Fans of Eloisa James & Julia Quinn discussion
Monday Puzzler
>
Monday Puzzler: August 19, 2019
date
newest »
newest »
Nope. No idea. I hope Hero is a good dancer.
oh wow!!! I haven't read this! but I want too!
Your mid week tip is that Hero was wounded in war and has been reclusive- until our Heroine appears. He learns to dance again for her- among other things.
ooooohhhhhh I might have a guess of author but i don't remember this part...
Now I think I know it! If so, there are several brothers in arms that meet their heroine in this series. I really don't remember the excerpt though.
Here's the answer - I really loved this one.
England’s Perfect Hero
Suzanne Enoch
Nope. Haven't read it but will add to the tbr pile.
Mod
He flipped open the watch’s cover, then shoved it back into his pocket. He sent his horse in a tight circle around Heroine and her mare, “we need to start back.”
Her dark hair with its highlights of red and gold had come loose beneath her riding hat, and a long, tangled strand caressed her check as she grinned at him, “Time for the second part of our plan?”
He nodded, leading the way back to the road. Don’t look at her like that, he told himself. She was a friend, a rarity for him these days. And besides, she’d made it painfully clear both that she thought him toothless, and that she’d already chosen someone else.
She didn’t even try to coax him into conversation on the way back to her house. If his theory was correct, though, Hero’s nemesis would be watching for them when they turned up the drive. So, taking another breath and wishing they could have spent the entire day out of the city, he drew closer to her.
“You were going to tell me what lesson number two entails.”
“No, I wasn’t,” she retorted, chuckling. “You haven’t proven anything to me about your supposed success with lesson number one, yet.”
“But I need to prepare a strategy for the next step. Surely you understand what a complex prospect all of this is. Plotting, planning, machinations, everything.”
A blush crept up her cheeks. “It’s actually rather silly, now that I think about it. And this one really isn’t precisely for me--it’s for all the ladies.”
“Tell me,” he coaxed, noting that they were nearly at her home.
She blew out her breath. “Fine. It just says that when a gentleman bothers to attend a dance, he should dance. Especially when there are always more ladies than men present. It’s embarrassing to be the lone female not dancing while men stand about chatting.”
“Hero’s nemesis’s already dance with you.”
“Yes, but… he dances at his whim. Every young lady should be asked to dance at least once. I’m sure most handsome, popular men never even glance at who’s sitting against the wall or trying to look busy at the refreshment table.”
“But you notice,” he countered. It made sense; she’d noticed him, as well. Dancing--that was one lesson where Hero’s nemesis definitely had the advantage. He’d said he was going to help, though, and he would find a way to do so. “I’ll look into a plan,” he said, gesturing her to precede him up the drive, and abruptly wishing that he didn’t have to return her to anyone.
To his surprise, though, she stopped, luckily between two large animal shrubs and out of sight of the house. She put a hand on his arm. “Hero, the lesson is not a slight to you,” she said, her face solemn.
Before he could convince himself of the idiocy of his impulse or think where their chaperone might be, he leaned over and touched his mouth to hers. For a second, for a heartbeat, time stopped. And then he made himself straighten, before she could pull away. “I know,” he returned quietly, when he could breathe again. “You weren’t thinking of me when you made the list.”