“You do not give yourself enough credit. I cannot say precisely what it is about you. But I am a good judge of character and know you are someone worthy of my trust.”
“That is a great compliment, my lord.”
“It is the truth.” He leaned back in his chair. “Another truth is that I really have no idea what I want in a wife. It is easier for me to factor out love because I don’t know if I will ever find it. So I am better served concentrating on seeking someone who will be a tolerable companion.”
“Merely tolerable is unacceptable.” She clutched the arms of her chair, willing herself not to leap up again.
He cast her a wry smile, knowing exactly what she was feeling.
But he said nothing, remaining silent for an agonizingly long moment before he spoke. “Intelligence and common sense are important to me. So you see, this is why I chose you to help me. I want those qualities in a wife as well. Tenderness, not just toward me but toward others in general. I saw enough suffering during the war to last me a lifetime. I will not abide a wife who uses her status as my viscountess to step on people.”
He continued to regard her, his gaze not leaving her face. “I want someone with opinions, but not a jumping frog who will leap out of her seat every time I express one she does not like.”
Viola wanted to leap out of her seat again, for the barb was aimed straight at her. “I shall make sure she has all the qualities of a sloth.”
He chuckled. “Nor do I wish to wait a hundred years before I get an opinion out of the woman. Can we not settle somewhere between jumping frog and moribund sloth?”
“All right. I shall look for a chipmunk.”
He burst out laughing, something she did not think he had done in years. “Gad, you are not going to make this easy for me, are you?”
“No, nor do you want me to or else you would have asked someone who would toady to your every whim.”
“True enough. Just look for someone with qualities similar to yours. A little less opinionated, perhaps. But clever. Kind. Quick witted. Also, she must have a cheerful aspect. I already wallow in my own self-made gloom. But I do not want someone who will chirp at me all morning. A man likes quiet when he reads his morning newspaper and drinks his coffee.”
“I will do my best, but you must realize it is an impossible feat for me to discern the right young ladies to invite when all I have to go on are these gossip rag accounts.”
“I know. Select three and we shall invite them up with their families. I’ll make a list of family and friends to be invited. Leave that to me.”
“I still think we ought to write to your mother and ask for her comments on our proposed list of young ladies before invitations are actually sent out.”
“No, I am not asking my mother.”
“You are behaving like a stubborn, little boy again. How about your brother’s wife, Daisy?”
“Even worse. She is clever and wonderful, but she is also a Farthingale and will immediately have all her relatives meddling in my matrimonial affairs.”
“How about asking your brother?”
“Gabriel? My younger brother? I am not asking my little brother for advice on women.”
“Good grief, you can be quite irritating. He is a full grown man now and happily married, not to mention his being as much of a war hero as you are. Your parents must be so proud of both of you. I would give anything to have had siblings to turn to in my time of need.”
“Girls do this. Boys do not.”
“How about your grandmother then? You always speak so fondly of Lady Eloise.”
“No, it would be rude to seek her opinion when I do not plan to invite her.”
Viola gasped, started to leap out of her chair again, but caught herself in time and sank back. “You are not going to invite your own grandmother?”
He leaned forward once more. “It is too much of a trip for her.”
“A day’s ride from London? Is she in poor health? Then let us put off discussion of this house party. You ought to be visiting her instead. It will be the best medicine for her.”
“I will visit her soon, but that will not get in the way of our planning.”
“If you go now, you might also have a firsthand look at yourtondiamonds. Is this not a far better idea? Then it is a simple matter of inviting the ones who appeal to you.”
