Page 42 of A Wallflower to Win the Viscount

‘No!’ both women cried out together.

‘No?’ Primrose replied, startled.

‘No,’ Alice repeated firmly. ‘It’s quite apparent he is an honourable man.’

‘Yes, I suppose so,’ Primrose said, trying not to sound too despondent. While she knew being honourable was a good thing, in this one instance it would have been nice if Lucian had been, well, just a little bit dishonourable.

‘What is it you really want from Lucian?’ Alice asked gently.

‘His kisses, obviously.’ She hugged her body and smiled. ‘I simply love his kisses and the way they make me feel. But I want more than that. I also love it when we spend time together just talking. And I love the way he’s all manly and serious, but then I also love it when he smiles and laughs.’

She sighed wistfully at the memory of that stunning smile and looked at her friends, hoping they would understand. ‘Oh, you should see his smile,’ she added in case they did not. ‘How could I not fall in love with that?’

She stopped talking. Her friends were now both grinning at her with knowing expressions.

‘What?’ she said, looking from one to the other.

‘I think you’ve just realised what has happened,’ Alice said.

Primrose thought back over what she had just said, about loving his kisses, loving their time together, loving his serious side along with his smile and laughter. An image of his smile came into her mind, causing warmth to flood through her.

‘Love,’ she said tentatively. ‘Love,’ she repeated with more confidence. ‘I’ve fallen in love with Lucian Montclair.’

Primrose put a hand to her mouth, taking in this revelation that was both exhilarating and unnerving.

It made perfect sense. That was why she was feeling so unravelled and flustered, just as her friends had when they’d fallen in love. Yet it also brought up so many questions.

‘So what do I do now? How do I make Lucian fall in love with me?’ she asked.

Her two friends both raised their eyebrows and slowly shook their heads. This reaction did not fill her with hope that they were about to impart the necessary list of instructions on how to achieve the desired outcome.

‘If we knew the answer to that, we’d be very rich women,’ Alice teased.

‘You are very rich women.’

‘I mean, we’d be rich beyond anyone’s imagining,’ Alice continued while Margaret nodded. ‘And we’d be sought out by every man and woman who has ever found themselves in your situation.’

Well, Primrose had sought out their help, but they were not providing the wise counsel she desperately needed.

The three women sank into silence, each apparently struggling with this conundrum.

‘If he kissed you, he is obviously attracted to you,’ Margaret ventured, her brow still furrowed, as if to say It might not be love, but it’s something.

‘And he stopped kissing you, which suggests he respects you,’ Alice added, her countenance equally thoughtful.

‘Respect, attraction are all good and fine,’ Primrose said. ‘But I need to know if he loves me and, if not, how to make him.’

‘I’m afraid you can’t make someone fall in love with you, Primrose,’ Alice said, most unhelpfully, looking as sad and confused as Primrose felt. ‘You just have to let nature take its course so that affection, attraction and respect grow into something deeper.’

Panic welled up inside Primrose, joining the cacophony of emotions. ‘But I don’t have time to let nature take its course. He’s intending to return to America. Soon.’

She looked anxiously from one friend to another, hoping against hope they could solve this dilemma, but their worried expressions caused all hope to evaporate.

‘You’re a lovely young woman,’ Alice said, trying to be reassuring. ‘I’m sure the viscount is intelligent enough to realise that, and then his love will grow.’

‘Yes, how could he not fall in love with you?’ Margaret added loyally.

Primrose appreciated her friends’ endorsement of her lovableness but would have preferred it if they’d provided some actual suggestions on how to make Lucian fall hopelessly in love with her.