Page 13 of The Truth About Lord Stoneville
His blithe manner incensed her. “I should have thrust that sword through your neck when I had the chance!”
That only seemed to amuse him. “Ah, but then you’d almost certainly have been hanged. And that would be such a pity for a woman as pretty as you.”
She ignored the feminine vanity that responded to his calling her pretty. He probably said such things to women all the time. “It’s no wonder your grandmother despairs of you. God only knows what a trial you are to your poor parents.”
The humor vanished abruptly from his face. “Sadly,my parents are too dead to be overly concerned about my behavior.”
His words were flip, but the sudden glint of grief in his eyes told another tale. “Please forgive me,” she said hastily, cursing her quick tongue. “It’s awful to lose your parents. I know that better than anyone.”
“No need for apologies.” He pushed away from the door. “They despaired of me long before they died, so you weren’t far off the mark.”
“Still, it was very wrong of me to—”
“Come now, Miss Butterfield, this has naught to do with my proposal. Will you pretend to be my fiancée or not?” When she hesitated, he went on with a hint of anger, “I don’t see why you make such a fuss over it. It’s not as if I’m asking you to do anything wicked.”
That ridiculous remark banished her brief moment of sympathy. “You’re asking me to lie! To deceive a woman for the sake of your purpose, whatever that is. It goes against every moral principle—”
“And threatening to stab a man does not?” He cast her a thin smile. “Think of it as playing a role, like an actress. You and your cousin will be guests at my estate for a week or two, entirely at your leisure.” A dark gleam shone in his eyes. “I can even set up an effigy of myself for you to stab at will.”
“That does sound tempting,” she shot back.
“As for Freddy there, he can ride and hunt and play cards with my brothers. It’s better entertainment than he’d find in the gaol.”
“As long as you feed me, sir,” Freddy said, “I’ll follow you anywhere.”
“Freddy!” Maria cried.
“What? That blasted inn where we’re staying is flea-ridden and cold as a witch’s tit. Plus, you keep such tight hold on the purse strings that I’m famished all the time. What’s wrong with helping this fellow if it means we finally sleep in decent beds? And it’s not a big thing, your pretending to be betrothed to him.”
“I’m already betrothed, thank you very much,” she shot back. “And what about Nathan? While we’re off deceiving this man’s poor grandmother, Nathan might be hurt or in trouble. You expect me just to give up searching for him so you can get a decent meal?”
“And keep from being hanged,” Freddy pointed out. “Let’s not forget that.”
“Ah, the missing fiancé,” Lord Stoneville said coldly. “I did wonder when you would bring him back into it.”
She glowered at him. “I never let him out of it. He’s the reason I’m here.”
“So you say.”
That inflamed her temper. “Now see here, you insufferable, arrogant—”
“Fine. If you insist on clinging to your wild story, how about this: while you pretend to be my fiancée, I’ll hire someone to look foryourfiancé. A simple trade of services. A Bow Street runner will still cost me less than hiring a whore for two weeks.”
“For pity’s sake, you doubt my identity because I don’t fityour notion of a wealthy man’s daughter, yet you quibble over the cost of hiring people? I thought you lofty lords had plenty of money.”
He sighed. “Not all of us. But that situation will improve once my grandmother comes to her senses. Youaregoing to help me with that, aren’t you?”
Though he couched it as a question, his glittering gaze showed it was really an order from a man used to getting his way.
But he was offering to help her find Nathan. There was that.Ifshe could believe him.
“You’ve made it abundantly clear that you have no honor and are no gentleman. So how can I trust anything you say? How can I be sure that when this is over, you won’t just hand us over to the authorities?”
“You can’t,” he countered.
“Then I’ll take my chances with the men in the hall.” She headed for the door.
“Wait!” When she paused to glance at him, all trace of his smug smile and the insolent arch of his dark eyebrow were gone.
