The Husband List -2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

serious,” Kit muttered.
    “If I wasn’t serious why would I have asked each of you to provide me with lists of potential husbands?”
    Kit traded another quick glance with Robin. There was something in that look ...
    “Good Lord. I should have known.” Gillian glanced at the papers in her hand. “These were a joke, weren’t they?”
    Kit shifted uneasily.
    Robin avoided her gaze. “Not entirely, but—”
    “They certainly make sense now.” She held the lists before her, her gaze skipping from Robin’s precise hand to Kit’s barely legible scrawl. “I wondered why, with all the men in London to choose from, there were only a handful of names here.”
    “Well, what did you expect?” Irritation rang in Robin’s voice. “We don’t think this is a good idea. And quite frankly, what you want in a potential husband is not entirely easy to find.”
    “It’s not like going to Tattersall’s and selecting a prime bit of cattle,” Kit huffed. “Besides, we’ve never looked at men in terms of their suitability for harness before.”
    “But look at who you’ve named here.” She drew her brows together in disgust. “Why, the Viscount Reynolds is far too well known at the gaming tables—”
    “And therefore always needs money.” A smug smile creased Kit’s face. “A perfect choice.”
    “Not for me.” She studied the lists. “The Marquess of Dunstable has nine children—”
    “And wants a wife,” Robin pointed out.
    “He wants a governess,” Gillian snorted. “At least he already has an heir.”
    “Yes, well...” Robin cleared his throat. “Have you considered that at all, Gillian? The possibility of children?”
    “Believe me, it is a prime consideration,” she said under her breath.
    “Then—”
    “But not one I wish to discuss at the moment. This”—she slapped the papers—“is what I want to talk about, Look at the rest of these names.”
    She shook her head in disgust. “This one is old. This one fat. I simply couldn’t abide a man whose only passion in life is food. Here’s one with a notorious reputation, and I am in no mood to reform a rake.”
    “Come now, they aren’t all unacceptable.” Robin rose to his feet and moved to her side, plucking the list from her hands. “What’s wrong with Lord Runley?”
    She rolled her gaze toward the ceiling. “The man’s an idiot. He hasn’t the sense God gave a sheep.”
    “Or Lord Harkin?”
    She stared in disbelief. “He barely comes up to my chin. In addition, if I am forced to spend a lifetime looking down at the top of a man’s head, I prefer it be a head of hair.”
    Kit shrugged. “A minor detail.”
    “You’re not looking for a husband,” Robin said wryly. “You’re looking for a saint.”
    “A saint who needs money.” Gillian folded her arms over her chest. “Shelbrooke will serve nicely.”
    “Even if it appears he’s not the rake he once was,” Robin said, “Shelbrooke is hardly a saint.”
    “The devil is more like it. It’s unnatural the way he’s never seen at the gaming tables anymore. His name hasn’t been linked with any woman at ail for years. I see him at any number of social occasions, but he keeps to himself. With his dark looks and brooding manner he reminds me of one of those long-suffering poets you always seem to have around.” Kit narrowed his eyes as if this fact alone was enough to condemn the man. “He’s not to be trusted.”
    “He’s not nearly as brooding as you might think,” Gillian said under her breath. “If you both believe Shelbrooke is such a bad idea, why did you suggest him at all?”
    “I didn’t know he was on Robin’s list,” Kit said quickly.
    Robin cast him an irritated look. “I had to name someone who at least appeared suitable.”
    “Oh? Did you run out of men who were old or fat or stupid or totally unacceptable?” Gillian raised a brow.
    “I thought they were all unacceptable,” Robin said.
    “Up to and including Shelbrooke.” Kit shook his