Regency Rumours/A Scandalous Mistress/Dishonour And Desire Read Online Free PDF Page A

if ever I saw one.’ He laid down his crisp white napkin with rather more force than was necessary and sat back, still chewing. ‘She’s only just out of the schoolroom, dammit!’
    ‘It’s not a fudge,’ said Lord Elyot. ‘I mean it. And I’m not asking you to
marry
the child, only that you keep her happy while I—’
    ‘While
you
keep Lady Chester happy. Thank you, but Ihave a better idea. You take the frilly one and I’ll take the diamond. How’s that?’
    Lord Elyot reached for the marmalade-pot and heaped a spoonful of it on to his toast. ‘Two good reasons. One is that you’re not her type. Second is that you don’t have the time. You’ll be a member of His Majesty’s fighting force soon, don’t forget.’
    ‘Not her type? And you are, I suppose?’
    ‘Yes.’ The bite into the toast was decisive.
    Reluctantly, Lord Rayne was obliged to admit that his elder brother would succeed with Lady Chester if any man could, for it would take a cold woman to be unaffected by his darkly brooding good looks and the singular manner of his total concentration upon what she had to say. Which was not the usual way of things. As to the time he would need, Nick was right about that, too. The lady’s response to him had been polite, but far from enthusiastic, and he would need both time and help to gain a more lasting interest. ‘What’s it worth to you?’ he said.
    Lord Elyot’s pained expression was partly for his brother’s mercenary train of thought and partly for the messy nature of toast and marmalade. ‘I’m doing you a
favour
, sapskull,’ he snapped. ‘The child’s a pert little thing, not a dimwit. Pretty eyes, rough round the edges, but you could have the pleasure of working on that. She’d not resent it. She’ll be a little cracker by the end of the season and then you can leave her to somebody else. A built-in escape route. What more d’ye want, lad?’
    ‘Cattle. I shall need three or four good mounts to take with me.’
    ‘What happened to your allowance?’
    ‘You know what happened to it or I’d not be on a repairing-lease in the country, would I?’
    ‘All right. Four good mounts it is. For your help, Seton.’
    ‘For my full … unstinting … liberal and generous help. When can we go and look at them?’
    ‘We’ll look at the
women
today. This morning. We’ll take my new crane-neck phaeton out. You can drive.’ Lord Elyot leaned back, satisfied.
    ‘Just one detail, Nick. How d’ye know there isn’t a husband there somewhere?’
    ‘I made enquiries.’
    ‘You don’t waste much time, do you? And what about this urgent business for Father? Where does that come in?’
    ‘That’s in hand, too,’ he said, ‘but I want you to keep that very much to yourself, Seton, if you will. A word about that in the wrong ear can send them up like pheasants.’
    The particular pheasant Lord Elyot had in mind was already flying at a steady pace along the edge of Richmond Park in a coffee-and-cream phaeton. The driver of this neat little turn-out had evasion in mind, but her passenger was on the lookout for the merest sign of the two men who, since their meeting yesterday, had satisfied her every criteria for what makes the perfect Corinthian. Believing that she had won the argument about a need for fresh early-morning air, Caterina had resisted all her aunt’s recommendations that she should wear a shawl over her spencer and pale blue walking-dress, and now she wished that the stiff breeze would abate a little. Holding the long ribbons of her blue ruched bonnet with one hand, she clung to the side of the phaeton with the other as they bounced on elliptical springs through a deep puddle.
    ‘Aunt Amelie,’ she said, half-turning to see if the tiger was still on his seat behind them, ‘do you think … we could … slowdown a little? There’s a … phaeton over there … in the … distance … oops! I can’t quite … see. Please?’
    Amelie’s hands tightened on the reins. It had