Page 14 of A Duke for Diana
“If she gains that,” he went on, “I will not only pay your fee, I’ll double it.”
Double it! “And if shedoesn’tgain five callers a day? What then?”
“We can negotiate a reduced fee, depending on the number of callers she actually has. But I warn you—if there are no callers, I will pay no fee.”
“Geoffrey!” his mother hissed. “This is for Rosy.”
“Precisely,” he told her. “And if I am to pay some trumped-up fee, then I mean to get my money’s worth for Rosy. Otherwise, what’s the point? The enticement of a doubled fee will make them work all the harder for her.”
“Ourreputationwill make us work all the harder,” Diana said and cast him her chilliest look. “Come to think of it, I have a condition of my own.”
“Oh?” he said with a raised brow.
“You, sir, must agree to accept our services for yourself.” She had the delicious satisfaction of catching him off guard. She’d never seen a man go from self-satisfied to insulted so fast. “We won’t even charge you, as long as you cover expenses. ‘That’s only fair.’”
He jumped to his feet. “Expenses!” he roared. “What could you possibly need in expenses forme?”
She rose. “Bills from a tailor, a cobbler, a glover . . . I’m sure the list will be endless, if I am to judge fromthis.” She swept down her hand to indicate his attire. “Your inappropriate clothing for paying calls.”
“I wasnotpaying calls in the social sense,” he said irately. “This was a business call.”
“That’s no excuse for wearing riding boots and buckskin breeches. Were you raised in a barn?”
“He was not,” his mother said as she sank onto the settee. “But he might as well have been. He never listens to me.”
“Now see here.” He glowered at Diana. “There’s nothing wrong with my clothes. I simply hadn’t expected ladies of rank to be running the dam—. . . the business, all right? And anyway, beyond my poor choice of attire today, I see no reason for me to use your services for myself.”
“No?” She ticked off his transgressions on her fingers. “You arrived at an hour never used for paying calls. You cursed without apology, and in front of ladies no less. You hovered over them in a most ungentlemanly manner. You sat with your ankle across your knee, for pity’s sake, splaying your legs in a vulgar pose.”
“Plenty of men sit that way,” he said defensively, though a flush crept up his face.
“Perhaps in the country taverns you obviously frequent,” Diana said, “but not in polite society, I assure you.”
A burst of laughter came from the doorway. Diana looked over to see that Lady Rosabel and Verity had returned.
But Lady Rosabel was the one laughing. “I’ve never seen a woman stand up to the almighty Geoffrey before.” She entered the room and clapped her hands. “Impressive work, Lady Diana!”
“Watch it, poppet,” he said. “I’m the one paying for this dressing down, you know.”
“And another thing,” Diana said, beginning to enjoy herself. “You discuss financial matters in the crudest way possible! Even when I tell you it’s uncouth.”
There was a decided glint in his eyes now. “You said it was boorish. Not the same thing.”
“Close enough,” she snapped. “So, Your Grace, will you agree tomycondition?”
He searched her face, as if looking for a crack or weakness to exploit. Then he surveyed the four other women in the room and let out a long, ragged breath. He’d obviously realized he was outgunned and outmaneuvered at present. “If I must.”
His mother rose. “You must, my darling.” She winked at Diana. “Or else we won’t be able to hire them, will we, Lady Diana?”
“Absolutely not. Our efforts would be all for naught if your son undid them with every word out of his mouth.”
“No need to club me over the head with it,” he grumbled. “I’ve already agreed to your condition.”
“Excellent.” She turned to Lady Rosabel. “I shall call onyouand your mother at your family’s town house first thing tomorrow. We can assess your wardrobe before going off to the dressmaker’s, where you’re to be fitted for new gowns and whatever else your wardrobe lacks.”
Lady Rosabel looked nervously at her brother. “I don’t know. That sounds dreadfully expensive.”
“Remember what I told your brother about not discussing money?” Diana said gently.
