NOT JUST A WALLFLOWER Read Online Free PDF Page A

how the paleness of her face, and the shadows beneath her eyes, gave her the appearance of being every one of those eight and sixty years.
    He bit back the sharpness of his reply and instead resumed his seat beside the bed. ‘Very well, Grandmama, if you insist, then let us talk of Cousin Eleanor’s future.’
    She nodded. ‘It is my dearest wish to see her comfortably married before I dep—am no longer here,’ she corrected at Justin’s scowl.
    He raised his brows. ‘It seems to me that you appear to wish this dubious state upon all those close to you. I am heartily relieved it is not just me you have set your sights on.’
    ‘Do not be facetious, Royston!’ The dowager frowned. ‘As I have already stated, you must do as you wish where your own future bride is concerned, but for a young woman in Ellie’s position, marriage is the only solution.’
    ‘And do you also have a gentleman in mind to become her husband? More to the point, does Cousin Eleanor have such a gentleman in mind?’ He raised mocking brows.
    His grandmother sighed. ‘She has been so taken up with my own affairs this past year that I very much doubt she has given the matter so much as a single thought.’
    ‘Then—’
    ‘Which is not to say she should not have done so.’ Edith frowned him into silence. ‘Or that I should not have insisted she do so, before she is of an age that is considered as being unmarriageable.’
    ‘Exactly how old is Cousin Eleanor?’ Justin eyed his grandmother incredulously, thinking of the girl’s fresh, dewy complexion and unlined brow.
    ‘She has recently entered her twentieth year—’
    ‘Almost ancient then!’ he teased.
    ‘I am being serious, Justin. A young woman of Ellie’s meagre circumstances, if left alone in the world, will, as I am sure you are only too well aware, have very few opportunities open to her.’ She arched a pointed brow.
    Yes, Justin was well aware of the fate that often befell impoverished but genteel young ladies of Eleanor Rosewood’s beauty and circumstance, being neither a part of society and yet not of the working classes either. ‘And exactly what do you expect me to do about it? Settle some money on her as a dowry, perhaps, in order to entice a penniless young man of the clergy or some such into offering her marriage?’ he suggested sarcastically.
    ‘The dowry would certainly be a start.’ His grandmother took his suggestion seriously as she nodded slowly. ‘Heaven knows the Royston fortune is large enough you would not even notice its loss! But I do not see why Eleanor should have to settle for an impoverished clergyman. Surely, somewhere amongst your acquaintances, you must know of a titled gentleman or two who would willingly overlook her social shortcomings in order to take to wife a young woman of personal fortune, who also happens to be the stepcousin of the powerful Duke of Royston?’
    Justin had meant to tease with his suggestion of a providing a dowry for Eleanor, but he could see by the seriousness of his grandmother’s expression that she, at least, was in deadly earnest. ‘Let me see if I understand you correctly, Grandmama. You wish for me to first settle a sizeable dowry upon your companion, before then seeking out and securing a suitable, preferably titled husband, for her amongst my acquaintances?’ The suggestion was not only preposterous, but seemed slightly incestuous to Justin in view of his own less than cousinly thoughts about that young lady just minutes ago!
    ‘I do not expect you to approach the subject quite so callously, Royston.’ Edith eyed him impatiently. ‘I am very fond of the gel and I should not like to see her married to a man she did not like, or whom did not like her.’
    His brows rose. ‘So you are, in fact, expecting me to secure a love match for her, despite her “social shortcomings” as you so tactfully put it.’
    ‘A suitable marriage does not preclude the couple from falling in love with each other,’ Edith