Page 21 of A Wallflower to Win the Viscount

He took another quick look in her direction. Her body was perfectly still, and her gaze was fixed on the earl as if fascinated by all he had to say. That was not a good sign. If Beatrice did as she had threatened and introduced Primrose to the earl, Lucian knew exactly what the outcome would be.

That coxcomb was unlikely to be able to resist her, especially the way she was looking right now. She was always pretty, but today she was simply stunning. Her skin was more translucent than usual, her eyes sparkled with greater brilliance, and her artfully styled hair caught the light and appeared to shine with a golden hue. Although, he was certain her hair would look even more captivating released from its clips and tumbling around her shoulders, shoulders that were preferably naked.

Lucian winced inwardly. There it was again. That base nature he’d fought so hard to keep supressed, the one that suggested he was not as dissimilar to his father as he’d always hoped. Beatrice was right. Primrose did need to marry, and not just for the reasons Beatrice thought. If she was married off, then she would be safe from him.

With her sitting so close to him, she was far from safe. And nor was he safe from the effect she had on him. With so little distance between them it was impossible to not be aware of how her soft curves were almost touching him. And equally impossible not to dwell upon how her dress accentuated those curves, pulling in tightly at the waist, flaring out over her hips, and drawing his gaze to the swell of her breasts.

He crossed one leg over the other in an attempt to increase the distance from each other. It made little difference. If he could, he’d move farther away, but Reginald sitting on his other side made that impossible. Why did they have to pack these damn chairs in so tightly?

Instead of being distracted by Primrose’s proximity, he forced himself to look straight ahead and concentrate on what the earl was saying.

He winced yet again. The man was still rabbiting on about the attractive features of the Norfolk great tit. That was definitely not helping Lucian in his determination to not think of Primrose’s curvaceous body.

With increasing discomfort, he gritted his teeth while the earl went on and on, silently begging the man to finish, or at the very least to change the subject. Weren’t there any other types of birds in Norfolk he could prattle on about?

‘That covers the fascinating subject of the wide variety of Norfolk tits,’ the speaker said.

Thank goodness for that.

‘Now I’d like to move on to the unusual behaviour of the Norfolk woodcock.’

Lucian almost groaned out loud. That was another body part he did not want to think about.

You are not your father. You have self-control. Yes, she’s attractive. And yes, she appears to be growing more so each time you see her, but you do not seduce naive young women.

Lucian kept reciting this to himself as if it was a mantra. Even the thought that he might be prone to his father’s predilections filled him with disgust. Disgust in his father and in himself.

‘Of course, when the male cock is ready to breed, everything changes,’ the man declared, causing Lucian’s teeth to clench so tightly his jaw was starting to ache.

Was this really a suitable talk to subject Primrose to? He leant forward and frowned at Beatrice, who merely smiled back at him as if there was nothing dubious about the speaker or the topic of his lecture.

‘Once the solitary cock sights his mate, he puts on quite the display to attract her attention,’ the speaker droned on, ‘strutting and fluffing up his plumage so she will see that he is the perfect specimen with which to breed.’

A photo of a frustrated, fluffed-up bird appeared on the screen.

‘He also becomes possessive and territorial, not wanting any other potential mates to capture the attention of his intended mate.’

This was outrageous. Primrose should not be listening to this or looking at photos of aroused birds. Really, how could Beatrice think this man would ever be a good husband for anyone when he had clearly revealed an obsession with the vulgar?

Several more photos of birds were projected on the wall, all depicting strutting males eyeing up the females. Lucian braced himself, hoping the man would not be so base as to show photos of the birds actually mating.

‘And that brings to an end my talk on the birds of Norfolk,’ the man finally said, and Lucian released a sigh of relief.

The audience clapped enthusiastically, and loud chatter erupted around them, but Lucian and Primrose sat in silence.

‘That was fascinating, wasn’t it?’ Beatrice said, leaning forward and addressing both Lucian and Primrose.

‘Mmm,’ they both murmured.

‘Fascinating,’ Primrose added.

‘Reggie knows the earl,’ Beatrice enthused as she stood up. ‘I can introduce you, if you’d like. Come, Primrose. Come, Reggie, Lucian.’

Lucian also stood, having no choice now that Beatrice was on her feet, but he had no intention of meeting that offensive man. Primrose also stood slowly, and Lucian was sure he detected some hesitation.

‘Are you sure we should—’

Before Primrose finished what he suspected was an objection, Beatrice had taken her arm and briskly led her up the steps and onto the stage, followed by Reginald.