” she asked.
    “Do we dance around this?”
    She giggled at his terminology and he raised one eyebrow. It silenced her mid-snigger and she gulped. He was so masterful with that attitude. Her body acknowledged it with a shiver that hit her bosom, streaked through her to her quim, and circled her nub.
    “Is it funny? You want to learn to dance. We both know it’s not the dances of the ballroom. With me you didn’t put a foot wrong when I distracted your attention from one, two, three, one, two, three. So tell me; what is this really all about?”
    Lydia jerked out of his grasp and began to pace. She needed to get away from his scent, his aura, and his authority. To try to explain what she desired she needed a clear head. She leaned against an elegant Hepplewhite console and bit her lip. The sting of pain gathered her senses.
    “Are you cognizant with all the plans of our parents?” she asked him baldly. “And are you in accord?” Her heart missed a beat as he stood immobile and just looked fixedly at her. She had no idea how she would prefer him to answer. To want me for myself and not for any other reason. However, is that likely? I’m his childhood annoyance, and I have nothing to make me stand out in the ton. And I am an innocent. Would he be prepared to train me? Do I want him to?