Like a Flower in Bloom by Siri Mitchell

?”
    “He did.”
    “For meeting a lady such as yourself?”
    I nodded.
    “When he has eight children to find a mother for . . . that seems rather odd to me, does it not to you?”
    “I suppose it—”
    “Then he also would be safe for you to encourage.” She gave a decided nod as she snapped her fan shut. “I daresay he’s not sufficiently recovered from his wife’s death to propose marriage to anyone yet. Otherwise, he would already have done so.”
    “What about that man over there?” He looked to be about my age.
    “Heavens no! His mother is as mad as a hatter. As soon as you talk to him, he’d offer for your hand, and before you could say, ‘God, please save me!’ you’d be married and chasing theold woman through the streets, trying to make sure she didn’t stick someone with her pair of shears the way she’s always threatening to do.”
    I shuddered.
    “Of course, if she suddenly died, I’m sure you would be quite comfortable as mistress of his house. But all in all, I don’t think it’s worth the risk, considering that you don’t really wish to marry.”
    “I don’t. I really don’t.”
    “There’s Mr. Hobbes’s son.” She nodded toward another man. “Don’t let those ears of his frighten you. He’s got some cousins who come to town now and then and they’re all really quite dashingly good-looking. You wouldn’t know it to see him , but they take after his father’s side of the family. They bring their dogs and run them in the hunt, and it’s all quite marvelous, really, but I suppose they wouldn’t help you any since the point is to have someone be seen to have an interest in you and that would be rather difficult since all they seem to care about is the hunt.”
    “And what about that man?” I indicated him with a nod of my chin.
    “He has his cap set for Miss Atkinson over there. It’s quite tragic, really. He won’t propose marriage because he hasn’t the means and even if he did, her father would never agree because he’s not from Cheshire, not originally in any case, and so they just keep gazing at each other.”
    “Is there no one else?”
    “No one worth your time or trouble. Of course, I might answer differently if you actually wished to marry. In that case you could even consider old Mr. Carew, but the goal is to provoke a man into paying you attention enough to raise alarm, but not enough to propose. You’ve issued quite a challenge, MissWithersby, but I’ve both talent and time, and if you leave it to my capable hands, you’ll soon be back to your life’s work.”
    “I’m so grateful for—”
    She patted my arm. “No gratitude is necessary. It will be ever so entertaining to make you the belle of the ballroom, and it will take some of the pressure off of me. Now then, who shall we start with? Mr. Stansbury or the rector?”
    I’d already suffered through an introduction to the rector, so I chose the other man instead.
    “A wise choice. Now then, just leave everything to me.”

    She pulled me along to the Admiral who had wandered off toward the windows and was staring out into the darkness of the night as a stiff breeze flattened his hair. She tugged at his sleeve.
    He turned with a start and bowed. “Miss Templeton.”
    She curtseyed. “I had the most engaging conversation with your niece, Miss Withersby, and I was struck by inspiration! Mr. Stansbury has the best glasshouse in the county. I was telling her all about it, wondering if she hadn’t happened yet to see it. He sometimes gives tours to visitors, but she told me she’d never had the pleasure of an introduction.”
    The Admiral was regarding the man in question through narrowed eyes. “He’s not quite a gentleman, to my way of understanding. Didn’t he have an interest in shoe black?”
    The tiniest of frowns marred her brow. “Something to do with the railways, I rather thought, but considering Miss Withersby’s interest in botany, perhaps an introduction might be