Page 106 of The Truth About Lord Stoneville
But sometimes a little intervention from Fate didn’t hurt either. Now if only Fate would keep Oliver from Nathan. The last thing she wanted was to watch the love of her life be hanged for murder.
Unfortunately, when they arrived at Nathan’s lodging house, they learned that Oliver had already arrived. The owner appeared disgruntled by all the attention hisAmerican man of business was garnering. He directed them back to the parlor, where the men had repaired only minutes before.
Her heart in her throat, Maria hurried ahead. Before she even reached the open door, she heard Oliver say, “It’s the best offer you will get, Mr. Hyatt. I advise you to take it.”
She paused to listen, motioning the others to do the same. Peeking around the edge of the doorway, she saw Oliver faced off against Nathan. Nathan’s gaze was fixed on the contents of a familiar velvet box held open in his hand.
“And how do I know I can trust you concerning the value of the pearls, sir?” Nathan asked Oliver.
Oliver was going to give up his mother’s necklace to that scoundrel? Not if she had anything to say about it!
She started to march in, but Mr. Pinter laid a restraining hand on her arm.
“Any man with an eye for quality can tell their value.” Oliver’s voice dripped condescension.
A rueful smile touched her lips. Oliver could be very good at that when he wanted to be.
“But if you insist upon it,” he continued in that bored tone, “we can go to a jeweler and have him second the appraisal.”
“It’s worth five thousand pounds, you say? That is quite a nice consideration.”
Maria sucked in a breath. Five thousand pounds? Her half of the company was only worth about forty thousand pounds. As a bribe, five thousand pounds was quite a ‘nice consideration’ indeed.
“It’s better than you deserve,” Oliver drawled. When Nathan bristled, Oliver added, “I assure you that if you pursue a breach of promise suit against Miss Butterfield, you’ll regret it. Lawyers are costly, even in America. They can effectively eat up whatever settlement you might receive.”
Then menace filled his voice. “And courts are fickle, too. You might not win your suit, and even if you do, the publicity surrounding it could do irreparable harm to your present deal with Mr. Kinsley. Meanwhile, the pearls should prove enough surety to get you whatever loan you need to purchase Miss Butterfield’s half of the company. With the profits you make from your arrangement with Mr. Kinsley, you should be well settled.”
His gaze sharpened. “But there are two conditions. One, Miss Butterfield must never know of the financial part of the arrangement between us. You will tell her that while it breaks your heart to let her go, you don’t wish to marry a woman who clearly isn’t eager for the match.”
Nathan thrust out his chin. “Maybe it does break my heart.”
“Yes,” Oliver said in a tight voice. “I can see how much you suffer.” When a flush rose in Nathan’s cheeks, he added, “Two, if you choose to purchase her half of the company, you’ll offer her a fair price. Is that understood?”
“I wouldn’t cheat her,” Nathan said resentfully, clearly intimidated. Nathan’s family might have status and connections in America, but they were nothing to the connections of a British peer, and he undoubtedly knew it.
But he appeared to have guessed something else, too, for his eyes narrowed. “I think I have the right to ask, my lord, why you show such interest in Maria’s situation.”
“When she and her cousin were in difficult straits in London, my family took her in. I fell in love with her. I intend to marry her.Ifshe will have me.”
The words, so quietly and eloquently spoken, caught at her heart.
Unfortunately, they also caught at Nathan’s greed. “Ah, now I understand. You want to get your hands on her fortune yourself. And if that happens, it seems to me this little arrangement could be . . . improved a bit.”
Though a muscle ticked in Oliver’s jaw, he in no other way showed his anger. “First of all, Miss Butterfield has not agreed to marry me, since she was still betrothed to you when I made my proposal. I do this for her because she doesn’t deserve to be plagued by your lawsuit or suffer whatever slings you mean to throw at her publicly.” Oliver flicked a piece of lint from his well-tailored coat. “And secondly, do Ilookas if I need money?”
Maria choked down a laugh. It was rather fun to watch Oliver out-defraud the defrauder.
That brought an uneasy expression to Nathan’s face. “No,” he admitted, “but you could have offered me cash. Offering me jewelry smacks of desperation.”
“I don’t generally carry large amounts of cash with me in these days of highwaymen and thieves,” Oliver said with a pointed stare. “The pearls were for her. But if you wish to return to London with me, I could arrange to giveyou cash. Of course the amount would have to be lower, to compensate me for my trouble. And it would take you away from Southampton at a time when you will be wanting to secure your second pigeon. A Miss Kinsley, I believe?”
When Miss Kinsley stiffened beside her, Maria grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard.
Nathan looked none too happy to have his circumstances so well known. He glanced nervously at Oliver, then at the pearls. Then he snapped the box shut. “Very well, my lord. We have a deal.”
“The hell you do!” Maria cried out, dashing into the room. She barely noticed that the others stayed behind in the hall.
Nathan looked disconcerted by her appearance, and Oliver looked alarmed. “Leave this to me, Maria,” he said tersely.
