A Beastly Kind of Earl (Longhope Abbey, #1)

by Mia Vincy

Despite his scowl, he seemed perplexed, as though he did not know what to do with her. He might think you are a mouse and pounce. He might rub up against me and purr.

“Oh. You’re going to educate me. Very well.” She folded her hands and waited politely. “You don’t sound thrilled,” he remarked. “On the contrary, my lord. I’m always thrilled when a man wants to tell me all the important things he knows.” His brows hitched a fraction. “I suppose now you will tell me what the word means and where the plant comes from, and if I’m very lucky, you’ll explain at length how you know more about it than anyone else.”

“Allow me to confirm that I have understood correctly,” she said, her puzzlement overriding her nerves. “Here is this gorgeous, magnificent flower, and some man—who for unknown reasons is put in charge of naming it—he looks at this gorgeous, magnificent flower and he says, ‘By George, that looks like my bollocks.’ And then he says, ‘You know what the world needs now? The world needs more things named after my bollocks.’ So he names this gorgeous, magnificent flower after his bollocks, and all the other men look at it and say, ‘How excellent, it is named after our bollocks.’”

“I must admit,” he finally said, “that us men are immensely fond of our bollocks.”