Showing masterly control, Lizzie didn’t roll her eyes. “A wife has no true possessions,” she said flatly. “Under the law, they belong to her husband, and Perdita was, therefore, transferred to the heir.” It means that I never again need put myself under the control of a man—­ any man. So, no, I have no interest in joining you at dinner. I know perfectly well that Lord Dimble-­Dumble has been summoned to audition as my next husband. I don’t want him. I’d be more likely to come to dinner if you had invited the butcher." Showing masterly control, Lizzie didn’t roll her eyes. A wife has no true possessions, she said flatly. Under the law, they belong to her husband and Perdita was, therefore, transferred to the heir. Moderate exercise, her sister said with palpable loathing. You used to ride every day, for pleasure. We would practice archery on a fine day like this, or roam about the countryside, not sit inside reading.

A Gentleman Never Tells - Jodi Ellen Malpas A Gentleman Never Tells - Jodi Ellen Malpas

I refuse to allow you to wither away in bed simply because your husband was infatuated with Shady Sadie,” Cat said, using the term by which the gossip rags had referred to Adrian’s mistress. “You must put all that behind you. Sadie has another protector, and you are out of mourning. It’s time to stop hiding.” I am not hiding, Lizzie said, stung. I take fresh air and moderate exercise every day. I simply like reading in bed. Or in a chair. An hour or so after their wedding ceremony, Adrian had brought Lizzie, still wrapped in her bridal veil, to his mother’s faded, musty house, and informed her that he had no intention of living with her. Perhaps you should explain to me,” Lizzie had said, “because my father unaccountably forgot to mention it. As did you, I might add.”

For the first time—and in her experience, the last time—her husband had been a little defensive, even a trifle ashamed. “I never lied. He knows perfectly well that we will lead separate lives.” Speaking of bars, I was sitting in one, close to a loud, ‘bro’ group of friends. Can you guess what they were sharing with pretty much anyone in the place with a functioning set of ears? You guessed right — ‘getting some strange.’ And we aren’t talking just a couple of high fives here.”

The Forgotten Motto: A Gentleman Never Tells | FactoryTwoFour

I know you feel ashamed to be in company, her sister continued, energetically digging her own grave, as far as Lizzie was concerned. Unfortunately, most ­people are aware the circumstances of your marriage, not to mention the fact that Adrian was so imprudent as to die away from home. Her hand crept toward her book. It wasn’t the most interesting novel in the world, but it had the inexpressible charm of being new. I like reading. And forgive me if I point out that Tolbert is not precisely a hotbed of social activity.” Cat and her husband, Lord Windingham, lived deep in Suffolk, in a dilapidated manor house surrounded by fields of sheep.

You make it sound as if he dropped a tea cup, Lizzie observed, unable to stop herself. I would call the fact that Adrian died in the act of tupping Sadie Sprinkle inconsiderate in the extreme. I couldn’t do that,” Cat said, in a sudden digression. “Mr. Lyddle has developed a most unfortunate addiction to strong ale, and he’s regularly found lying about in the gutter singing, rather than butchering meat.” What the bloody hell are you doing?’ I blurt, practically lunging for his leg to save him from falling to the cutting stones. Of course, I miss it, for the man moves fast, and I look out of the window, turning my head to see up onto the roof. I know you feel ashamed to be in company,” her sister continued, energetically digging her own grave, as far as Lizzie was concerned. “Unfortunately, most people are aware the circumstances of your marriage, not to mention the fact that Adrian was so imprudent as to die away from home.”

A Gentleman Never Tells – HarperCollins A Gentleman Never Tells – HarperCollins

Times are changing fast, and the modern gentleman doesn’t stay far behind them. Social norms become more flexible, your principles leave more leeway to do whatever you want, moral stances follow closely. The general standards for integrity keep expanding, but somehow it doesn’t really feel like open-mindedness anymore.The modern gentleman slowly becomes just a man of the modern times. You can’t help but feel that the bar used to be a bit higher. Adrian had unemotionally laid out the terms of her marriage. It seemed her father had paid a great deal of money for the title of Lady Troutt. For his part, Adrian had wed her for her dowry, and because he needed someone to care for his mother. Lizzie felt a spark of real annoyance. You already dragged me to your house for this visit. The least you could do is to allow me to read my book in peace. I peek up and find Lady Taya waving a foolscap folio before her face, the piece replacing her fan. I gasp and reach forward, snatching it from her grasp, and she recoils, surprised. My God, did she read it?

The carriage starts rumbling along, and Taya pulls out a fan, wafting it leisurely in front of her face, blowing her unmanageable hair around her face. My God, what is she doing? I don’t know, but I’m beginning to think that the hair matches the owner. Unmanageable. Let it be known, that fan is not there to cool Lady Taya Winters down, for London is hardly boasting soaring temperatures today. No, that fan is a tool, and by God it works. Lizzie, Cat said ominously, sounding more like an older sister—­which she was—­with every word, if you don’t get out of that bed, I shall drag you out. By your hair!"