far more clever than I.”
“Jonathan would never agree with that. I declare, he has told me hundreds of times how uncommonly clever you are.”
Miss Arbuckle warmed under such praise. “It would be false modesty for me to attempt to refute that for I realize that Mr. Blankenship does credit me with thinking like an intelligent man . The pity of it is, he rather thinks of me as a man. To him, I am a very dear friend, like his friend Melvin Steffington. Nothing more.”
“Then it is our job to make him see you with new eyes.”
“New or old eyes, I am still plain.”
“Being plain is not at all the same as being ugly. Because you are not ugly, it will be excessively easy to render you prettier. You must give me a free hand.”
Miss Arbuckle shook her head. “It is difficult for one to appear pretty without pretty clothes, and I assure you, Mama’s limited funds are stretched to the limit as it is.”
“You are a good seamstress, are you not?”
She nodded. “But fabric comes very dearly.”
“Sweet Sally gave me the dresses which she has been unable to get back into since the birth of her twins. She wanted me to find a good use for them. I got the brilliant idea that, since you are tallish like Sally, they will do very well for you—with modifications, of course. Your bosom is much larger than Sally's, which is non-existent."
How could Mrs. Blankenship speak of bosom without even lowering her voice? Once again, the flush stole into Miss Arbuckle's cheeks.
Miss Arbuckle would not recognize herself in fine ball gowns. She had never owned any. The very idea of wearing lovely clothes that had been made for a countess suffused Miss Arbuckle with a feeling of uncommon lightness. “I don’t know. . .”
"I assure you, the gowns are lovely," Glee continued. "My brother selected them himself for her after he recovered from the fire, and now he is delighting himself by selecting new gowns for her.”
"Are you certain Lady Sedgewick would not object?"
“Of course I am. Put your trust in me. When you go to the assemblies, it’s essential you leave off the spectacles. Men are not attracted to them. Until they’re in love with you. Then they love you just as you are.”
“Whenever Jonathan Blankenship is in Bath, I do try to go without my spectacles.”
“I know when the two of you are together sharing poems and treatises, you will have to wear them, but he’s so obsessive over those pursuits I daresay he won’t take a look at you.”
That was true. “I don't believe he looks at me as a woman.”
A wicked smile danced upon Glee’s face. “I mean to change that.”
“I don’t know. . . It has occurred to me that Mr. Blankenship is one of those men who is neither interested in women nor desirous of uniting himself to one.”
“We will see, my dear Miss Arbuckle. We will see.”
It was not in Mary Arbuckle’s nature to be anything but compliant. “I shouldn’t like to use trickery on dear Mr. Blankenship.”
“I wouldn’t call it trickery. It's simply a matter of assisting him to the place of his greatest happiness. What man would not wish to be there?”
“But how can you know where his happiness is?”
“Because he’s my dear Blanks’s brother! Trust me, Miss Arbuckle, I am a great student of human nature. I do know that he loves you. He first fell in love with your fine mind; now, he needs to be stunned by your appearance. ”
Miss Arbuckle did hope she could put her faith in Glee's intuition. She had to credit Glee for the innate knowledge that Miss Arbuckle had fallen in love with Jonathan, though Miss Arbuckle had never admitted it to anyone. “I suppose your plan would only work were the gentleman willing.”
"He will be willing."
Glee’s little son had fallen to sleep. As Glee went to restore her clothing, Miss Arbuckle effected great interest in the fire blazing in the hearth.
“There is more!” Glee added.
Miss Arbuckle’s stomach felt as if she were falling from a
“Jonathan would never agree with that. I declare, he has told me hundreds of times how uncommonly clever you are.”
Miss Arbuckle warmed under such praise. “It would be false modesty for me to attempt to refute that for I realize that Mr. Blankenship does credit me with thinking like an intelligent man . The pity of it is, he rather thinks of me as a man. To him, I am a very dear friend, like his friend Melvin Steffington. Nothing more.”
“Then it is our job to make him see you with new eyes.”
“New or old eyes, I am still plain.”
“Being plain is not at all the same as being ugly. Because you are not ugly, it will be excessively easy to render you prettier. You must give me a free hand.”
Miss Arbuckle shook her head. “It is difficult for one to appear pretty without pretty clothes, and I assure you, Mama’s limited funds are stretched to the limit as it is.”
“You are a good seamstress, are you not?”
She nodded. “But fabric comes very dearly.”
“Sweet Sally gave me the dresses which she has been unable to get back into since the birth of her twins. She wanted me to find a good use for them. I got the brilliant idea that, since you are tallish like Sally, they will do very well for you—with modifications, of course. Your bosom is much larger than Sally's, which is non-existent."
How could Mrs. Blankenship speak of bosom without even lowering her voice? Once again, the flush stole into Miss Arbuckle's cheeks.
Miss Arbuckle would not recognize herself in fine ball gowns. She had never owned any. The very idea of wearing lovely clothes that had been made for a countess suffused Miss Arbuckle with a feeling of uncommon lightness. “I don’t know. . .”
"I assure you, the gowns are lovely," Glee continued. "My brother selected them himself for her after he recovered from the fire, and now he is delighting himself by selecting new gowns for her.”
"Are you certain Lady Sedgewick would not object?"
“Of course I am. Put your trust in me. When you go to the assemblies, it’s essential you leave off the spectacles. Men are not attracted to them. Until they’re in love with you. Then they love you just as you are.”
“Whenever Jonathan Blankenship is in Bath, I do try to go without my spectacles.”
“I know when the two of you are together sharing poems and treatises, you will have to wear them, but he’s so obsessive over those pursuits I daresay he won’t take a look at you.”
That was true. “I don't believe he looks at me as a woman.”
A wicked smile danced upon Glee’s face. “I mean to change that.”
“I don’t know. . . It has occurred to me that Mr. Blankenship is one of those men who is neither interested in women nor desirous of uniting himself to one.”
“We will see, my dear Miss Arbuckle. We will see.”
It was not in Mary Arbuckle’s nature to be anything but compliant. “I shouldn’t like to use trickery on dear Mr. Blankenship.”
“I wouldn’t call it trickery. It's simply a matter of assisting him to the place of his greatest happiness. What man would not wish to be there?”
“But how can you know where his happiness is?”
“Because he’s my dear Blanks’s brother! Trust me, Miss Arbuckle, I am a great student of human nature. I do know that he loves you. He first fell in love with your fine mind; now, he needs to be stunned by your appearance. ”
Miss Arbuckle did hope she could put her faith in Glee's intuition. She had to credit Glee for the innate knowledge that Miss Arbuckle had fallen in love with Jonathan, though Miss Arbuckle had never admitted it to anyone. “I suppose your plan would only work were the gentleman willing.”
"He will be willing."
Glee’s little son had fallen to sleep. As Glee went to restore her clothing, Miss Arbuckle effected great interest in the fire blazing in the hearth.
“There is more!” Glee added.
Miss Arbuckle’s stomach felt as if she were falling from a
Similar Books
