Married to the Viscount Read Online Free PDF Page B

all, thus inviting the usual questions. Since he had no answer but the truth—which he refused to reveal to anyone—it was better not to raise the subject.
    Besides, it would only muddy the waters. The woman had come halfway around the world because she wanted this marriage. If he even hinted at how appealing he found her, she would dig in her heels when he attempted to extricate them from this mess.
    No, he couldn’t tell her. But he must figure out exactly how legally entangled he was. And that meant getting answers from her.
    He examined her face, but her color seemed much improved and she didn’t look as if she might faint again. Now was as good a time as any to probe the matter. “Mrs. Graham mentioned a dowry. Is it true that my brother took it?”
    She met his gaze evenly. “Yes.”
    Bloody hell. He’d hoped that was just the babbling of an outraged family retainer. “How can that be possible? Surely your father would have made the bank draft out to me. And Nat couldn’t cash it without my cooperation.”

    She winced. “Unfortunately, my dowry was in gold coins that Papa had saved up. If anything happened to the business, he didn’t want his creditors to be able to touch it. So he kept the money secreted away at home until I married.”
    Spencer scrubbed his hands over his face. Could this night possibly get any worse? “I’m almost afraid to ask, but how much were these coins worth?”
    “Papa had it assessed in English pounds for your brother, and I believe it was five thousand pounds, give or take a few.”
    Yes, the night could get infinitely worse. Five thousand pounds was certainly enough blunt to tempt a man whose yearly allowance was nowhere near that. “Miss Mercer, perhaps you’d better explain how this…er…marriage came to be.”
    “All right.” Though she held herself rigid, he glimpsed her vulnerability in the trembling of her chin. “After you left Philadelphia, Nathaniel was very attentive to Papa.”
    His brother’s Christian name on her lips inexplicably sparked his temper. “And to you, too, apparently. You speak of him quite informally.”
    She thrust out her chin. “He asked me to. Because I was soon to be his sister.”
    Spencer sighed. “Right. Go on then.”
    “Papa had always planned to leave half his business to my husband, whoever that ended up being. He hoped your brother would marry me, but Nathaniel claimed that his affections lay elsewhere.” Her pretty eyes flashed. “I suppose that was another lie.”
    Devil take Nat for making this perfect creature doubt her attractions for even a second. “Actually, that was true. His fiancée is here tonight, as a matter of fact. She was the one who first entered the study a few minutes ago.”
    “Oh.” She stared down at her gloved hands. “The elegant young blond woman.”

    “They’ve been intending to marry for some time.” He rose to pace the room, too restless to sit still. “Tonight was their betrothal dinner, but Nat never showed up.”
    A delicate frown creased her lovely brow. “Could he have heard somehow of my arrival in England?” She thought a moment. “Oh, of course—I wrote a letter to you giving all the details of our expected arrival. He must have intercepted it.”
    “That would certainly explain his recent obsession with the mail. How many letters did you write me?”
    “Two. One after we first married and the one about the ship. There was no time for more.” She winced. “But I sent the first one with him when he returned.”
    “Ah. And once he confiscated the second letter, he must have posted somebody at the docks to watch for your ship, then notify him.” He swore a low oath. “Which would explain the note he received just before he disappeared.”
    The intricacy and thorough planning of this scheme alarmed him. What purpose could Nat have had? To steal her dowry and the company? Nat had done some foolish things in his life, but he’d never been a thief.
    Spencer sat down at his