difficulty,” he murmured.
“The conditions attached to the match?” Celia asked.
“Quite so,” Miles said. “Miss Lister’s trustees—” he inclined his head toward the lawyers “—have to agree that I am a worthy suitor. In fact, I believe I have to prove it to them over a period of three months.” He raised his brows interrogatively. “Gaines? Churchward? Do you think I stand the remotest chance?”
“You put me in a very difficult position, my lord,” Mr. Churchward said unhappily. “Very tricky indeed.” He shook his head. “Oh dear, oh dear. I hope you willnot take offense when I say I wish that your choice had not alighted on Miss Lister, of all people.”
“I told you there was something wrong with the gel!” Lady Vickery said triumphantly.
“On the contrary, madam,” Churchward said, looking chagrined, “I am of the same mind as Mr. Gaines that Miss Lister is an utterly charming young woman.” He turned to Miles. “As your family lawyer I have to advise you to marry an heiress, my lord, but as Miss Lister’s trustee I have to say that you are an entirely inappropriate and unworthy suitor, and I would be very remiss in my duty to give my permission to the match.”
“Not an overwhelming endorsement, then,” Miles said. “Gaines.” He turned to the other man. “Are you of the same mind?”
“No, my lord,” the lawyer said. He met Miles’s gaze very squarely. “I would put the matter more starkly than Mr. Churchward has. I am of the mind that it would be well nigh impossible for you to convince me of your worth. You are a rake, a gamester and a blatant fortune hunter—”
“Oh, that is nonsense!” Lady Vickery interposed. “Miles does not gamble!”
“Lord Vickery has never made any secret of his affaires, madam,” Gaines said sharply. “He set up a notorious courtesan as his mistress—”
“Not in front of the boy!” Lady Vickery said, covering Philip’s ears again.
“The relationship between myself and Miss Caton is over,” Miles said. “I am quite reformed.”
Celia smothered a snort of disbelief and Gaines gave Miles a wintry smile. “That remains to be seen,”he murmured. “Then there was the matter of Miss Bell, the nabob’s daughter.”
“That was most unfortunate,” the dowager put in. “Unfortunate in that she jilted Miles, I mean. She was the biggest heiress in London. Ghastly parents, of course, but one must simply concentrate on the money.”
“I am aware of the circumstances, madam,” Mr. Gaines said, with cold courtesy. “Lord Vickery abandoned his earlier pursuit of Miss Lister in order to win the larger financial prize—”
“And then lost his gamble because at the time he was only a baron and Miss Bell preferred an earl,” Celia said, smiling. “She will be kicking herself now that Miles has inherited a marquisate.”
“Such accidents of fate overset even the most careful planning,” Lady Vickery said. “All the same, it serves the chit right.”
“I accept,” Miles said, “that the episode does not reflect well on me.” Under Frank Gaines’s chilly scrutiny he was starting to feel like a schoolboy hauled up in front of the headmaster at Eton.
“You are a cad,” Celia pointed out.
“Thank you, Celia,” Miles said. “Your help in this matter is much appreciated.”
“I believe your sister has summed up the situation very succinctly,” Gaines said.
“So,” Celia said, eyebrows raised, “no lawyerly approval, then?”
Churchward shuffled his papers again and avoided Miles’s gaze. Gaines met it head-on in a moment of tension.
“Mr. Gaines and Mr. Churchward cannot actually refuse me at this point,” Miles said softly. “If I fulfillLady Membury’s conditions, which are that I prove myself an honest and worthy gentleman over a period of three months, then they must accede to Miss Lister’s wishes and agree to the match.”
“Three months!” the dowager said. “That might be a little ambitious for
“The conditions attached to the match?” Celia asked.
“Quite so,” Miles said. “Miss Lister’s trustees—” he inclined his head toward the lawyers “—have to agree that I am a worthy suitor. In fact, I believe I have to prove it to them over a period of three months.” He raised his brows interrogatively. “Gaines? Churchward? Do you think I stand the remotest chance?”
“You put me in a very difficult position, my lord,” Mr. Churchward said unhappily. “Very tricky indeed.” He shook his head. “Oh dear, oh dear. I hope you willnot take offense when I say I wish that your choice had not alighted on Miss Lister, of all people.”
“I told you there was something wrong with the gel!” Lady Vickery said triumphantly.
“On the contrary, madam,” Churchward said, looking chagrined, “I am of the same mind as Mr. Gaines that Miss Lister is an utterly charming young woman.” He turned to Miles. “As your family lawyer I have to advise you to marry an heiress, my lord, but as Miss Lister’s trustee I have to say that you are an entirely inappropriate and unworthy suitor, and I would be very remiss in my duty to give my permission to the match.”
“Not an overwhelming endorsement, then,” Miles said. “Gaines.” He turned to the other man. “Are you of the same mind?”
“No, my lord,” the lawyer said. He met Miles’s gaze very squarely. “I would put the matter more starkly than Mr. Churchward has. I am of the mind that it would be well nigh impossible for you to convince me of your worth. You are a rake, a gamester and a blatant fortune hunter—”
“Oh, that is nonsense!” Lady Vickery interposed. “Miles does not gamble!”
“Lord Vickery has never made any secret of his affaires, madam,” Gaines said sharply. “He set up a notorious courtesan as his mistress—”
“Not in front of the boy!” Lady Vickery said, covering Philip’s ears again.
“The relationship between myself and Miss Caton is over,” Miles said. “I am quite reformed.”
Celia smothered a snort of disbelief and Gaines gave Miles a wintry smile. “That remains to be seen,”he murmured. “Then there was the matter of Miss Bell, the nabob’s daughter.”
“That was most unfortunate,” the dowager put in. “Unfortunate in that she jilted Miles, I mean. She was the biggest heiress in London. Ghastly parents, of course, but one must simply concentrate on the money.”
“I am aware of the circumstances, madam,” Mr. Gaines said, with cold courtesy. “Lord Vickery abandoned his earlier pursuit of Miss Lister in order to win the larger financial prize—”
“And then lost his gamble because at the time he was only a baron and Miss Bell preferred an earl,” Celia said, smiling. “She will be kicking herself now that Miles has inherited a marquisate.”
“Such accidents of fate overset even the most careful planning,” Lady Vickery said. “All the same, it serves the chit right.”
“I accept,” Miles said, “that the episode does not reflect well on me.” Under Frank Gaines’s chilly scrutiny he was starting to feel like a schoolboy hauled up in front of the headmaster at Eton.
“You are a cad,” Celia pointed out.
“Thank you, Celia,” Miles said. “Your help in this matter is much appreciated.”
“I believe your sister has summed up the situation very succinctly,” Gaines said.
“So,” Celia said, eyebrows raised, “no lawyerly approval, then?”
Churchward shuffled his papers again and avoided Miles’s gaze. Gaines met it head-on in a moment of tension.
“Mr. Gaines and Mr. Churchward cannot actually refuse me at this point,” Miles said softly. “If I fulfillLady Membury’s conditions, which are that I prove myself an honest and worthy gentleman over a period of three months, then they must accede to Miss Lister’s wishes and agree to the match.”
“Three months!” the dowager said. “That might be a little ambitious for
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