Page 107 of The Truth About Lord Stoneville
“The only way that scoundrel is getting your mother’s pearls,” she shot back, “is if I strangle him with them.” She marched up and snatched the box from Nathan. “Besides, you already gave them to me.”
“And you left them behind,” Oliver reminded her. “Gran said you refused to keep them.”
“Well, I want them now.”
“At the risk of being dragged through the courts?” he said, coming to her side. “Of having your name maligned by this vermin?” He lowered his voice. “Do you really want him examining every action you’ve taken in the past two weeks, having it all laid out before a judge?”
She could tell he was thinking of her appearance at the brothel and the unpleasantness there, not to mention her public betrothal to him. “Let him do his worst.” She had an ace in the hole.
She was about to call for Miss Kinsley when Oliver said, “Hyatt won’t let go of this matter without some financial consideration. With 125,000 pounds at stake—”
Nathan’s bark of laughter cut him off. “Is that what she’s told you her half of the company is worth, Lord Stoneville?” Nathan sneered. “Now I understand why a marquess is sniffing around her.”
Oliver’s eyes turned a dangerous shade of black. He seized the man by the throat and slammed him against the wall. “I don’t give a damn what her half of the company is worth, you little worm. She could come to our marriage with nothing but the gown on her back and I wouldn’t care. She’s worth more to me than any amount of money. If you had an ounce of sense, she’d be worth more to you, too.”
As Nathan clawed at Oliver’s hands, struggling for air, Maria hurried to lay her hand on Oliver’s arm. “You promised not to throttle him,” she reminded him, though she was rather enjoying it.
After a second’s hesitation, he released Nathan with a look of disgust.
Maria glanced back toward the doorway. “Mr. Pinter? Would you mind?”
As Mr. Pinter, Freddy, and Miss Kinsley entered the room, the blood drained from Nathan’s face. WhenOliver cast Maria a quizzical glance, she smiled. “Oliver, this is Miss Jane Kinsley. Miss Kinsley, the Marquess of Stoneville.”
“Delighted to meet you, my lord,” Miss Kinsley said with a pretty curtsy, while Nathan stood there agape.
“Likewise,” Oliver said, clearly not sure what to make of her presence there.
“Miss Kinsley,” Nathan said, having recovered his equilibrium, “I don’t know what these people have been telling you, but—”
“They didn’t tell me anything that surprised me, once I thought about it.” Miss Kinsley regarded him with the look of disgust girls reserved for snails and frogs. “Any man who would suggest to a young woman that she should elope rather than listen to her papa’s advice can only be up to no good.”
“Elope?” Oliver queried, his eyes narrowing on Miss Kinsley. “This scoundrel proposed marriage to you?”
“Now, Miss Kinsley,” Nathan began in his best placating voice, “we both know it wasn’t like—”
“Quiet!” Oliver snapped at him. “Or I swear not even Maria will keep me from throttling you.”
Nathan swallowed. Hard.
Miss Kinsley sniffed. “Yesterday Mr. Hyatt snuck into our garden where I was trimming the roses, and told me we should run off together. You see, Papa had ordered him not to come to the house anymore. Papa thought he was getting too chummy, and since I have a very large dowry—”
A smile lit Oliver’s face. “And by ‘large dowry,’ what exactly do you mean?”
“I hardly see how that’s pertinent,” Nathan cut in.
“Stubble it,” Oliver growled. “Miss Kinsley? Do you mind?”
“Twenty thousand pounds.”
Oliver fixed Nathan with an amused glance. “I’m sure the court would be very interested to hear this news.” He looked at Mr. Pinter. “What do you think, sir? Would a judge pay much attention to a breach of promise suit if the woman changed her mind about the marriage because she discovered that her fiancé had proposed marriage to another woman?”
“I doubt they’d even allow it to go to trial,” Mr. Pinter said with a smug smile. “They might even suggest that the woman had grounds for her own breach of promise suit.”
A look of panic crossed Nathan’s face. “I did not propose marriage to Miss Kinsley! You can’t listen to her! She’s a complete henwit!”
“Don’t you dare insult her!” Freddy put in, brandishing his sword.
“I’d be careful if I were you, Hyatt,” Oliver drawled. “Young Freddy here is liable to thrust without thinking.”
