Page 54 of The Truth About Lord Stoneville
“Men say things like that, but in the end they’re practical.”
“Not Oliver! You’ve just ruined everything!”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Jarret said. “Besides, I have a plan—I laid the seeds for it before I even left Oliver’sstudy. Come, let’s go talk to the others. It will take all of us working together.” His voice receded as the two of them apparently left the room. “If we merely . . .”
Hetty strained to hear, but she lost the thread of the conversation. Not that it mattered.
A smile tugged at her mouth. It appeared she would not have to carry off this match alone. All she need do was sit back and watch Jarret work on Oliver. In the meantime, she would let Minerva go on thinking that finding Oliver a wife would solve their dilemma. That would spur the girl to try harder.
In the end, it didn’t matter why or how they managed it, as long as they did. Thank God her grandchildren had inherited her capacity for scheming. It made her proud.
So Oliver thought he was going to get around her this time, did he? Well, he was in for a shock. This time he had more than justherto worry about. And with every one of the Sharpe children on Miss Butterfield’s side? She laughed.
Poor Oliver didn’t stand a chance.
Chapter Fourteen
When Maria left her room, headed for dinner, a deep voice said, “I see you’ve recovered from our trip to town.”
She whirled to find Oliver sitting in a chair near her door. Had he been waiting for her? “Good evening, my lord,” she said as he rose. “You look well.”
In truth, he looked amazing in dinner dress—it suited him better than any man she knew. The stark white of his shirt and cravat contrasted beautifully with his olive skin, and his black swallowtail coat with its high velvet collar enhanced the velvety black of his eyes. Unfortunately, his figured waistcoat of gold silk also reminded her that he was far above her in station, no matter what his finances, and the tight trousers of black kerseymere molded to his flesh reminded her of . . .
No, she couldnotbe thinking about their encounter this afternoon, of all things. That was behind her.
“You look like a goddess,” he murmured as he raked his eyes down her form.
And she melted into a puddle.
“Thank you.” She tried to sound cool and sophisticated. “I much prefer wearing a gown that’s not too tight.”
“Except where it should be.” He dropped his gaze pointedly to her bosom.
The frank admiration in his eyes made her glad that she’d let Betty guide her choice for tonight. After that other scandalous gown, she’d been reluctant to wear anything low cut, but this one did look beautiful on her, even with its décolletage. Salmon had always been a good color for her, and the satin rouleaux trim made her feel pretty and elegant.
“So it’s presentable enough for dinner with your family?” she asked.
“They don’t even deserve to see you in it.” The low rumble of his voice made her breath catch in her throat. “I only wish that you and I could—”
“You do look lovely,” said another voice. Lord Gabriel came up from behind Oliver, dressed all in black as usual. A look of pure mischief crossed his face. “Sorry I’m late, Miss Butterfield, but thank you, brother, for keeping her company until I arrived.”
Oliver glared at him. “What the devil do you mean?”
“I’m taking the young lady down to dinner.”
“That office should be left to her fiancé, don’t you think?” Oliver bit out.
“Pretend fiancé. You have no real claim on her. Andsince you had her to yourself all day . . .” Lord Gabriel offered his arm. “Shall we, Miss Butterfield?”
Maria hesitated, unsure what to do. But Oliver was a danger to her sanity, and his brother wasn’t. So she was better off with Lord Gabriel.
“Thank you, sir,” she said, taking his arm.
“Now just wait one blasted minute. You can’t—”
“What? Be friendly to our guest?” Lord Gabriel asked, his face a mask of innocence. “Really, old boy, I didn’t realize it mattered that much. But if it upsets you to see Miss Butterfield on the arm of another man, I’ll certainly yield the field.”
Lord Gabriel’s words seemed to give Oliver pause. Glancing from Maria to his brother, he smiled, though it didn’t nearly reach his eyes. “No, it’s fine,” he said tightly. “Perfectly fine.”
