He gave a sharp, dry laugh. “Request? Is that how you see it then?”
She shrugged, apparently unconcerned with his foul mood. “You do not have to accept my offer.”
“Don’t I?” He shifted, the chair protesting loudly beneath him, and narrowed his eyes as he considered her. “I agree to yourrequest, madam. And at the end of the month the promise made to my mother will be fulfilled.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Shall we shake on it then?” She held out a hand.
Peter stared at it, at the joints twisted and warped with age. “Not yet,” he said. “I would have the terms of this agreement set out before I sign my soul to the devil.”
Her hand lowered, her lips quirking in amusement. “The devil, eh? Well, I can’t say I haven’t been likened to that nefarious creature before.”
He frowned. “The terms?” he pressed.
“Yes.” She straightened, and her gaze turned cunning. “You are to stay here a month, to sit with me every afternoon and dine with me each evening, to provide your company on outings. And before you think you may be silent and sullen, I will tell you here and now I expect conversation from you. You will be here in mind, as well as body, or you may consider our agreement void.”
He considered her faint smile, going over her demands in his mind. “Define how you expect me to provide my company.”
Her gaze sharpened, though her features remained placid. “I’m an old woman, Peter,” she said easily. “I don’t get out much, you know.”
“Amuse me,” he drawled.
Her smile shifted a fraction. “Oh, you know, the typical pursuits in a seaside town. Trips to the lending library, visits to the modiste, taking the air at some of the more picturesque locales.” Here her voice dipped, the words becoming a jumble of incoherency.
Peter tilted his head. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
Her smile slipped entirely then. She flashed him a look of annoyance. “I said, you stubborn man, dinner parties and balls as well.”
“Oh, no,” Peter declared.
“Oh, yes,” Lady Tesh came back. “There is a subscription ball held twice weekly in the assembly hall. I may not dance”—here she looked ruefully at her legs—“but I do so love to join in the fun, watching the young people, indulging in the gossip.”
“No,” Peter said hotly. “I refuse to attend some society ball, madam.”
Lady Tesh let out a laugh at that. “Society ball? Peter, where on earth do you think we are? This is not London, my boy. The balls held here on the Isle no more resemble a grand London ball than I resemble a debutante.”
He frowned, refusing to be drawn in. “No balls,” he said again.
She pursed her lips. “Four balls. And six dinner parties.” When he opened his mouth to speak, she held up a hand. “I insist on you giving in a bit. After all, your poor mother…”
Peter swallowed a curse. The woman was a demon sent straight from hell to torment him. He lifted his eyes to heaven for a moment before returning them to her. “If you insist,” he bit out. “But with a minor adjustment. One ball, and two dinner parties.”
She shook her head mournfully, though her eyes glittered with triumph. “You really must try to meet me partway, Peter. Three balls and four dinner parties.”
“You are deluded. Two balls and three dinner parties. And,” he continued when she opened her mouth to argue once again, “I shall even endeavor not to sit in the corner and sulk.”
She chuckled. “You strike a hard bargain, my boy. I can see how you became so successful in the wilds of America.”
Peter felt his lips quirk in a burst of amusement—mingled liberally with annoyance. “Boston is hardly the wilds of America, madam.”
She waved a hand in the air. “A figure of speech, I assure you. Very well. I accept your terms. Now, is there anything else you would like to add to this deal before we put an end to it?”
“Just one. I would have my business partner staying here as well.”
“He is welcome here at Seacliff,” she said without the slightest hesitation. “Now, shall we shake on it?”
This time when she held out her hand, he took it. Her skin was cool and parchment thin, the bones and swollen joints prominent against the press of his fingers. Peter had the sudden fear that if he gripped too hard, they would shatter. A strange protectiveness surged in him, quickly squelched. If there was anything this harridan did not need, it was his protection.
“It is done then,” she said. “When can you move your things in?”
