A Seduction in the Stars - Jess Michaels Page 0,1
for that was the established mode of thinking, after all. That a lady could have no future without a man to bind herself to.
“An independent life,” Miss Lesley said. “I had rather entertain myself, not with silly parties with flaming punch bowls, but with intelligent salons where ideas and ideals might be exchanged. Where books might be discussed or poetry recited.”
Evangeline turned to face her a bit more directly, and her smile went wide and very true. “You’re a secret bluestocking.”
“It’s no great secret. I would be a true bluestocking if I were allowed, like my aunt Dahlia—she has her own establishment here in London and has the most elegant salons, full of the most interesting people.” Miss Lesley’s face was lit up with a passion that only increased her beauty. Still, her smile fell as she continued, “But the sad truth is that if I don’t marry one of them, I’ll only be married off to my odious cousin who is to be a baronet someday but cares nothing for books or ideas, unless they’re to do with beef cattle or crop rotation.”
Evangeline shook her head with a shudder that wracked her entire body. “Great God.”
She could sympathize with the woman beside her. After all, such had been the lot of many a lady she’d known in her life. Including her mother, including her sister and her sister-in-law. Marrying well was what one did when one was a woman of a certain stature, whether or not one wished for it.
Even Evangeline, who had what anyone would describe as a preposterous level of independence, was not immune to the possibility in her own future. Her father mentioned it from time to time, that she would be married off to some gentleman who was nearly his same rank. He spoke of it more often than ever, truth be told.
Just that morning, actually.
“Might you be able to manage him into thinking better?” Evangeline pressed, seeking any kind of solace, not just for her new friend, but for herself. “A good woman can often make a mediocre man into something more.”
“I doubt it.”
Evangeline shivered despite the heat of the close room. What Miss Lesley was facing was not so very far from her own worst fear.
“Lady Evangeline?”
“Yes?”
Miss Lesley shifted. “I was only saying I wish we were truly allowed to choose, don’t you?”
She forced herself to attend and ignored the question. “I’m sorry, Miss Lesley, I was just woolgathering. Thinking of your situation. So you do not wish to marry this dreadful cousin?”
Miss Lesley shook her head, faint tears glistening in her eyes.
“What is it you do want, then?”
The other woman drew a long breath, and from her expression Evangeline could tell this was not a question she was often asked. But it was one she had an immediate answer to.
“I’d rather be a spinster, like my aunt Dahlia. My mama does say she ruined herself coming to London on her own, but she’s left to live in peace with books and cats and no men. It’s heavenly.”
It did sound the stuff of dreams. And for a lady like Thomasina Lesley, Evangeline could see how that might work. For herself…her father would never allow it. He was too important a man, too important a duke to have his daughter adopt an eccentric lifestyle of cats and Gothic novels. Ruined or not.
“That is what I want. But my mama will never approve,” Miss Lesley continued. “I must choose, and by the end of this little Christmas season. The very thought of Cousin Edward makes me want to ruin myself like Aunt Dahlia, so he’ll have nothing to do with me.”
Evangeline lifted her chin. Perhaps this gauzy dream life of spinsterhood wasn’t something she could have, but that didn’t mean Miss Lesley should be trapped. If Evangeline could help her…
“Why not do it then?”
Miss Lesley shook her head. “Do what?”
“Ruin yourself,” Evangeline repeated. She looked around the room as her mind spun on the problem. “It would have to be light ruination. To maintain your standing on some level. It all has to be done very carefully, in a controlled fashion.” She rubbed her chin. “A bespoke ruination, if you like."
Miss Lesley stared at her. “Do you really think so?”
“Absolutely.”
Miss Leslie drew her away from the edge of the ballroom floor and the crowd still engaged in the game of Snapdragon. “Pray, tell me more.”
Evangeline shrugged, for it all seemed rather obvious to her as the entire scenario played out in her mind. “If you