Page 47 of In the Prince's Bed
“Fortunately,” Alec went on, “I think ladies with a taste for adventure should be obliged.”
“Of course you do,” she teased. “It keeps you from having to take them to poetry readings and the like.”
“Trust me, Miss Merivale,” Alec said, “you’ll enjoy Astley’s much better.”
That’s precisely what she was afraid of.
Nor did it help that Alec stayed at the town house longer that evening than she’d expected. He accepted Mama’s invitation to dinner and had her laughing so hard that she forgot to keep interrogating him about his financial affairs. By the time Alec left, he had Mama completely in his thrall.
As she dressed for bed, Katherine realized how strange that was. Not that Mama was captivated; Alec could certainly captivate any woman if he set his mind to it. But why do so if seduction were his aim? Why humor Mama’s rude prying or laugh at her silly jokes? He acted almost as if he were really…
Courting her.
No, how could that be? She had nothing to commend her but her fortune, and nobody knew of that. Did they?
Her door swung open, and Mama came in. Before she could launch into one of her rambling discussions, Katherine asked, “Mama, you haven’t told anyone about the money left to me by Grandfather, have you?”
“No, indeed. You asked me to wait until Sir Sydney offered for you.”
“Yes, but might you have mentioned it to someone anyway? You know, to impress them? Someone like Lady Jenner or—”
“I think I have sense enough to know when to keep my mouth closed,” her mother said with a sniff. “With two gentlemen interested in you, there’s no reason to attract fortune hunters, is there?”
Of course not. In this, Mama’s wishes matched Katherine’s perfectly. Even if the money was technically going to Katherine, Mama looked on it as hers, to be wheedled out of her daughter after she married a wealthy man like Sydney.
Or Alec. Although come to think of it, Katherine had no idea if he was wealthy. “You didn’t mention it to Alec today, did you?”
“No. But now that his lordship is courting you, I suppose we should have your father’s solicitor speak to him.”
“Not yet. Not until we know more about him.”
Her mother snorted. “Surely you aren’t worried that Lord Iversley wants your fortune. If you’d listened to the man at all this evening, you would have heard about his grand estate in Suffolk. Twelve thousand acres, he has! That’s ten times the size of our little place. Only think of how much the land must bring him.”
“If it’s well managed. He might have no funds to maintain it.”
“That’s highly unlikely. Look at the fine clothing he wears.”
“Anyone can get fine clothing on credit.”
“Yes, but I asked Lady Jenner about him last night—she said his mother had been a huge heiress, some merchant’s daughter or another.” Mama sighed. “I suppose there will be talk about his mother’s family being in trade and such—”
“I don’t care about that. What else did Lady Jenner say about his estate?”
“I confess I didn’t pay much attention. I never dreamed that his lordship—” She smiled apologetically. “You’re a perfectly lovely girl, of course, but…well…it’s not as if you’re a raving beauty, with that unfortunate hair of yours and those freckles. You do dress well, I’ll grant you, but you don’t even play the pianoforte or sing! And all young ladies do that.”
Impatiently, Katherine waved off her mother’s usual criticisms. “You know I have the singing voice of a frog. That’s exactly my point—why should the earl want me, when he could have any accomplished woman of rank he might choose?”
Her mother rolled her eyes. “Who knows what attracts a man, dear? You do have nice features, and you dance prettily. And he seems to like your pert comments, though Lord only knows why. In my day, a woman wanting to snag a husband didn’t speak so impertinently—”
“Mama! Just tell me this—are you sure he’s not interested in my fortune?”
“Yes, my angel. Absolutely sure. Before we even met the man, Lady Jenner said he was worth fifteen thousand a year.”
Katherine would believe it, if the woman hadn’t seemed so friendly with Alec. What if he’d asked her to lie to Mama about his fortune?
No, he would only have done that if he’d known of Katherine’s expectations and was pursuing her from the beginning. If Mama could be believed, he couldn’t know. And when he’d met her on the balcony, he certainly hadn’t seemed to know anything about her except her name and what Sydney and she had—
Oh, no, might Alec have heard her say something to Sydney while he’d been eavesdropping? Frantically, she replayed last night’s conversation in her head. But she was nearly certain they hadn’t discussed her fortune in his hearing. And since she’d balked at mentioning it herself today, Alec couldn’t possibly know the truth about it. Which meant he had no reason to court her.
