He’d been about to exact a promise from her to refuse to go, but her words had him snapping his mouth shut. What he should do is reassure her that her conversation was engaging, but that would be an outright lie. He loved his sister dearly, but he never lied to her. Instead, he focused on the school. “Are you sure the school will enhance your chances for a proposal? Only one of their students has married.”
She shrugged. “I was hoping you’d have a better perspective on that. I’ve come to know a few of the ladies from there over this past season and enjoy their company very much. They have so much to say that is quite interesting and hardly any of it is gossip.” She sighed. “I’ve learned everything Mother has taught me and she states that I am proficient, so I’m not sure what else I should do. Could it be my appearance?”
His jaw tightened that his sister could think herself anything but beautiful. With her fashionable blue eyes and chestnut hair, she stood out from many. He waved his hand dismissively. “Youare perfect on that account. No need to worry. You are obviously sought after. How many times did you speak to a gentleman at the Stocktons’ ball the other night?”
She blushed once again. “I believe is was eight.”
“Ah, then there are at least eight men interested in better making your acquaintance. Perhaps one of them will be calling on you today.”
“One has already spoken to me today.” Her lips quirked up on one side.
“What?” He glanced at the clock. It was not yet noon. “Who would dare?”
Her smug expression gave her away before she could answer.
He shook his head. “You cannot count me as one of the eight. Still, seven is respectable.”
“I suppose.” Her shoulders slumped. “But I do not expect any callers today. I simply have nothing to say to my dance partners. I’m quite sure if I learned about something, anything besides how to stitch a hem or arrange seatings at dinner, I could become interesting enough to pursue.”
It had never occurred to him that a man might want a woman who was interesting. Having already loved the best woman to walk the Earth, he had since planned on finding a woman very much like his sister for that inevitable day when he must marry and produce an heir. At a score and six, he still had years before contemplating such an arrangement. Not even mildly interested in considering such an event at the moment, he turned his attention to his sister’s reasoning. “What subject would you be most interested in pursuing? Sommerset tells me each student decides upon a particular field of study.”
His sister sat straighter and her eyes lit with excitement. “I don’t know. But I’m to understand that my first year will be in all the general studies, an introduction, so to speak, on each of the many possibilities. Lady Mabry said that even if there wasa subject not investigated the first year that excited me, I could find another that made my heart beat faster.”
“She was referring to a topic and not a man, correct?”
Rose narrowed her round blue eyes at him. “Yes. I spoke to her before she left for the Continent when she was Lady Elsbeth Rawley. She said that geology makes her heart skip a beat and that I would know what I was most interested in when I stumbled upon it.”
“As she finds rocks of interest, I can see why she would stumble.” He smirked, pleased with his wit.
A scone hit him on his nose before bouncing onto the table. “You little minx.” He lifted a honey cake from the platter on the table, fully planning to fire it off at his sister, when his mother entered.
“Felton, I thought you disliked honey cake immensely.”
He placed the offending cake on his plate. “I thought to confirm my dislike of it.”
His mother’s brow furrowed, but rather than ask the obvious, she handed him a piece of paper. “Here are the guests who have accepted the invitation. If you wish to add any, please let me know today, and I’ll have invitations delivered post-haste. Many people have already started leaving the city, though.”
He took the proffered paper and began reading it.
“While you peruse that, I must have a word with the butler. Do find me when you are finished here.” Without waiting for his agreement, his mother bustled out of the room, already thinking about her next task, no doubt.
“You wish to confirm your dislike? Truly?” Rose grinned at him, the twinkle in her eyes very becoming.
Could her lack of suitors truly be due to her lack of knowledge? He looked down at the guest list and shook his head. That made no sense.
“Is there someone on the guest list you don’t like, then?”
He lifted his gaze to hers once again. “Not, not specifically. A few chaps are a bit boring and one not someone I would suggest, but as long as they can dance and play pall-mall, they should do.” He’d talk to his mother privately about not inviting Viscount Leighhall. He studied the list again. There were some ladies missing, and one in particular who could aid him in his quest to make Belinda’s school a success. “I don’t see any of the ladies from the school you hope to attend. Do you not wish them here?”
“What?” She held her hand out, an unspoken demand for the list.
He let her have it.
Her brows lowered in consternation. “Do you think Mother left them off the list purposefully?”
He did, based on what she’d told him. “I cannot say what is in our mother’s head. However, if you tell me who else should be invited, I’d be happy to relay that to Mother.” He lowered his voice. “She does listen to me so much better than she does you.”
“Brother, you best behave or I’ll box your ears.”
