ado and so—if you are of a mind to agree to his terms…?’
Frowning, the earl flicked his eyes over to Helena’s companion who, he saw with some exasperation, was gazing at him in breathless fascination. Getting to his feet, he crossed the short distance between himself and his hostess and, lowering his voice, murmured, ‘I am inclined to think that a little more privacy might be in order for a discussion such as this, would you not agree?’
As the barely discernible scent of his lemon-verbena cologne wafted across her nostrils, Helena felt her pulses quickening, immediately causing her to reach the conclusion that this clearly practised popinjay seemed to be attempting, in her father’s absence, to gain some sort of advantage over her undoubted lack of experience in handling transactions of this kind. An indignant spurt of fury ran through her and, leaning well away from his undeniably compelling magnetism, she waved her hand dismissively.
‘That will not be necessary, your lordship,’ she said, in as airy a tone as she could conjure up. ‘You may rest assured that my cousin is perfectly well acquainted with my father’s plans for my future.’ And, picking up one of the pens, she held it out to him. ‘Will you sign first or shall I? My father has given me his authority.’
For, possibly, the first time in the whole of his twenty-nine years Richard found himself at something of a loss. It was becoming increasingly apparent to him that Lady Isobel’s stock-broker’s daughter was no ordinary title seeker. Indeed, the young lady appeared to have all the necessary qualities one might look for, if one were truly in search of a wife and, in any other situation, he might well have been tempted into getting to know her better. Nevertheless, since he considered his word far above any mere signature on a document, and despite the impending disastrous consequences of his actions, he was certainly not about to enter into any sort of written agreement.
‘Lord Markfield?’
Conscious that both of the ladies were watching his movements intently, the earl’s lips tightened. ‘I fear that I shall have to decline your father’s offer, Miss Wheatley,’ he said abruptly. ‘I find that I am, after all, unable to meet his—requirements. Please forgive me for wasting so much of your time.’ With which, he executed a stiff bow and turned to leave the room.
In consternation, Helena leapt to her feet and attempted to bar his way. ‘But you cannot mean to leave!’ she gasped. ‘That is—I gave Papa my word that I would soon have the matter tied up—may I be permitted to know what has caused you to change your mind?’
Looking down at the girl’s lovely face, with her exquisite blue eyes now so full of concern, Richard experienced a sharp pang of regret that he had not met her under more favourable circumstances. Immediately putting aside that obstructive thought, however, he made some attempt to formulate an adequate reply to her question.
‘I have not exactly changed my mind, Miss Wheatley,’ he began. ‘As it happens, it was not fully made up in the first place.’
‘Am I to take it then that you have been offended by my forthrightness?’ she faltered, suddenly conscious of the fact that she should, perhaps, have waited until the earl had signed the agreement before she set about demolishing his pretensions.
A swift smile creased his face. ‘No such thing, I promise you,’ he assured her. ‘Your candour is most refreshing.’
Although deeply perplexed, Helena found herself strangely unwilling to allow him to leave before she had discovered the true reason for his volte-face.
‘Then, why?’ she persisted, steadfastly ignoring the sound of her cousin’s sharp intake of breath.
Richard hesitated momentarily then, with a slight lift of his shoulders, said, ‘The fact of the matter is, Miss Wheatley, that I find I am having considerable difficulty in coming to terms with the idea of being—bought off—if you will excuse the expression!’
She flushed. ‘But I was under the impression that that was the whole point of the scheme!’ she rejoined. ‘Your title for my hand—or rather—the fortune that goes along with it! Why did you offer yourself up if you find the whole idea so repellent?’
Shaking his head, the earl stepped away from her. ‘I fear that it is far too complicated a matter to go into here, Miss Wheatley so, if you will excuse me, I will bid you “good day” and thank you again for your patience.’
‘No, wait, please!’ exclaimed Helena, now in some desperation. The thought of having to tell her father that she had failed to carry out his mission did not sit readily with her and, racking her brain for some sort of inspiration, a possible way out of the dilemma occurred to her. ‘I do have another suggestion—if you will hear me out?’
Richard gave an impatient shrug. ‘Naturally, I will listen to what you have to say, Miss Wheatley,’ he said wearily. ‘But, I must assure you that it will not alter my decision.’
‘You cannot possibly know that until you have heard what I am about to suggest!’ she flashed back at him. ‘Now, do sit down and hear me out, I beg you.’
Stifling the smile that was threatening to form, the earl returned to his seat where, leaning back, he folded his arms and waited expectantly. He was not a little intrigued as to why the lady should be so anxious to stay his departure since, as far as he had been able to gather from his grandmother, she had given every one of her previous suitors very short shrift before he had been sent on the rightabout. Not that he numbered himself among such fly-by-nights as Barrington, Arnold and Farley, he was quick to remind himself. In fact, having spent some time considering the various snippets of information that the dowager had imparted, it had not taken him long to arrive at the conclusion that Miss Helena Wheatley was, possibly, not altogether enamoured of her father’s plans for her future and might well have been going to considerable lengths to sabotage them. Her initial coolness towards him on his arrival had reinforced this belief and had, in the end, gone some way in strengthening his resolve to quit. Although he was achingly aware of the highly parlous state of his affairs, he could see no reason for compounding an already shameful situation by setting himself up as a target for general ridicule.
Helena took a deep breath. ‘I completely understand your reticence, my lord,’ she began. ‘But you must understand that I cannot bring myself to tell my father that his efforts have been to no avail. I have, however, come up with a sort of compromise—a solution that may prove to be of benefit to both of us.’
One of Richard’s brows rose imperceptibly. It was becoming clear he had not been wrong in his surmise. However, he opted not to comment and waited for Helena to continue.
‘You must correct me if I have gained the wrong impression, my lord,’ she said. ‘But it is my understanding that, whenever a gentleman’s name is linked to that of an heiress, his creditors seem perfectly content to hold back from their demands—banking, no doubt, on the possibility of acquiring a good deal more in the way of extra interest and so on?’
The earl stiffened. ‘You are remarkably well informed, Miss Wheatley,’ he drawled. ‘But I still do not see…?’
‘I was merely trying to point out that there are certain advantages to be gained from even a short-term relationship—two or three weeks, for instance?’
At Richard’s continued expression of incomprehension, Helena then leaned forwards and, clasping her hands together, entreated him, ‘What I am asking you, my lord, is whether you would be willing to consider fulfilling some of my father’s requirements for that length of time—just long enough for him to recover sufficiently for me to explain the situation
