The Blackmailed Bride by Mandy Goff

time to adjust to the idea.” Like that would ever happen.
    “Marcus’s happiness is of no concern to me.”
    “You are a fool, then. My brother is a powerful man.”
    Finley seemed to consider this. “I won’t wait long,” he acceded.
    “Just a few weeks,” she assured him.
    “You’ll stay away from the Marquess of Huntsford,” Finley said before she could walk away.
    His command stopped her. “How do you expect me to accomplish that? He’s Marcus’s friend,” she said, her back still to the baron.
    “I will not be made to look like a fool,” he warned. “So you will not parade about with that man like a common strum—”
    Olivia spun around and interrupted him before he could finish. “You need me, Lord Finley. I suggest you don’t forget that. And I also suggest you not cause a scene. That would ruin my reputation just as effectively as sharing the family secrets. And then, I’d have no need to bow to your blackmail.” And not because it mattered to her, but because she was unwilling to surrender everything, she said, “I will not sever ties with anyone. You may have my hand in marriage, but you won’t have my life.”
    “Make a fool of me, or yourself, and I will ruin you,” he threatened.
    He stepped away from her and, without a word of goodbye, walked back into the shop.

Chapter Nine
    “D o you feel more like a member of the peerage now?” Marcus asked with a grin once he and Nick took their seats at a table by the window. They were sitting in White’s, the gentleman’s club that was always littered with male members of the ton .
    “Yes. You know, I’ve been asking myself why this didn’t feel right yet. Now I can see it’s because I’ve not been to White’s in order to waste time and money. A true rite of passage.”
    Marcus chuckled. “It’s a necessary evil, my friend. Like it or not, this is the place to be seen and talk with influential people.”
    “You do realize we’re the influential people, don’t you?” Nick asked. The statement was without conceit and was actually rather surprising to Nick himself. Because the truth was, though Marcus had been a recluse and had not traveled far from his country estate for years, and Nick was a rumored debaucher and despoiler of innocents, the two of them held a pair of the oldest and most distinguished titles in England.
    Yes, before much longer, they would be inundated with requests for introductions. It was only a matter of time, and an issue of who was able to work up the courage to approach them first. Nick knew he looked rather intimidating—suchwas his intent. He had few friends in London, and Marcus was the only one currently in the room. He saw no need to make himself approachable to men who wished to make use of him for his wealth, his position or—even worse—the notoriety of his name.
    A young man who looked better suited to a schoolroom than a club approached Nick and Marcus then. “Huntsford, I thought that was you over here.”
    For his life, Nick couldn’t remember the boy’s name. Marcus was no help—he didn’t seem to know him at all.
    “How have you been—” Nick fumbled for his name, tried out George in his mind, and thought that fit “—George?”
    George—Nick thought the last name might be Chase—looked pleased. If Nick remembered correctly, the man was the fifth or sixth son—something unfortunate like that—of an earl with an estate close to Nick’s home. He didn’t appear to be in the army or a member of the clergy, popular choices for lesser sons, and Nick wondered what he did for his living.
    “It has been a long time,” George replied. “It’s good to see you back in England.”
    Nick thanked him, wondering what George wanted. He wanted George to leave so he and Marcus could continue their discussion. But from the way George had helped himself to a chair, that didn’t seem likely.
    “Sorry about your old man,” the newcomer said. “Went to one of his parties a couple of months