“Stop it,” Langford said sharply. “All that mystery may impress women and stupid men, but we know you. Remember that.”
Adam drank his ale.
“Reason one,” Brentworth announced. “Her nice fortune is nicer than we know and in some way enhances your own in ways we do not know.”
Adam let him talk.
“Reason two—she is pretty enough in her own way. It is possible, I suppose, that her own way happens to appeal to you more than it does to me.”
“Is that it, Stratton?” Langford asked, incredulous. “I don’t know . . . her eyes are bright and provocative, true, but her mouth is too large and . . . I suppose some men might find her . . .” His words drifted away.
“Reason three.” Brentworth leaned toward Adam, across the table. “Pursuing her in some way helps your reason for returning. She is a means to an end.”
Adam was tempted to congratulate Brentworth. The man had always had a very sharp mind, one that was willing to consider alternatives from which others, like Langford, might shrink. Right now Langford appeared embarrassed that Brentworth had implied Adam’s interest in Lady Clara was at least two-thirds not romantic, nor even especially honorable.
Langford kept glancing from Adam to Brentworth and back again, as if he expected a row, or worse. His whole body tensed, ready to stop fisticuffs should they erupt.
“You have a very high opinion of me, I see,” Adam said.
“Higher than I have of most men. However, in the end, you have a cause, and men with causes make choices for different reasons than do the rest of us.”
“My cause does not require Lady Clara. I happen to find the lady intriguing and far from boring. She needs a bit of taming, true, but that is part of the fun. As for her eyes and mouth, Langford may find her lacking, but both features lure me into fantasies of untold pleasure. I daresay I would have plotted to have her no matter what her family.”
“Ah, you are up to no good, it appears,” Langford said. “I am relieved to hear it. That talk of lady fair had me thinking you intended marriage. If it is a seduction you plot, there is nothing to worry about.”
“I most definitely plot a seduction.” Which he did. She would never accept that proposal. He had known that while he made the offer. It allowed him to have an excuse to pursue her, however, and to have cause for further conversations and calls.
Langford all but rubbed his hands together. They now broached one of his favorite topics. A master of the sport himself, he never failed to offer excellent advice. He awaited such a request now.
Brentworth, always more skeptical and practical, peered critically again. “I hope you are not thinking to force her brother into a duel to protect her honor. It will not work. She is not a girl, and possibly not an innocent, and young Theo would never be so foolhardy.”
“I have no interest in dueling with her brother, least of all over her honor. I am counting on him not much giving a damn about her.”
“Good.”
“Have you seen much progress?” Langford asked. “She is not known to suffer men’s flatteries easily, or treat admirers with kindness.”
“Things progress apace.”
“What the hell does that mean? Speak clearly, man. Have you even kissed her yet? If not, those jewels are too optimistic.”
“He is not going to tell you,” Brentworth said impatiently. “He never has before with his conquests, and I doubt that has changed. Look at him, all amused and smug at our questions. Unless you get him foxed, little will be revealed.”
Langford laughed. “Stratton, allow me to buy another round.”
“Should I ever have something truly interesting to report, you will be the first to know. I would include Brentworth, but he is so above all of that now.”
“I am not so much above it as glad for it. I feared you had serious intentions. After all, her own father did not think her suitable for a duke.” Brentworth spoke in an off-hand manner, as if he shared common knowledge.
“What do you mean?” Adam asked.
Brentworth shrugged. “The old man idly broached the notion with me about three years ago. I sensed that he felt a paternal obligation to try and match her up and saw me as a possibility, but nothing he said would encourage a man to form an attachment. It was a little like having someone try to sell you a horse but mention all the flaws in its form and temperament.”
“Not that he needed to do that,” Langford said. “She was not a new horse in the paddock, after all.”
“Nor did my lack of enthusiasm for the notion bother him in the least. He seemed to understand and even agree.”
“Perhaps that mother of his put him up to it, and having done his duty he was glad of the outcome,” Adam said. “Lady Clara was his favorite, and they were very close.”
