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“Whereas it seems all of society believes they know you.” I tilted my head to one side, examining him. “But I doubt they know about Mr. Grey.”
He stilled, and I could see that he was watching me as intently as I was watching him. “I try not to advertise my more philanthropic activities.”
I nodded. “Any man who cares enough to ensure that children without a home have somewhere to stay can’t be all bad.”
He wasn’t entirely successful in hiding his amusement. He inclined his head. “I’ll take that as a compliment. At any rate, I thought the two of us could come to an agreement.”
My mind raced with all sorts of ridiculous notions, but I wasn’t going to jump to conclusions. “What type of agreement did you have in mind, my lord?”
“It occurred to me that I might attract less attention if society at large believed I was courting you.”
My heart leapt at the suggestion, and I had to take a deep breath before replying. Still, I was unable to keep from stuttering. “C-courting me?”
He raised a brow but didn’t comment on my obvious nerves. “Just pretend. We can be seen together, and perhaps that will have people, including your mother and sister, turning their attention elsewhere.” He leaned forward, and his low voice caused a shiver to go through me. “Can I pretend to court you, Miss Sullivan?”
Chapter 7
CLAIRE
Can I pretend to court you, Miss Sullivan?
His words echoed in my mind for the rest of the day.
Even more outlandish than what he’d proposed was that I’d agreed.
He’d left after that, telling me he would call on me the next day. I should have been more worried about how my stepmother and Georgiana were going to react, but I’d spent the rest of the day in a befuddled cloud. Finally, once I’d said goodbye later that afternoon to all the children and made my way home, I could think clearly, and I realized that this whole proposition was nonsensical.
No one would ever believe that Greyson was courting me, a woman who was firmly on the shelf. Furthermore, I doubted very much that my stepmother would allow it. Yes, I was of age and could act independently, which meant I had a measure of freedom, but I still resided under her roof.
I needed to appease her to make the situation tolerable. Until now, I hadn’t felt it necessary to change that arrangement.
I doubted doing Greyson this favor would benefit either of us. Unfortunately, I couldn’t explain my newfound reservations until I saw him again.
It was now Saturday afternoon, near four, and I was beginning to think he’d changed his mind. I tried to convince myself I was relieved as I flipped through the pages of a book. Entertaining his ridiculous request would have caused all manner of inconvenience.
Still, it would have been nice to experience firsthand what it was like to have a devastatingly handsome man, one whom many others were trying to capture for themselves, pay me court, even if the whole thing would have been a ruse.
When the clock on the mantel struck four, I sighed. There was no point in loitering in the drawing room any longer. Greyson wouldn’t be calling today.
I stood but then froze when I heard a knock at the front door. I waited while a footman opened it, then I heard Greyson’s unmistakable tenor.
My heart did a nonsensical flip. This entire ruse was ridiculous, and I needed to put an end to it.
Moments later, our butler showed him into the drawing room, and our eyes met.
“Miss Sullivan,” he said, his gaze sweeping up and down my form.
I’d taken care to dress nicely today and was wearing a blue gown that set off my fair complexion. My dark hair was also styled more ornately than usual.
He took in the empty room then raised one brow in question. Oddly, I knew exactly what he wanted to know without him saying a word.
“My family is home, but I didn’t mention you’d be calling.”
He stepped farther into the room with a nonchalance I envied. What I wouldn’t sacrifice to be able to handle each situation with such cool detachment. “Do you think we’ll have to wait long?”
“I doubt it.”
As if on cue, my words were followed by the sound of hurrying footsteps.
