Page 28 of Entertaining the Earl (Vows in Vauxhall Gardens #2)

“T hat’s it, stand up straight, like you’re proud to be here. There’s no need to hide away in the corner—you won’t find a husband there.”

Susannah tried to follow her mother’s instructions, but all she wanted to do was disappear into the background.

The knowledge that Lord Bourne had found her so unattractive only lowered her already fragile self-esteem, and she could hardly believe that any man in the room tonight would be interested enough to ask her to dance, let alone want anything more.

But her mother was insistent: this was the Season in which she was going to find a husband, and nothing Susannah did would deter her from her mission.

“There’s definitely more interest in you tonight, with Lord Bourne gone, and your name mentioned in the society papers.”

Susannah cringed at the thought. She did not like being the subject of gossip, but she supposed her mother was right; there did seem to be more gentlemen looking in her direction than usual.

She just wished she could muster some enthusiasm for them.

Perhaps her life would be better once she was married.

Maybe she wouldn’t feel the same rush of need she had felt with Colin, but then, maybe she would.

She was hardly an expert in matters of the heart.

Perhaps whatever she and Colin had shared—or almost shared—was more commonplace than she’d thought.

If she just found an appropriate man, maybe she could forget all the pain in her heart.

She forced herself to smile, and not long after, a middle-aged gentleman approached and made an enthusiastic bow. He had a fiercely round belly and in his waistcoat of bright red velvet, he rather reminded Susannah of an apple with a head instead of a stem, and sticks beneath for legs.

“Mr. and Mrs. Lyttleton,” he said with a cloying smile. “How delightful to see you again.”

“And you, Mr. Smith,” they responded with almost-relieved expressions.

He turned his attention to Susannah. She did not like his leering smile or the way his eyes darted to the low neckline of her dress.

It made her want to cover up, but there was no way to do so without being obviously rude.

She considered whipping out her fan, but she knew her mother would have something to say about that.

“And this must be your charming daughter,” Mr. Smith said.

“Please, allow me to present Miss Susannah Lyttleton,” her mother said, giving her a gentle push so that she stepped forward, directly beneath Mr. Smith’s gaze. His hair was not quite red but not quite blond, and in the warm room, his rounded cheeks were rather ruddy.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Lyttleton,” Mr. Smith said with another bow, more of a bend of his spindly legs as he couldn’t exactly bend his plump torso.

Still, she needed to be polite. Susannah curtsied, thanked him, and hoped she wasn’t expected to engage him in further conversation.

“Like me, Mr. Smith has built his fortune in trade. He’s a very successful man,” her father said.

Susannah nodded and opened her mouth to extend some pleasantry, but apparently Mr. Smith wasn’t interested in anything she had to say. Instead, he turned back to her father.

“Well, I’m pleased to share some business contacts with you, Mr. Lyttleton. It is good to find someone in society who understands how money is made and isn’t snobbish about whether wealth is inherited or earned. It’s all the same at the end of the day, eh?”

Her father smiled and heartily agreed. But it was too soon for Susannah to feel relaxed; the man turned back to her. “Miss Lyttleton, may I have the pleasure of the next dance?” Mr. Smith asked.

Susannah did not find the man appealing in the slightest. If she was going to try to find a husband, she knew she could not be too picky—but this man was entirely wrong for her, she was sure.

Still, she could not refuse such a request, especially with her parents standing right there.

They seemed rather keen for her to dance with him, which did not surprise her.

He was at least ten years her senior, but what did that matter?

He was clearly a good business contact and a man who would not balk at the fact that the Lyttletons did not have inherited wealth.

If only those things made Susannah happy, too.

“Of course she would,” her mother said before Susannah could respond.

“Yes, thank you, Mr. Smith,” Susannah agreed, dreading the prospect but knowing she would have to dance with many men to find one who could possibly be suitable.

Finding a man who not only wanted to wed her, but also inspired some desire in her seemed like a rather impossible task.