“Your butler seemed to think a celebration was in order.”
The Earl positively beamed. “And so it is. Sit, sit. I believe I’ll join you. Not every day a man fires off his oldest girl.”
“She hasn’t accepted yet.”
The Earl bestowed another beaming smile as he poured a healthy portion and settled himself behind the desk, snifter at his fingers. “Her mother is right. She knows her duty.”
Grey sat across from him. “That doesn’t evince enthusiasm, sir.”
“Enthusiasm? Our Georgie? She’s the steadiest creature alive. In fact, I suspect we’re about to miss her a great deal. She has helped her mother, you know. And her aunt, I suppose. We have three families crammed all higgledy-piggledy in one house. Wonderful for the children. A bit confusing for adults sometimes. There have been occasions I’ve claimed the wrong brat. Not Georgie. Frightening command. Knows this house better than I do, and I was born in it. Oh, and I hear you have young wards. Perfect, perfect. Nobody better with the little ones. She’ll raise your heirs right, I can guarantee it.”
Grey listened to the growing store of accolades and realized that it was weighing him down. Everything the Earl said about his daughter spoke of responsibility. Good God, the way the man talked she’d been in charge of the children since she’d turned five. It was no wonder she wasn’t that interested in pursuing it with him.
“What hobbies does she have for herself, sir?”
The earl blinked as if Grey had spoken a foreign language. “Hobbies? Georgie?” He paused, obviously digging for some memory or other. “Not quite sure I know. Suspect she doesn’t have time for frivolity.”
Oh, better and better, Grey thought morosely.No wonder she had the look of a spooked horse when he’d mentioned marriage.
What did he do now, though? How did he mitigate a disaster in the making, when he had no choice but to carry on?
“Talked to Marcus Drake this morning,” the earl was saying.
He opened a case of cheroots and offered Grey one. Grey shook his head. It was one habit he’d managed to avoid during his time in the military.
“Soothes the nerves,” the Earl said with a grin. “Drake admitted that we needed to get you on the road as quick as can be. Means we won’t have time for banns. Might get some pushback from Georgie. Insist. She’s a good girl. She knows how to go about. And obviously you don’t have to worry about leaving your house in her hands.”
Grey admitted he was surprised. “You know Drake?”
The Earl waved a hand. He seemed to do that a lot. “’Course I do. On the Privy Council, aren’t I? He’s of incalculable aid to the war effort.”
The war that was over. Supposedly. Grey imagined that the need for him to decamp to Paris wouldn’t be so urgent if important people really believed that.
“And you will make certain Georgie and my wards are well-protected while I’m gone?” he asked.
The Earl blinked in surprise. It had obviously not occurred to him that by leaving his house for Grey’s, his daughter could be putting herself in danger. “Girl can take care of herself.”
“Not in this case, sir. Either make sure the protection is there or there will be no vows. And no trip.”
Another wave of the hand. “I’ll notify Drake, although I suspect he’s already ahead of the game.”
Grey did, too. But he wanted the Earl to do more than dismiss his daughter as domestic help.
“Had my solicitor draw up the papers,” the older man said with a clearing of the throat. “You should be happy.”
Gray must have betrayed his surprise. The Earl waved that hand again. “Actually had them for a bit. Just in case, you know. I can’t think they need to be altered. Let me know if they do.”
Grey accepted the document the Earl pushed over and wondered what it was that compelled the Earl to be so efficient in firing off his daughter. Was there something Grey should know about her that might make this marriage imprudent? An opium habit, or too many toes? Maybe a less than pure background? Not that he cared, particularly. He hadn’t expected this title and didn’t particularly want it. He couldn’t see losing sleep over where it went next.
Then he caught sight of the terms of the contract and almost choked on his brandy. Over a hundred thousand pounds would be his the minute he said his vows if he didn’t challenge this. One. Hundred. Thousand. For the first time since he’d gotten that damnable message about his inheritance, he felt some of the weight lift from his shoulders.
“It is exceptionally generous, Clevedon,” he said, pushing it back. “But I cannot accept it as is. There is no provision for Lady Georgianna.”
There went that waving hand again. “Pin money’s up to you.”
Grey lifted an eyebrow. “Are you telling me your daughter doesn’t know how to keep her accounts?”
That evoked a bright laugh. “Georgie? Girl’s a whiz. Learned it from some friends at school. Once corrected the Astronomer Royal on his calculations. Frightening mind.”
