Page 55 of The Lady's Forbidden Marquess
“I won’t argue with you.”Anna’s response came a moment before she entered the room, a wry grin on her lips.“But I’ll also remind you, my dear, that you are cut from the same cloth.”
“Don’t remind me,” Pere grumbled.“I’m unfortunately aware.”
Anna sat across from Pere and twisted her lips.“They won’t be much longer, I’d imagine.”
“Do you remember Edwin at all?Good Lord, what did you ever see in him?He’s quite stubborn when he thinks he’s right.”
“Like someone else I know,” Anna replied with a teasing tone.“And Edwin… well, I’ll blame that on a juvenile fascination that never matured.He was your dashing eldest brother.I don’t think I actually considered any aspect of his character until I began to know him.Then, of course, that shifted.”
“You thankfully figured out that Henley is of superior character.”
“He’s quite dashing too.”Anna gave a devilish grin.
“I… I’m sure you think so.Regardless, the waiting to hear about the meeting is slowly killing me.I feel my life draining,” Pere replied dramatically.
“You missed your calling at Drury Lane,” Anna replied dryly.“Besides, I believe I said something about it being anticipation…”
“Must you always be so optimistic?It’s irritating.”
“You’re welcome,” Anna answered cheerily, then started a slow smile.
She leaned forward.
“That look in your eye frightens me,” Pere replied.
“It’s quite poetic, really.”
“In what way?”Pere asked dubiously.
“Think about it.”Anna gestured to the room.“At the beginning of the season, in this very room… you nearly gave your brother an apoplexy with your idea.”
A grin spread across Pere’s lips as she caught on to Anna’s words.
Vividly, she saw the picture in her mind.“Rakes,” she said, “make the best husbands.Those were my words, were they not?”Pere asked Anna.
“Yes, and I believe I said something to the effect that it was a theory, and not necessarily a true one.”She giggled and leaned back on the sofa.“You burst into the room like you had this huge announcement; it was quite dramatic.”
Pere gave a dismissive wave of her hand.“I had a plan.”
“Which wasn’t necessarily clear at first, when you simply declared that rakes made the best husbands.It’s when you explained the plan that I wondered if your brother would have a heart fit.”
“My reasoning was solid.”
Anna blinked at her.“I… wouldn’t exactly use those words to describe it.You said something about not wanting a mind-numbingly dull gentleman…”
“How is it you remember my words better than I do?”Pere grumbled.
“It’s easy to remember things that shock you.”
“You must have a mind like an elephant; so much in this family is shocking.”
“I’ve adjusted.”Anna flicked her wrist and then sat forward.“But you continued, explained your plan, and promised your brother you were not going to let a rake compromise you.”Anna could hardly finish the sentence; her giggles bubbled over.“I… even I was shocked you stated it so frankly.”
Pere buried her face in her hands.“Yes, well, that’s what he was thinking.I just took the mystery out of it all.”
“You certainly did.”
“If I said it in my head, my brother wouldn’t have heard it, would he?For pity’s sake, what kind of lady do you think I am?”
