wasn’t sure any proposal could ever top
this one.
She rose, heading to a small writing desk. “I
shall cut paper into varying degrees of lengths. Will that
work?”
Four blonde heads nodded. “Capital, capital.”
“Quite sporting of you.”
“Don’t know why they call you the dragon,
really. I don’t feel as if my life is in the balance.”
“No, me neither. Perhaps we’ve tamed the
dragon, eh?”
Amelia turned at the last and found them
nodding between themselves, looking surprised and self-satisfied
at the same time.
She couldn’t quite decide if she thought this
funny or exhausting. They were right, though. She was going much
too easy on them.
But she had spent so much time in their
company since the fiasco she couldn’t find it in herself
to play rough. They were just quite too amusing and simple to
really make it an adventure.
She sighed. “Gentlemen. I have no intention
of marrying any or all of you. We may continue with the game or
you may leave now, the only suitors to not feel my burn or bite.
I leave it to your discretion.”
They looked between themselves. “Not going to
marry us?”
“Not any of us? I thought with four our odds
would have been better.”
“Were we playing a game? Straws, was it?”
“I was looking forward to telling everyone we
had tamed the dragon. What a coup that would have been, eh?”
Amelia found her fighting spirit rise on the
last statement and she stared down the boy as only an earl’s
daughter could. It took a moment for him to notice she had
singled him out, but he took a step back and the color drained
from his face when he saw her full attention focused on him.
“Would it have been? Would you have liked to
have gone to your club as heroes, collected on the bet, been
patted on the back by greater men than yourselves?” She walked
slowly around them and they all turned to follow, not wanting
her to get behind them.
“And my dowry? What a grand time you would
have had spending my money on waistcoats, to be sure. Do you
think I would gladly hand over my money to you four? Do you
think you could have spent it with no input from me?”
She placed her face inches from one pale,
sweaty face. She said softly, “Do you think it likely I would
turn into a sweet, biddable wife after the magic wedding
ceremony? Or do you think instead that months down the road you
would find you had indeed made a deal with the devil? Think
carefully. Do you really want to tame me? Do you really think
you could?”
The poor boy opened his mouth and a squeak
fell out. The others shifted toward him, their hands reaching
out to comfort him, perhaps catch him if he fainted. At least
they were not leaving the one she had singled-out to hang. They
were all in this together.
They took a collective step back and she let
them. She stared into the boy’s eyes, not blinking. It was
rather like staring down a dog, showing who was in charge,
who had the power. Who had the biggest teeth. In this case,
there was no contest, and both players knew it. He seemed to
shrink in on himself and the others supported him as they
continued to take slow steps backward.
They fumbled at the door but still said not a
word as she continued to stare down the poor boy. When they
finally made it out and line of sight was broken, she continued
to stare at the spot he had been.
She could not find any amusement in this
proposal. No laughter bubbled out of her, no triumph filled her
from beating a worthy opponent. She felt tired.
Nine years ago she’d been targeted by a
fortune hunter. And every proposal since, she had imagined it
was him she was beating into dust. He was now nameless,
placeless. To threaten an earl’s daughter was stupidity itself.
She doubted he would ever set foot in England again. And still
she hated him.
But the brother Underwood she had just shaken
had been nothing like
this one.
She rose, heading to a small writing desk. “I
shall cut paper into varying degrees of lengths. Will that
work?”
Four blonde heads nodded. “Capital, capital.”
“Quite sporting of you.”
“Don’t know why they call you the dragon,
really. I don’t feel as if my life is in the balance.”
“No, me neither. Perhaps we’ve tamed the
dragon, eh?”
Amelia turned at the last and found them
nodding between themselves, looking surprised and self-satisfied
at the same time.
She couldn’t quite decide if she thought this
funny or exhausting. They were right, though. She was going much
too easy on them.
But she had spent so much time in their
company since the fiasco she couldn’t find it in herself
to play rough. They were just quite too amusing and simple to
really make it an adventure.
She sighed. “Gentlemen. I have no intention
of marrying any or all of you. We may continue with the game or
you may leave now, the only suitors to not feel my burn or bite.
I leave it to your discretion.”
They looked between themselves. “Not going to
marry us?”
“Not any of us? I thought with four our odds
would have been better.”
“Were we playing a game? Straws, was it?”
“I was looking forward to telling everyone we
had tamed the dragon. What a coup that would have been, eh?”
Amelia found her fighting spirit rise on the
last statement and she stared down the boy as only an earl’s
daughter could. It took a moment for him to notice she had
singled him out, but he took a step back and the color drained
from his face when he saw her full attention focused on him.
“Would it have been? Would you have liked to
have gone to your club as heroes, collected on the bet, been
patted on the back by greater men than yourselves?” She walked
slowly around them and they all turned to follow, not wanting
her to get behind them.
“And my dowry? What a grand time you would
have had spending my money on waistcoats, to be sure. Do you
think I would gladly hand over my money to you four? Do you
think you could have spent it with no input from me?”
She placed her face inches from one pale,
sweaty face. She said softly, “Do you think it likely I would
turn into a sweet, biddable wife after the magic wedding
ceremony? Or do you think instead that months down the road you
would find you had indeed made a deal with the devil? Think
carefully. Do you really want to tame me? Do you really think
you could?”
The poor boy opened his mouth and a squeak
fell out. The others shifted toward him, their hands reaching
out to comfort him, perhaps catch him if he fainted. At least
they were not leaving the one she had singled-out to hang. They
were all in this together.
They took a collective step back and she let
them. She stared into the boy’s eyes, not blinking. It was
rather like staring down a dog, showing who was in charge,
who had the power. Who had the biggest teeth. In this case,
there was no contest, and both players knew it. He seemed to
shrink in on himself and the others supported him as they
continued to take slow steps backward.
They fumbled at the door but still said not a
word as she continued to stare down the poor boy. When they
finally made it out and line of sight was broken, she continued
to stare at the spot he had been.
She could not find any amusement in this
proposal. No laughter bubbled out of her, no triumph filled her
from beating a worthy opponent. She felt tired.
Nine years ago she’d been targeted by a
fortune hunter. And every proposal since, she had imagined it
was him she was beating into dust. He was now nameless,
placeless. To threaten an earl’s daughter was stupidity itself.
She doubted he would ever set foot in England again. And still
she hated him.
But the brother Underwood she had just shaken
had been nothing like
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