Page 45

“I was thinking, while we’re out, we can finish our lesson. This is the perfect place and time to work on getting the ton to do the hard work for you.” David acknowledged the people around them.

Jenny slightly leaned against his shoulder. “What do you mean?”

“Promenading isn’t just about fresh air and exercise, Miss Bennett. It’s a time to be seen, just like at a ball or the opera.Show off. When passing a couple, make eye contact with both people, regardless if they are together or not.”

Jenny blushed. “Are you suggesting I flirt with a married man… and awoman?”

David’s chuckle reignited the fire in her belly that she thought was distinguished.

“No. It’s all in good fun, I assure you. Just nod and smile. When your eyes connect with the man’s, wait for a beat, tilt your head, and smile slowly.” His voice was low and seductive in her ear. His breath sent goosebumps down her arms even on this warm summer day. “Remember, men like the chase. Making him wait for a smile will catch his attention. Once you have his attention, all you have to do is exist.”

Jenny let out a laugh. Was it really that simple?

David nodded to the group of people walking towards them. There was a man walking with two women. One looked to be his mother, possibly, and the other was quite younger.

As they approached the couple, David nudged Jenny’s shoulder with his.

Jenny acknowledged the women first with a kind smile and a slight nod. When she passed the man, she made eye contact, waited for a beat, then gave a small smile as her head dipped slowly.

She watched as the man’s eyes lit up, and, if she was not mistaken, he may have licked his bottom lip.

Before the man could utter a “good day,” David pulled her away.

“I cannot believe that worked!” Jenny exclaimed. “All I did was smile slowly at him. Is it really that easy? You weren’t kidding when you said that.”

She felt positively giddy, she didn’t even notice that they weren’t walking anymore. She also didn’t notice that David looked unwell.

“Your Grace? Are you alright?”

“No. I mean, yes.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I am fine, thank you.”

He glanced over his shoulder and sneered at the man’s retreating back. Jenny stood watching him. He kept saying that men were simple creatures, but there was nothing simple about the complex man before her.

Was he jealous of her brief exchange with the man?

She pointed to the path ahead of them. “Shall we continue?”

David folded his hands behind his back and held them there. “I fear I must walk you back to your home. I have a meeting I must get to.”

Jenny’s heart sank. “Oh. Well, I can practice some more on our way back.”

Once more, she looped her arm through his, and they began their walk back to her home.

David’s mood seemed to lighten a bit, which pleased Jenny. She missed the way she felt in his presence. He never made her feel like her personality was too big or that she was being too much. She always felt just right with him.

David bumped her arm. “Here comes old, crotchety Mr. Daniels.”

Jenny looked up to see a middle-aged man walking with a cane. His dark hair was peppered with some white, but he didn’t lookcrotchety.

Just then, he kicked a rock at a nearby squirrel.

Oh.

“He is a solicitor known for being a curmudgeon. No one gets along with him, not even his mother. If you can get him to smile,thenyou know you’ve truly conquered the art of smiling flirtatiously.”

Jenny’s lips thinned. “I’m ready.”

She widened her stance and bounced back and forth on her heels as if she were going to charge at the man.