She nodded. “I thought we’d begin with some rules of decorum. Would you like a pen and some paper to take notes?” She folded her hands together primly.
David nearly snorted. “Notes? Why would I take notes?”
She blinked at him. “How do you intend to remember it all?”
He pointed to his temple. “With my mind.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “Very well, but there are a great many rules.”
“How many?” He was beginning to feel as if he’d been shut in small space and couldn’t breathe.
She ran a fingertip across one fine brow. “There’s no defined number, but I do recommend taking notes.”
He pursed his lips. “Try me.”
“If you insist.” She took a deep breath and settled her hands into her lap again. “Let’s begin with general manners.”
“Sounds delightful,” he said, fluttering his eyelashes at her.
She lifted her chin, barely smiling at his playfulness. “Now then. First, a man never smokes in the presence of ladies. He may smoke with the other gentlemen after a dinner party when the ladies have left the room.”
David cracked a smile. “What is the rule for a lady smoking in front of a gentleman?”
Lady Annabelle widened her eyes at him. “Well, for one thing, if a gentleman happens to be privy to such an event, he should never, ever, be ill-mannered enough to mention it, either to the lady herself or any of her relations.”
David laughed. “I see. Very well. Duly noted.”
Lady Annabelle nodded and continued. “You must stand sedately. You must not fidget, scratch, or otherwise act impatiently.”
David pursed his lips. “What if I am impatient?”
“Pretend you are not,” Lady Annabelle said, straightening her shoulders and sitting up even more erect in the chair.
David drew his brows together. “I don’t like pretending.”
Lady Annabelle lifted her nose in the air ever so slightly. “That’s unfortunate. A great deal of the correct behavior in thetoninvolves pretending.”
David rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised? Very well, no fidgeting. Go on.”
She took another breath. “On the street, a gentleman always rides or walks on the outside of a lady so that she is protected.”
David nodded. “That’s easy enough. I’ve been doing that for years with my mother and sister.”
Lady Annabelle nodded approvingly. “A gentleman should always bow to a lady before leaving, rather than simply walking way.”
“Yes, Lady Courtney already taught me that one,” David admitted, clearing his throat. “What else?”
“Let’s see. Handshakes are permitted between men, but only if they are of equal class.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I didn’t make the rules. I am merely imparting them.”
Another eyeroll. “Very well. What else?”
“A gentleman always waits for a lady to acknowledge him first with a curtsy and then he may tip his hat. But he must use the hand furthest from her.”
David frowned. “What sense does that make?”
