by Regina Scott
“Eugennia Welch!” his friends chorused, their faces awash in horror.
So much for their support. Kevin faced them with determination, refusing to be swayed so easily. “You see, I told you that you wouldn’t approve.”
Again, Nigel recovered first. “I can see the attraction. She’s known to be quite odd, so you won’t have to put up with a lot of nonsense about dresses and balls and the like. But who could stand her insane activities?”
“I don’t see them as insane,” Kevin protested. “What has she done? Invited the Egyptian expedition to conduct a practice dig in her rear yard? That seems far more practical than trying to accompany them all the way to Egypt.”
“That was nothing compared to the time she descended upon Weston to learn how a man’s coat was cut,” Nigel declared. “I can still see Lord Bellington’s face as he stood there in his short sleeves with Weston pointing out the various tucks needed. Poor Bell hasn’t been the same since.”
“He was never all that bright to begin with,” Kevin replied with a shrug. “Not much of a loss if you ask me.”
“And don’t forget,” Giles put in, “she was the one who convinced the printers to go out on the ice last year when the Thames froze. She claimed the crowds should have something to memorialize their visit to the Frost Fair, as if any of them could read or would know what to do with the paper in the first place.”
“I notice you had your leaflet framed, Giles,” Kevin pointed out.
“All that aside, Whattling,” Nigel insisted, “it is well known she despises everything you stand for—gaming, pugilistic displays, horse racing.”
“I’d like to think I stand for a little more than that, Nigel,” Kevin chided.
“What else is there?” Nigel demanded.
“Not to mention that she’s past her last prayers,” Giles added.
“She can’t be over six-and-twenty,” Kevin responded. “Lord Jeffers threw her a quarter century birthday party. Remember how the ladies gasped that anyone would be willing to admit her age in public? It was the same month Robbie arrived in town and that was nearly two years ago.” The thought unnerved him for a moment, as any thought of Robbie was wont to do even three months after his brother’s death, but he plunged ahead.
“I’ve thought this through very carefully, gentlemen. Eugennia Welch has an income of forty thousand pounds per annum, a princely fortune even I would be hard-pressed to squander. She purportedly has withstood offers from an earl and a marquess, so she cannot be hanging out for a title. Her father died six years ago, and she has no other male relatives, so I shall not have to fight a dubious family. She seems to prefer the town life, so my lack of a country seat should not dismay her.”
He felt his grin reappear as he remembered the last time he had seen her. “Besides, I stood up with her at a country dance last Season, and I rather enjoyed the experience. Despite all your protests, she is a lady through and through. So, unless you have further suggestions, I plan to call on her tomorrow and begin my trip toward the altar.”
Giles solemnly poured the last of the port into the three glasses.
“To success?” he offered hesitantly, handing them around.
“No,” Kevin corrected, accepting his and raising it high. “To Miss Eugennia Welch. May she soon fall under my heiress objective.”
“To Miss Welch,” Nigel and Giles chorused, and this time all three glasses were enthusiastically drained.
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About the Author
Regina Scott started writing novels in the third grade. Thankfully for literature as we know it, she didn’t actually sell her first novel until she learned a bit more about writing. Since her first book was published in 1998, her stories have traveled the globe, with translations in many languages including Dutch, German, Italian, and Portuguese. She now has more than thirty-five published works of warm, witty romance.
She and her husband of nearly 30 years reside in the Puget Sound area of Washington State with their overactive Irish terrier. Regina Scott has dressed as a Regency dandy, driven four-in-hand, learned to fence, and sailed on a tall ship, all in the name of research, of course. Learn more about her at her website.