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.“An Incomparable.Now then.Pull that chair closer to me, William.I must see more of her.”She folded her hands in her lap and faced him in the opposite oversized chair that threatened to swallow her whole.“You are most kind to receive me, my lord.”“You were…” He coughed and sputtered.“Vague about coming.What ails you, madam?”She found his choice of words odd, but no matter.The man was dying.He was allowed peculiarities.She would rely on her prepared speech.“I have met your nephew.”“Eleven years ago.”Shocked he knew or, in his debilitated state, remembered how they had met, she moved onward.“I have met him often recently.”He laughed until he hacked up phlegm and doubled over with the effort.Wiping his mouth with a huge handkerchief, he gave what she would best describe as a rasping laugh, pushed himself up and said, “I heard about the butler’s pantry.Good one, I must say! And the map table in old Darlington’s library! Ha! Yes, indeed.”She took a moment to find her voice.“You have heard of these meetings.I suppose from the broadsheets.”“Good stories, too.Best I’ve heard in years.You are a sport, my gel!”A sport?“A woman who loves to fuck is a priceless piece.”Her mouth dropped open.Her cheeks flamed.Her heart picked up a tattoo.Who had told him that Justin and she had…become intimate? She would kill them in the morning.Meanwhile, she must deal with this ribald old gentleman who had no presence of mind to deal with her like a lady who never, ever fucked.“My lord, I have come to discuss your stipulations for possible brides for your nephew.”“Have you now?” He grinned, his yellowed teeth bared to her in a satisfied grin.“Go on.”She cleared her throat.“It is my understanding that you have demanded your heir—”“Justin.”She nodded.“Justin.That he find a young woman who is an heiress.”“Quite so.A woman of blood.The Belmonts fought with The Conqueror, you see.Though we did not rise up in the world until Henry Tudor and a Belmont were good friends.Old Bess liked us too.Made the man a belted earl.”“Yes, well, I see, sir, why lineage is important to you.”“Good.Good.” He pursed his thin lips and gave her a once over, smiling at what he saw.“What else?”“Well, I also hear that you wish the woman to be well respected among society.”“Cannot buy respectability.Nor inherit it.Must have it though to make your way these days.People are more petty than they ever were.”“This brings me to the last point.”He folded his hands and twitched his nose at her.“Which is what, dear lady?”Why did she have a feeling he was enjoying this tremendously? She, on the other hand, was shaking in her new, uncomfortable shoes.“Your demand that he marry a rich woman.”“Do I?” He shot a glance at his butler who had stood by stoically during the entire affair.“Did I say that, William?”The butler nodded once.“I must have done so, then.What about it, madam?”“I do wonder, sir.That is, I had hoped, sir, that you might—well….”“Spit it out, madam.What?”Just how ill was the earl? He seemed more irascible than terminal.“I wondered if you might consider waiving this requirement?”“Why? Money is a precious commodity.The more you have, the better you live.”“True, true.”“And from what I hear and read, you, madam, like money very much.”Taken aback by his knowledge of her proclivities for fashion and cuisine among other things, she swallowed her outrage and offered a wan smile.“I do.”“I wonder how you manage to afford your frivolous accoutrements? Hmm?”All right, she was done being coy with this very alert man.“I have a business.For gentlemen.Men who seek wives come to me.For a fee, I arrange to have them meet ladies who are compatible.Lately, I have earned a large sum and—““And I understand you managed to pay off all of Henry’s debts.”“Close enough.Five thousand more and I shall be free of him.”“Commendable of you.”“Thank you,” she responded with surprise and pleasure.“You are welcome.I know this must have been difficult for you to survive his debtors.You see, I knew Henry.Very well.For decades, he ran with me.In fact, I used to take him to the tables and clean his pockets for him myself.Dastardly thing for me to do, but it was so easy.Too easy.I had to stop, told him so, too, because to win from him was nigh unto robbery.He was such a n’er do well for so many years, I was shocked to hear he had married.And Downey’s daughter, at that.”At the mention of her father and how she had married Henry, she glanced at her hands and then at the earl.He was more awake and aware now.His skin pink.His pale eyes bright.“When I heard he had married the girl whom the sheets declared had been rescued by an American named Belmont, well, I had to send for him and learn if he belonged to us.”“Naturally, you did.”The old man nodded.“Justin was a good man.He is still.”“A fine man.”“A very noble man, my dear, in more ways than I ever was.And in all the ways that a man should be.”“You are proud of him,” she said, with pride of him herself, and had to fish for a handkerchief in her tiny purse to blow her nose.“I am, too.What he did for me, my lord, eleven years ago was extraordinary.Honorable and very brave.I shall forever be grateful to him.”“So then tell me why you and I discuss him, Kitty.I may call you Kitty, may I not?”“Yes, sir.” She dabbed at her eyes and blew her nose.“I have come today to ask you to reconsider your stipulations for a bride for Justin.”“Intriguing.And why should I do that, Kitty?”“Because, my lord, I want to marry him.I want to ask him to marry me.”He pursed his thin lips.“Why?”“I love him dearly.I have loved him since the first days he rescued me, and I shall love him until the day I die.I want to ask you to allow me to propose to your nephew, my lord.”The old codger seemed to float and gloat.“Wonderful.A woman who finally knows her own mind.”She tipped her head, confused.“Finally? My lord, what–?”He waved a hand at her.“Why must I waive the stipulations?”“Because I do not fit them all.”He hemmed and hawed.“You are an heiress in your own right.”She nodded.“You are well received, well regarded.Provided, of course, no one ever learns about what happened in the pantry and the library.”“I am.And no one will learn of it.They have not yet, and so I doubt it will come out.”“And the last stipulation?”“The dowry.The money.You must know, my lord, I have little.Henry left me nothing but the house in Cavendish Square.And for you to require Justin to marry a rich woman—”“In my position, would I not look the idiot if I did not insist on money for my heir?”“Well—”“Every man worth his salt declares it to be so.Don’t you agree?”“I do, but—”“And a man should also insist on his wife being prudent with his money.” He stared at her, then smiled.“Come, tell me about your finances.”“Oh, well, I–” She hesitated over that.Then realized any delay now was not only foolish but also counterproductive
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