VIscount Besieged by Elizabeth Bailey Page A

family as well as my own, I don’t see what
else I can do.’
    ‘ Nor
I, my lord,’ said the lawyer flatly. ‘I do not know what
commitments you have, but these here are enough in themselves. Do
you suppose the sale would furnish you with sufficient
means?’
    ‘ I
doubt it. You have said that Mrs Alvescot has a little money of her
own, but her cousin is in her train, together with the
children.’
    ‘ What
would you propose for them, sir?’
    ‘ School for the boy, and some gentlemanly profession, I
suppose. The girl may have to settle for a companion or governess,
I’m afraid, for I cannot find four dowries.’
    ‘ Four?’
    Roborough smiled
wryly. ‘Miss Alvescot, for one. And I have two young sisters at
home. But Fanny may be lucky. If I can recover the estate in the
next few years, who knows? But I need the proceeds from this one to
begin, Thornbury.’
    Only now, it
appeared, he was being pressed to use them for quite a different
purpose. He looked over to where Syderstone sat, lying back at his
ease in one of the two big cushioned chairs, savouring the wine.
There was nothing else for it. He must persuade the man to wait. If
he paid him, there was not a hope in hell of providing for even one
impoverished family, let alone two.
    ‘ How
badly do you need the money, Syderstone?’ he asked
abruptly.
    The other man
looked up, smiling. ‘That, my dear fellow, is
irrelevant.’
    ‘ Not
to me. And pray don’t remind me again that it is a debt of
honour.’
    ‘ I
was not going to,’ protested Syderstone. He finished his wine and
rose, giving a little bow. ‘I have every faith in you, my dear
fellow.’
    ‘ In
that case, you will oblige me very much by leaving here this very
day.’
    ‘ Oh,
I couldn’t do that. Not after I have accepted Mrs Alvescot’s very
kind invitation to me, as your friend , to
remain.’
    ‘ Mrs
Alvescot will excuse you,’ said Roborough, almost grinding his
teeth. The man was a human leech.
    ‘ I
could not possibly disappoint her. Besides, I am of a mind to
pursue my acquaintance with Miss Alvescot.’
    ‘ What?’
    Syderstone’s
eyebrows went up. ‘You have some objection?’
    ‘ None
at all,’ said the viscount, an edge to his voice.
    ‘ Ah,
but you must be in some sort her guardian, and I would not dream
of—’
    ‘ Her
mother is all the guardian she needs. In any event, she is very
nearly one and twenty.’
    ‘ Yet
you must have some say in her future,’ persisted Syderstone. ‘I
would hesitate to encroach without your permission.’
    A flame of anger
was burning in Roborough’s chest, but he maintained a cool front.
What in the name of all the gods Syderstone meant by this fetch was
beyond him.
    ‘ Miss
Alvescot,’ he said, as evenly as he could, ‘is as yet barely known
to me. But I am already very certain that she will take care of her
own future without any assistance from me.’
    And let them see
if that did not spike any schemes the man might have to use Isadora
in some way against him.
    But the arrow
misfired.
    ‘ Ah,
excellent,’ came the urbane voice. ‘In that case I may interest
myself there without let or hindrance.’
    With difficulty
Roborough refrained from inflicting physical violence upon the man.
What sort of game was he playing? Some scheme to force his hand,
probably. Perhaps Syderstone thought to seem to threaten Isadora’s
safety so that he would do anything to get rid of him. Even pay
him.
    All he needed
was another battle of wills on his hands. One would have supposed
Isadora to be sufficient for any man to contend with. Still, let
Syderstone try his hand against her, then they would see. God knew
he had enough difficulty with her himself. Though at least it was
an invigorating battle. And her protestations were honest, unlike
Syderstone’s. Besides, Isadora was…
    The very thought
of her seemed to calm him a trifle. Isadora was endlessly amusing.
He could not help but admire her, on so many counts. Fearless,
quick-witted; a