The Marriage Lesson Read Online Free PDF Page B

has to offer: the routs, the soirees, the eligible men.” She flashed Jocelyn a grin. “I have no desire to wed this year, either. I’d rather like to enjoy several seasons before I agree to marry.”
    “And what are your requirements in a match?” Jocelyn said, apparently as surprised by the genuine interest in her voice as her sisters.
    “Well.” A thoughtful frown furrowed Becky’s forehead. “I’m not terribly concerned about a man’s title, although I should like him to have a grand estate with a lovely manor house, perhaps even a castle, and incomparable stables with the finest horses in all of En-gland.” A wistful look crossed her face. “I should like him to be the kind of man who prefers to spend most of his time in the country. Who likes children and dogs—”
    “Where is Henry, anyway?” Marianne glanced around the room, half expecting to see the wagging tail of the big, furry beast sticking out from beneath a desk or behind a sofa.
    “In the kitchens, I suspect.” Becky grinned. “He seems to have quite charmed the servants.” Probably why, in spite of Aunt Louella’s decree that Henry be kept out-of-doors, Becky managed to keep him in the house and by her side more often than not.
“Why this sudden interest in our plans?” Jocelyn sank down on the hassock and studied Marianne curiously.
    “I was wondering the same thing,” Becky said. “It’s not as if we, especially Jocelyn, haven’t talked about it all over and over again.”
    “Curiosity, nothing more than that. So,” Marianne said carefully, “neither of you is in any great hurry to wed.”
    “Not this season. After all, Becky is but ten and seven and I am only a year older.” Jocelyn studied her. “You, however, are one and twenty, practically on the shelf.”
    Becky nodded. “She’s right, you know. It is past time you wed.”
    As confident as she was that her sisters would assist her, there was still the possibility of objections. She drew a deep breath. “I have no intention of marrying. I want to make my own way in the world.”
    “Why would you want to do that?” Jocelyn stared in disbelief.
    “Marriage holds no appeal for me.” Her sisters were far too young when their mother died to remember much of anything of their parents’ marriage, and that was probably for the best. “I want to know what adventures life holds beyond the confining world of wedlock. And in order to do that I need to be independent. Financially independent.”
    “I see. And how do you propose to achieve this financial independence?” Becky eyed her as if she were afraid of the answer.
    “Admittedly, my skills are minimal. All I’ve ever really done is read and study. Still, I thought . . .  that is, I’ve considered . . . ” She’d never said it out loud before, never told another soul, and for the barest moment wondered if indeed she could. If Emma was here . . .  She sighed to herself.
She’d always been closer to Emma than anyone else. With barely a year between them, she and Emma had been natural allies, as were Jocelyn and Becky when the need arose. Now Marianne found herself without a confidante. The age difference between her and the younger girls had never seemed greater than today. She squared her shoulders. “I’m going to write for a living.”
    “Write what?” Jocelyn frowned. “You’ve never written anything but letters. I can’t imagine it’s possible to make your fortune in letter writing.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous.” Becky stared at her older sister thoughtfully. “You’re going to write books, aren’t you?”
    “Perhaps eventually.” The excitement Marianne had kept bridled all morning surged through her. “But not at first. I believe it takes rather a long time to write a book, and I admit I’m somewhat impatient. Frankly, I’m not entirely sure I can write an entire novel.
    “However”—Marianne opened her book and pulled out the letter she’d kept folded between the