Blankenship, Glee had to know that her friend had loved him since the first day he had ever favored her with a comment.
Whenever he was in Bath, Jonathan Blankenship and Miss Arbuckle spent a great deal of time together, and the two of them shared many interests. He was the only young man who had ever danced with her at the Assembly Rooms, the only man who had ever brought her flowers, the only man who had ever honored her with his attentions.
Miss Arbuckle's eyes rounded. "Why should that matter to me?" Her disinterest, Glee had to know, was an act.
"I know very well, Mary Arbuckle, that you're in love with my brother-in-law. Can you deny it?"
Still fearing that Glee was going to notify her of Mr. Blankenship's nuptials, she shrugged. "I will own that I have a strong attachment to him, but there has never been any form of understanding between us."
"I know that very well, you goose! I have decided that you must give the man a little push so he'll realize you're the very woman to be his perfect wife."
Miss Arbuckle's sweating palms uncoiled, and she expelled the breath she was holding. He wasn't wed to another!
Then Glee’s words sunk in. Miss Arbuckle had never allowed herself to give consideration to marrying dear Mr. Blankenship. "You forget that unlike you, I am not a beauty who can easily claim men's hearts. Nor am I possessed of fortune, and as a second son, Mr. Blankenship will surely be compelled to marry a woman who brings a comfortable dowry. I have resigned myself to being Mr. Blankenship's friend. Nothing more."
"Pooh! How long have you known him now?"
"Four years."
"And you are how old?"
Miss Arbuckle swallowed over her mortification. "The same as you. Three and twenty." An old maid, to be sure.
"I will not allow you to resign yourself to being a spinster." Glee deprived her babe of his nourishment, gently dabbed a cloth around his little mouth, and spoke some unintelligible nonsense to him.
All the while, Mary tried not to allow her gaze to drop below Glee's neck. "No one chooses to be a spinster. It just happens to be my fate."
"Pooh!" Glee began to nurse again, but Mary refused to let her eye lower.
"If Jonathan asked you to marry him, would you accept?" Glee asked.
Not without an alien fluttering in her heart, Miss Arbuckle nodded.
"Do you know, Miss Arbuckle, I am going to tell you something I have never told anyone before. Except for my sister-in-law Sally."
Miss Arbuckle quirked a brow.
"I employed every piece of cajolery possible in order to force myself into Blanks's heart."
Mary tossed her head back, laughing. "You cannot expect me to believe that. Everyone in Bath knows how insanely Mr. Blankenship loves you."
"I swear on my precious little son's life, Blanks never wanted to marry me."
Glee would never swear on her son's life were she not speaking the truth, the shocking, excessively-difficult-to-believe truth. "How can that be?"
"You know I loved him always?"
"Since you were twelve, if I recall correctly."
Glee nodded. "Even though he would lose his fortune were he not wed by his twenty-fifth birthday, he turned down my offer to marry him so that he could secure his fortune. Next, I accused him of compromising my virtue so my brother would force him to wed me."
For the second time since she had taken a seat in the Blankenship drawing room, Miss Mary Arbuckle blushed scarlet. "It was a lie?"
Glee nodded sheepishly. "Then once we were married, I decided there was nothing I would not do to capture his heart."
"But as I said, it's easy for someone like you who's born beautiful to make men fall in love with you."
“It is my belief that Jonathan is already in love with you, but he just doesn’t realize it. Now, Miss Arbuckle, we must plan our strategy.”
Mary swallowed over the huge lump in her throat. “ Our strategy?”
“Indeed. When I determined to capture Blanks’s heart, I went about it in much the same way a general plans his battle strategy.”
“Then you are
Whenever he was in Bath, Jonathan Blankenship and Miss Arbuckle spent a great deal of time together, and the two of them shared many interests. He was the only young man who had ever danced with her at the Assembly Rooms, the only man who had ever brought her flowers, the only man who had ever honored her with his attentions.
Miss Arbuckle's eyes rounded. "Why should that matter to me?" Her disinterest, Glee had to know, was an act.
"I know very well, Mary Arbuckle, that you're in love with my brother-in-law. Can you deny it?"
Still fearing that Glee was going to notify her of Mr. Blankenship's nuptials, she shrugged. "I will own that I have a strong attachment to him, but there has never been any form of understanding between us."
"I know that very well, you goose! I have decided that you must give the man a little push so he'll realize you're the very woman to be his perfect wife."
Miss Arbuckle's sweating palms uncoiled, and she expelled the breath she was holding. He wasn't wed to another!
Then Glee’s words sunk in. Miss Arbuckle had never allowed herself to give consideration to marrying dear Mr. Blankenship. "You forget that unlike you, I am not a beauty who can easily claim men's hearts. Nor am I possessed of fortune, and as a second son, Mr. Blankenship will surely be compelled to marry a woman who brings a comfortable dowry. I have resigned myself to being Mr. Blankenship's friend. Nothing more."
"Pooh! How long have you known him now?"
"Four years."
"And you are how old?"
Miss Arbuckle swallowed over her mortification. "The same as you. Three and twenty." An old maid, to be sure.
"I will not allow you to resign yourself to being a spinster." Glee deprived her babe of his nourishment, gently dabbed a cloth around his little mouth, and spoke some unintelligible nonsense to him.
All the while, Mary tried not to allow her gaze to drop below Glee's neck. "No one chooses to be a spinster. It just happens to be my fate."
"Pooh!" Glee began to nurse again, but Mary refused to let her eye lower.
"If Jonathan asked you to marry him, would you accept?" Glee asked.
Not without an alien fluttering in her heart, Miss Arbuckle nodded.
"Do you know, Miss Arbuckle, I am going to tell you something I have never told anyone before. Except for my sister-in-law Sally."
Miss Arbuckle quirked a brow.
"I employed every piece of cajolery possible in order to force myself into Blanks's heart."
Mary tossed her head back, laughing. "You cannot expect me to believe that. Everyone in Bath knows how insanely Mr. Blankenship loves you."
"I swear on my precious little son's life, Blanks never wanted to marry me."
Glee would never swear on her son's life were she not speaking the truth, the shocking, excessively-difficult-to-believe truth. "How can that be?"
"You know I loved him always?"
"Since you were twelve, if I recall correctly."
Glee nodded. "Even though he would lose his fortune were he not wed by his twenty-fifth birthday, he turned down my offer to marry him so that he could secure his fortune. Next, I accused him of compromising my virtue so my brother would force him to wed me."
For the second time since she had taken a seat in the Blankenship drawing room, Miss Mary Arbuckle blushed scarlet. "It was a lie?"
Glee nodded sheepishly. "Then once we were married, I decided there was nothing I would not do to capture his heart."
"But as I said, it's easy for someone like you who's born beautiful to make men fall in love with you."
“It is my belief that Jonathan is already in love with you, but he just doesn’t realize it. Now, Miss Arbuckle, we must plan our strategy.”
Mary swallowed over the huge lump in her throat. “ Our strategy?”
“Indeed. When I determined to capture Blanks’s heart, I went about it in much the same way a general plans his battle strategy.”
“Then you are
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