Regina Scott by The Irresistible Earl Page A

me.”
    Chase eyed him. “Perhaps I should encourage her then.”
    Trevor sat up so suddenly he nearly pulled his china plate into his lap. “That was a joke.”
    “Not necessarily.” Chase leaned forward. “I’ve always maintained that a marriage should be for mutual benefit, the couple well known to each other. You’ve known Phoebe since she was a baby; she listens to your guidance. You could help her mature.”
    Trevor’s eyes narrowed. “And how exactly do I benefit, besides having married an adorable infant?”
    Chase leaned back. “She has a considerable dowry, and our family is irreproachable.”
    Trevor set down his glass, folded his napkin and rose. “If that’s all you think I wish in a wife, Lord Allyndale, I bid you good evening.”
    Chase rose and caught him before he could stalk out the door. “Hang on! I meant no insult.”
    “You seldom do.” Trevor’s green eyes snapped fire. “But you are one of the few who knows the nature of my birth and the state of my finances, and I’ll thank you not to mention either again.”
    Chase let go of his arm. “You know neithertroubles me. You’ve proven yourself an honorable gentleman.”
    “Then believe me when I say I can handle my own affairs.”
    “And believe me when I say I only wish to help.”
    Trev shook his head. “I’d be mad to accept your help. I’ve watched you since we were boys. When a problem arises, you set it right, no matter the cost to you or those around you. You cannot order the world to your convenience, Allyndale. The rest of us have opinions and desires, as well.”
    Chase stepped back. “You sound like Phoebe.”
    “Then perhaps your sister has more sense than you think.”
    Chase sighed. “Come back to the table, Trev. All I ask is that you think on the matter. By marrying Phoebe, I am convinced, you’d be doing my sister and yourself a great service. I know you could protect her against the likes of Delacorte.”
    “You and I together can handle Delacorte,” Trevor replied, but he suffered himself to return to the table. “As for the rest, I still say you should hire Miss Price to chaperone your sister. Surely someone so redoubtable could keep away the riffraff like Whitaker.”
    “Miss Price has her own plans for the summer,” Chase told him. “She seeks a particular seashell.”
    Trevor choked and had to reach for his glass. “Oh, I can see how that would make it difficult to spend time in society,” he said sarcastically after taking agood long sip. “You’d be doing her a favor by pairing her with your sister. Talk about mutual benefit!”
    Chase wasn’t sure how Meredee would be helped by pairing her with Phoebe, but the idea took root He resolved to discuss it with Meredee at the next opportunity.
     
    Meredee was having similar trouble getting her point across. She fully intended to discuss Algernon’s behavior with him the moment she returned to the inn, but when she carried her things back to her room, she found his room empty. She would have been worried, but the red jacket folded carefully across the chair told her that her stepbrother had come back safely, if only to change his coat.
    “He is woefully neglectful of his duty,” Mrs. Price lamented when Meredee asked her stepmother if she’d seen Algernon. She sniffed and eyed Meredee from where she’d taken to her bed with a headache. “I wonder where he learned that.”
    Meredee felt the barb, as she was certain her step mother intended. “I am sorry to have spent so much time away from you today. But were you not to go walking with Mr. Cranell?”
    Her stepmother pouted, reminding Meredee a bit of Lady Phoebe. “His gout flared up. And Colonel Williams was busy with his tailor.”
    Meredee stuck out her lower lip in sympathy.“And so Scarborough’s reigning belle found herself unexpectedly alone.”
    Her stepmother nodded. “Exactly! You may read to me if you like, or perhaps we could work on the lace for my new cap.”
    “Are you