Susan Spencer Paul - [Enchanter 01] Read Online Free PDF Page B

in making recompense—on either side. If she possessed magic, even a small measure . . . Niclas tamped down the unease rising within and forced himself to focus on the task at hand. Later, he would have the luxury of pondering the matter, and of seeking Malachi’s opinion.
    He
had
to make a good impression. This was his last chance, and Niclas wasn’t going to lose it. Ignoring their shocked expressions, he shut his eyes and strove to recall what it meant to be a gentleman of the ton. It had once been so easy for him. More than easy. He’d been admired, cosseted, sought after, praised. And he’d been so insufferably vain about his own perfection that he’d taken all of it in stride.
    If only he could call back his old self for a few minutes. Just long enough to convince Lady Eunice and her distractingly lovely niece to grant his request. It had been so easy, once, to be Niclas Seymour. So incredibly easy . . .
    “I understand,” he began, considering each word carefully, “why the idea of such an exchange may be alarming to you, but if you’ll only give me a few moments to explain, I believe I may succeed in recommending myself to you both.”
    Lady Eunice’s feelings fairly shouted themselves at him, saying, clearly, “not in this lifetime or the next.” Her features, however, were fixed into a frigidly polite expression.
    Julia Linley, on the other hand, appeared to be genuinely curious. He wished he could sense whether her feelings were the same.
    Clearing his throat, Niclas forged on.
    “The trouble, as I understand it, is that my uncle, Baron Tylluan, has been threatening to force his widowed neighbor into marriage. The woman in question is, I believe, closely related to you, Lady Eunice. Is that not so?”
    “My sister.” Lady Eunice’s voice was tight with repressed anger. “Alice. She was married to Sir Hueil Morgan until he died five years ago. Morgan’s estate neighbors your uncle’s.”
    Niclas knew that he had to proceed delicately. “My uncle is a scoundrel. There can be no denying the truth of that. Nothing can possibly excuse his determination to wed your sister by force. However, I have also heard that Lady Alice hasn’t been entirely . . . aversetohis attentions.”
    Julia Linley uttered a feminine laugh that sent a shiver of delight tingling along Niclas’s spine.
    “You are delicate, sir,” she said, smiling up at him. “The truth is that she has been his mistress since six months after Sir Hueil died. She has never, however, wished to be made his wife, and upon this point she has been most clear.”
    “I see,” said Niclas, distracted by the peculiarly strong fury emanating from Lady Eunice. Other emotions were at play, as well, and equally powerful. Envy, regret, and pain.
    “Yes,” Lady Eunice said, staring fixedly at the fire,though he knew she was seeing something else in her mind’s eye. “My sister has been so foolish as to become involved with Ffinian Seymour. It’s not so difficult a thing to understand, disgusting as all who know of it must find the relationship. They’re both widowed, after all, and neighbors. Such things happen,” she added with bitter disapproval. “But my sister has always been careless of society’s wiser dictates. If she’d had more sense, she never would have married that dreadful Hueil Morgan and ended up living in his godforsaken manor in such an uncivilized land with”—she lifted her head to spear him with a frigid gaze—“your wild relatives for neighbors.”
    “Aunt!” Julia reprimanded, her cheeks reddening further. “Mister Seymour has come to offer us his help, not to be insulted. Pray forgive us, sir,” she said with a sincerity that Niclas found most charming. “It’s merely the strain of the situation. We have been terribly worried about Lady Alice, as I’m sure you’ll understand.”
    “Indeed, I do,” he replied. “I am fully aware of my uncle’s reputation for scandal and mayhem. He and his two sons, my