Miss Dower's Paragon Read Online Free PDF

do,” said Mr. Hawkins, declining to enlighten her, just as he had chosen not to do years before.
    He would never tell her of the misery he had endured at Oxford before he had been befriended by his cousin, Viscount Waithe.
    Awkward and shy when he found himself in the company of his contemporaries for the first time in his sheltered existence, his exceptional reserve had marked him as an outcast amongst his youthful peers. He had excelled from the first in his studies, which had but further served to alienate him from less intellectually minded young gentlemen, and made him the object of cruel ridicule. Even now, it would have wounded his grandmother to know of it, or that she had erred in keeping him so close as she had.
    It had been Percy who had broken the near-unbearable misery of his existence. They had found common ground on the cricket field. Peter had never played the game before, but he was quick and strong and before the game was done he and Percy had discovered in one another a mutual love of athletics.
    The fact that they were cousins was a minor revelation. Viscount Waithe, the elder by two years and an upperclassman, did not usually mingle with those in a lower form. However, he made an exception with Peter Hawkins, and fairly soon his patronage served to ease his cousin’s life. For that careless gesture of friendship, Peter had always been grateful.
    Their meeting was not such a coincidence as might have been supposed, for all the aristocracy sent their sons to either Cambridge or Oxford. What had been amazing was that they had not recognized one another before. However, the explanation lay in Lady Pomerancy’s having chosen to remove herself and her small grandson from the evil influences pervading London, most specifically the wayward sway of certain members in her own family. As a consequence, Peter had grown up with very little contact with any of his relations. After leaving Oxford he had made a conscious effort to meet each member and come to know something about them.
    Lady Pomerancy knew well the expression in her grandson’s eyes. He would reveal no more than he wished. She sighed. “Very well, then. I shall continue to accept your cousin Percy on that much alone, for I know you to be an excellent judge of character. I shall even be pleasant toward him, so he need not stand in terror of my disapproval.”
    “Thank you, Grandmama. It is all that I ask, and more,” said Mr. Hawkins.
    He would have left her then, but she stayed him a moment longer. “Shall you press your suit with the Dower chit?”
    Mr. Hawkins smiled at Lady Pomerancy. The twinkle in his eyes became once more pronounced. “You have taught me that a gentleman is true to himself, my lady. Can I do aught else?”
    Lady Pomerancy hid her smile behind her hand, before saying, “I am well answered, indeed. Go away now and send my maid in, for I wish to rest. Later I shall talk with you more on the subject and you may tell me what you wish me to do, for you know that I will assist your cause in whatever capacity that is within my power.”
    “I do know it.” Mr. Hawkins smiled and exited the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He conveyed her ladyship’s message to the maid, who had been waiting for just such a summons.
    As he traversed the hall and returned downstairs, a frown knit his well-formed brows. He knew what he desired. He also knew that Lady Pomerancy was as good as her word. Her ladyship would help him attain the connection that he wished above all others.
    However, what he did not know was how to impress a sensitive and innocent young lady’s heart so that she returned his own reverential love for her in fullest measure.
    Peter was uncertain whether he was capable of launching the sort of flirtation or courtship that seemed now to be required of him. He was under no misconceptions as to how Miss Dower’s advent upon Bath society would affect his chances with her. The young lady was a beauty and she was of