Page 16 of The Spinster's Stolen Hear
“Naturally.”
Nathan got up to pull on the bell, and when he turned around, Lord Davenport was watching him with a shrewd, calculating look in his eyes. It was not unlike the way he would inspect a page of figures, looking for an error.
Or perhaps looking for a profit to be had.
“There’s been a great deal of talk about you this Season, Nathan.”
Nathan kept a polite smile on his face, settling down in his chair. “Oh? I can’t think why.”
“Heavens, boy, can’t you really?” Lord Davenport chuckled. “All of Society wonders when you’ll marry. You’ll have to secure a suitable match, you know. To have sons and all that.”
“I have time for that.”
“Ah, indeed, we all believe that we have time, until suddenly we wake up one morning and discover that we are old, that time has fled by, and opportunities to do things we always wished to do have come and gone.”
Nathan’s smile wavered, and he fought to keep it in place. “What a bleak picture.”
“I agree,” Lord Davenport nodded. “Come, the Season is not yet concluded. The final ball has not yet graced us with its presence. My family and I intend to remain in London until the very last moment, on account of Amanda’s Season, you know.” He sighed, shaking his head. “She’s been a bit of a disappointment, to be sure. I can’t think why she’s not more popular. She’s beautiful, rich, and our family is an old and respected one. I think it’s this new, modern wave of sentimentality. They’re all looking for love and romance and believing that the world is like novels. Ridiculous, truly ridiculous.”
“It would set one up for disappointment.”
“Not my Amanda, though. She’s purely practical. Papa, she says, let me only marry a man who is rich and well-bred enough, and agentleman, who I can like as a friend, and I shall be beyond happy.”
“Reasonable expectations indeed,” Nathan agreed. He was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. Lord Davenport kept shooting him quick, shrewd glances, as if trying to see whether a point had been made clear.
“I do hopeyouare not entertaining unreasonable expectations, Nathan,” Lord Davenport said, voice careful. “Your Papa would have been most disappointed. Sentimentality only ever leads to disaster, I can promise you that.”
Nathan cleared his throat. “I am not a sentimental man, Lord Davenport, nor a romantic one. I am not looking for love.”
“Very well. Very well. Seek out a young lady who possesses all the requisite virtues – affluent, from a respectable family, accomplished in her manners, comely, if it pleases you – and should you find her agreeable enough, take her hand in marriage. Do not afford yourself the luxury of prolonged contemplation.”
“I rather thought that marriage was a serious endeavour. Is it wise tonotthink it over?”
Lord Davenport shot him a long, keen look. Abruptly, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.
“May I give you a little advice, my boy?”
“Certainly,” Nathan said, as if there was anything else to say.
“Trust someone older and wiser than yourself to pick out a suitable mate for you. Me, for example, or your esteemed mother. I imagine youdowant to be happy…”
“Most people do,” Nathan couldn’t help muttering. “It’s rather natural.”
Lord Davenport went on as if he hadn’t spoken.
“…and you have a greater chance of happiness if you do as you are told by those you trust. I could make some recommendations, if you’d like.”
Nathan cleared his throat again. He wished the butler would appear with the tea tray, so that they could change the subject.
“I am not sure I’ll marry this Season after all, Lord Davenport.”
Lord Davenport narrowed his eyes. “We want Amanda married off before the end of the Season. There’s still time for her. And as for you, well, you could do no better than our family, don’t you think?”
Nathan found that he was struggling to breathe. “Lord Davenport, I’m not sure I understand you.”
The older man gave a brittle chuckle and leaned back in his seat.
“Oh, I believe you comprehend my meaning most admirably, dear boy. Consult with your dear mother, if you would be so kind. Allow yourself to be guided by those who possess greater experience and wisdom than you, would you not? You are a man of affairs, and I am well aware that you lack both the inclination and the leisure to flit about in Society in search of a suitable lady. Pray tell, is it prudent in the realm of commerce to frequently embark upon ventures of a precarious nature?”
