The Unofficial Suitor by Charlotte Louise Dolan Page B

your past,” she continued, “other than the part of it with which he was involved.”
    Reminding himself never to play cards with this old lady, Richard continued eating as if Lady Letitia’s words had not bothered him. Just how much did she know?
    “You were, I believe, a member of the crew of the ship Golden Dreams, were you not? Which ship was lost in the Caribbean during a storm?” Her expression gave away absolutely nothing of what she was thinking, but for some reason he could not define, Richard began to suspect that she might not be an enemy.
    “You did not hear that from Perry,” he said.
    “No,” she admitted. “But I have many sources of information.”
    “And,” he continued, “you did not hear that as part of idle gossip. Which leaves me to believe that you have deliberately hired someone to pry into my life.”
    “I am afraid,” she said, and this time she allowed a smile to show on her face, “that prying is one of the things I do best.”
    “Has no one ever told you that curiosity killed the cat?”
    This time her smile was genuine. “I am in no danger from you. The reports I have received from Perry and from my other—shall we say merely, from my other sources?—have all been in agreement that you are a man of honor.”
    “But not a gentleman of honor?”
    “No, not a gentleman. An adventurer, a risk-taker, and, if I may quote my grandson, ‘a devilishly good friend to have at one’s back when one is in a tight spot.”
    “So, since you know I am a fraud, do you intend to destroy my standing in society?” Richard asked, pushing his plate away and making no further attempt to act as if they were merely engaging in idle small talk—as if his whole future were not held firmly in this old lady’s hands.
    “That depends,” she replied, “on what you are trying to achieve by pretending to be a gentleman. Perhaps you would like to say a few words in your own defense?”
    How much to tell her, that was the question. And how to phrase it so that he would not give away Perry’s plans. “As I have said, I am an Englishman. And having acquired sufficient wealth, as you have discovered, I now wish to purchase an estate and settle down to the life of a country squire. When I do that, it will be much easier to gain acceptance if my neighbors do not know that I have been in trade.”
    She nodded, as if satisfied with his answer, then casually moved to cut his legs out from under him. “I have always felt that half-truths are better than lies when one wishes to deceive someone. It would appear that you have come to the same conclusion, because you have quite neglected to mention your intentions in regard to Lady Cassiopeia.”
    Richard had not, however, come this far in life without learning a few tricks about disarming his opponents. “I intend to marry her,” he replied.
    “I can prevent that,” Lady Letitia said. Her voice was still casual, as if she were simply inviting him to have more wine.
    “You can make it more difficult for me, but you cannot prevent it,” he replied.
    “Or, under certain circumstances, I can make it more easy,” she countered.
    He did not ask what those circumstances might be. She would tell him in her own time, but asking would only turn him into a supplicant, which would make his position weaker, and he fully intended to win this duel of words.
    “My grandson does not intend to stay in England, does he.” She said it as a statement, not as a question, so Richard did not bother to confirm what she had already deduced for herself. “I do not think I will be able to persuade Perry to change his mind. You, however, have considerable influence on him.”
    “I? I have never been able to persuade him to use the slightest caution before rushing into a dangerous situation.”
    “I believe, however, that in this case he would listen carefully to whatever you might have to say. Do you deny that?” The old lady was really a ruthless opponent, giving no quarter