Did she have to make it sound so…tawdry? So lacking in romantic feeling?
She crossed her arms over her chest, and the cant of her head shifted to the other side. She wasn’t finished. All Dev could do was brace himself for the impact.
“And you would want someone like that?”
The breath stopped in his lungs. The blood might’ve stopped flowing in his veins. “Someone like what?” He’d never wanted anything else.
“Someone of such little substance that she would be swayed by money and…things. Someone who can be bought.”
How was it that someone as intelligent as Beatrix couldn’t see this? “I’m not proposing tobuyImogen. I’ll present her with the option of a better life.”
“What if she likes the life she has?”
Dev snorted. “Satisfaction with a life spent with the Earl of Bridgewater? Let’s be serious.”
Though disbelief shone in her eyes, Beatrix, at last, gave a nod. It wasn’t curt, but firm…decided. She’d made up her mind about something.
Dev now knew her well enough to detect the signs.
“I know what you must do.”
The statement was delivered with such certainty that he had to ask, “You do?”
She nodded, slowly, contemplatively. “Here’s the thing about aristocrats. We love a country house party, and it so happens late summer is upon us, which is the season for house parties.Andit also so happens that you own the perfect country estate for hosting a?—”
“House party,” Dev finished for her.
Though clear doubt sounded in his voice, Beatrix was becoming visibly more convinced of her rightness by the second. “It’s actually perfect. You’ll have every opportunity to flaunt your enormous wealth, and thetonwill have every opportunity tobe the recipients of it, which is a favorite pastime. You simply cannot lose.”
“And inviting a parcel of aristocrats to Primrose Park will help me win Imogen?”
“The Earl and Countess of Bridgewater will be at the top of the guest list.”
“They might not accept the invitation.”
“As the owner of a moderately successful racing stable himself, the earl won’t be able to resist a look at your stables, and the countess won’t be able to resist getting a look at…”
She let a meaningful lift of her eyebrows finish the sentence.
“Me?”
“Presumably.”
A laugh startled from Dev—it couldn’t help itself—and though Beatrix’s plan was bold and unexpected, he thought it might be a good one.
“We must act swiftly,” she continued, “as invitations need to be sent out within the next couple of days.” She nodded in time to an internal dialogue. “Before the end of the month.”
“That soon?”
“I see no need to wait.”
Ah…“All the sooner to collect the second portion of your payment.”
Even in the moonlight he detected the blush pinking her cheeks.
His own mind began making deductions. “I’ll need to hire someone accustomed to managing such parties.”
“You will, but I shall supervise.”
