A False Proposal by Pam Mingle Page B

cousin whisked through the door.
    “I thought I might find you here.”
    Botheration! After Cousin Louisa’s comment last night, Cass was feeling excessively annoyed with her.
    “Is Philippa working—?”
    “On her French, yes, of course she is. I’ll check it when she’s finished.”
    “How you can bear to fuss with these ancient old tomes is beyond me. You should improve your skills with the needle or practice your music, like other young ladies.”
    “ Hmm . I believe you’ve expressed that view before, Cousin. You know those things do not interest me, nor do I possess aptitude for them. And I am improving my skills with the needle. Just not the kind you’re referring to.”
    Louisa plunked down on the sofa, and Cass realized with a sigh that she was there to stay. “I came to tell you that the invitations arrived for the house party. One for each of us, except for Philippa, of course.”
    “Ah.” What am I to say?
    “I am of the opinion that you should not attend, Cassandra. Depend upon it, Deborah Grey is using this as a way to look over prospective brides for Adam. It’s nothing to do with you.”
    Thank you, Cousin, for dismissing me so readily from that select group . Cass chose her words carefully. “I have not made up my mind as to whether to attend. I must think about it.”
    “Philippa can hardly spare you for a whole day, never mind a week,” the older woman argued. “She’s such a poor student, I sometimes despair of her learning anything!”
    At that, Cass turned and looked squarely at her cousin. “Louisa, please refrain from describing her in that way. What if she overheard you? Philippa is not a poor student. Indeed, she possesses a keen mind. Left to her own devices, she would find hundreds of things to learn about. She’s simply not very interested in the usual areas of study.”
    “Just so. It is up to you to develop her interest in things ladies need to know.”
    Cass couldn’t help heaving an audible sigh. “I am doing my best to see to that.” She busied herself preparing to reunite a book with a page that had fallen out. With great care, she laid the book open and placed a sheet of paraffin paper on top of the page. Then she opened the glue pot, found a fine brush, and began to apply glue to the edge of the page to be inserted.
    “You are not setting your cap for Mr. Grey, are you, Cassandra? That would be very foolish indeed.”
    The brush slipped from Cass’s hand and fell directly onto the open page of the volume she was working on, spreading glue onto its surface. She bit back the curse she wanted to utter and quickly grabbed the brush before it could do any further damage. Dipping a rag into some solvent, she dabbed lightly at the mess. In as calm a voice as she could muster, she said, “Why do you ask such a thing?” Then a horrible thought struck her. With relentless self-control, she managed to force her voice into the range of normality. “Did someone say that about me?” Deliberately, she neither looked at her cousin nor stopped her work.
    “I noticed last night that the two of you were absent from the drawing room at the same time. No doubt others noticed as well.”
    “I was upset over the news about the Prime Minister, because it brought back a whole slew of unhappy memories. The room was close, and I needed some air, that is all.” Should she deny that she’d had any contact with Adam? Probably best to stick with the truth, or partial truth. Her cousin had an uncanny way of ferreting out lies. “Adam was concerned, but when I told him I was fine, he returned to his guests.”
    “ Humph . He knows about Bentley, then?”
    “He does.”
    “That gossipy mother of his must have told him.”
    “What difference does it make how he knew? All of town knows! Only consider, Deborah was a very gracious hostess last evening. She made a point of telling me she was happy to see me back in society.”
    “That doesn’t signify,” Louisa said, her face pinched