When Good Earls Go Bad: A Victorian Valentine's Day Novella Read Online Free PDF Page B

to give MacIntyre and Sons the first opportunity. The ships will be leaving by March.”
    “Of course,” Matthew said. It was an old trick, pressing the investor for a decision within a certain time frame. In this case it suited his purposes, since he did not wish to be in London for any longer than his allotted month.
    “Thank you for your time, my lord,” Mr. Andrews said, getting up from his chair to dump many scraps of fabric on Matthew’s desk.
    “Thank you,” Matthew said dryly as he eyed the mess.
    “W ell?” Uncle Jonas’s voice had an anxious note, as though he were dreading Matthew’s judgment. Matthew wondered which judgment he was hoping for, or whether it was more of an open-ended anxiety; after all, if Matthew advised against investing, and the investment turned out to be a solid one, his uncle would not benefit. On the other hand, if he did advise for it, and it did not work out, then Uncle Jonas would be jeopardizing his family’s, as well as perhaps his bank’s, future.
    Matthew did not envy his uncle those kinds of decisions. That was why he had taken on the role of advisor. His title came with a manor estate, a house in Edinburgh, and acres that he leased to various farmers. He was not incredibly wealthy, but he had everything suitable for his needs. He didn’t see the point of trying to increase his fortune; it wasn’t as though he could possibly spend everything he had now, and his investments and holdings were solid enough to ensure his children, when he found the woman to bear them, of course. Which, according to his plans, would be sometime within the next six months.
    “I can’t just decide based on one meeting, Uncle,” Matthew said in as kind a voice as he could manage. Judging by how his uncle winced, it wasn’t all that kind. “I need time to review the papers”— all of them, so help me— “and review the goals of the corporation and do all the required research. That is why I committed to spending a month here, Uncle, not just a few days.”
    “Of course, my boy. Thank you for making the trip. I hope the house and your temporary staff is up to your standards. You know you may come stay with us.” His uncle leaned in closer, a conspiratorial note to his voice. “There is a young lady, a distant relation, who is staying with us for a few months. She is quite a suitable woman, unmarried, and she will make a fine wife for a man such as yourself.” Uncle Jonas folded his arms over his chest. “And in just a few weeks it will be Valentine’s Day, and what better way to celebrate than with a charming young woman who would make an even more charming bride?”
    Matthew gave a tight smile in return. He’d shared his plans with his uncle in their correspondence, laying out his plans for the next few years of his life, so it wasn’t unexpected that his uncle would be trying to find him a bride. But for some reason, reasons he didn’t want to explore; it didn’t sit right, not at this time, at least.
    Plus Valentine’s Day was a ridiculous holiday, one that he did his best to ignore. He did not wish to be prancing around some lady who was hoping for flowers or poetry or some other nonsense that he despised.
    He wished that he could find some young lady who would prefer to have a book, so at least they’d have something in common. But he hadn’t yet, and it didn’t seem likely, so he would likely just have to settle.
    It was very good his uncle had no clue what he was thinking. Instead, Uncle Jonas’s expression seemed to indicate that he thought he was offering the treat of the century.
    “You should come dine with us tonight, in fact. I presume you have not made other plans?”
    He hadn’t. Not even for toast or oatmeal.
    “Of course. I will just go home and change, and then return at—?”
    His uncle beamed.
    “Seven o’clock. And you may meet Miss Delaney; she is a lovely girl. And there is plenty of room, if you want to stay with us, as I said. The house is