Page 63 of The Paid Companion

“Hmm.”

Hewasteasing her, she assured herself. There was nothing for it but to ignore the deliberate provocation and conclude her plea on Juliana’s behalf. She had promised the young woman that she would see this through.

“What I am attempting to convey here,” she continued, “is that you are involved in this unfortunate muddle, whether you like it or not. Furthermore, it is within your power to set matters straight.”

“Mmm.” The prospect of setting matters straight did not appear to hold great appeal to him. He pinned her with a steely look. “Given your interest in the subject of finances, I’m sure you comprehend that if I were to offer young Roland a share in a consortium, I would also be obliged to loan him the money to make the purchase?”

“Well, yes, I do see that, but he could repay the loan with what he makes off the investment.”

“And if it transpires that the investment founders? What then, my clever little cat? I must suffer Roland’s loss as well as my own?”

“By all accounts, your investment schemes rarely, if ever, fail. Margaret and Mr. Fleming assured me that you are a genius when it comes to finances. Sir, I feel confident that, although you are not pleased with this turn of events, you will nevertheless give Juliana’s appeal close consideration and decide to go to her rescue.”

“You are confident of that, are you?” he asked politely.

“Yes.”

He returned his attention to the scene outside the window for an uncomfortable length of time.

She was beginning to grow restless, wondering if she had pushed him too far.

“I suppose I should do something about the mess in which Roland and Juliana find themselves,” he said after a while.

She exhaled a soft sigh of relief and gave him an approving smile. “I knew you were too kind to turn your back on Juliana and Roland, sir.”

“It is not a question of compassion,” he said, sounding resigned, “but rather of guilt.”

“Guilt?” She considered that, lips pursed, and then shook her head. “That is putting too fine a point on it, sir. The entire affair was simply a very unfortunate mistake that you can correct, but I don’t think you should feel guilt-ridden about events.”

“Asking for Juliana’s hand was, indeed, a disastrous miscalculation on my part, and it is true that I chose not to chase after her the night she eloped. But those two factors are not the source of my guilt.”

She was not reassured by this twist in the conversation. Alarmed that he might be taking on more blame than was strictly necessary, she reached out unthinkingly and touched his knee.

“You must not be too hard on yourself, sir,” she said very earnestly. “Juliana was very young, very sheltered and, I suspect, somewhat lacking in common sense. She did not realize that you would make an excellent husband.”

There was a short silence.

He looked down at her gloved fingertips resting lightly on his leg.

She followed his gaze and froze at the realization of just how intimately she was touching him. She could feel the heat of his body penetrating the soft kid leather of her glove.

They both contemplated her hand on his leg for what seemed an eternity. Elenora could not move. It was as if she had been placed in a mesmeric trance. A strange panic sizzled through her.

She recovered an instant later. Mortified, she hastily removed her hand and folded it neatly in her lap. It seemed to her that the tips of her fingers continued to burn.

She cleared her throat. “As I was saying, there is no need to feel outright guilt in this affair. After all, you did nothing wrong.”

He looked at her. She was startled to see that his eyes gleamed with wry humor.

“That is a matter of opinion,” he said. “Who do you think was responsible for working out every damned detail of the plan for that elopement?”

“I beg your pardon?” And then comprehension struck. “You arranged for the pair to run off that night?”

“I took care of everything.” He shook his head. “Right down to selecting the date, purchasing a ladder of the correct length to reach Juliana’s bedroom window, and ordering the coach and team from the livery stable.”

21

She stared at him in astonishment. He allowed himself to savor the expression. It was not often that he was able to disconcert her like this.

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