Lord Shefford removed his hat and gave an elegant bow. “I believe there may be a few details to discuss, Miss Mason. I apologize for arriving unannounced. You were just leaving.” He said the last as he observed her apparel.
“Lord Shefford, good morning. I was leaving to visit my grandmother. To what do I owe the pleasure?” she said, smiling tightly and trying to regain the composure this last hour had taken from her.
“I think it is important that we talk now,” he said coolly, arching a brow. “May I?” He pushed past her and nodded towards the parlor. Without waiting for a reply, he opened the door and walked into the room.
Chapter 9
Colin immediately noticed Miss Mason’s crossness, but it did not signify. He had much more important matters on his mind. He sought to have this pact over with soon so his life would return to normal, and that meant without a wife. Bergen was right. Countess Whitton had bested him in the bargain. It would give him great pleasure when he could return to the calculating Countess and collect the debt her son owed him—unencumbered by a wife.
For now, he would do as she asked.
“May we talk?” Colin asked, ignoring the huff of impatience the woman expelled behind his back.
“As you seem to believe we are about to discuss something, I will attempt to give you my full measure of attention,” she remarked in a severe tone.
He fought not to smile. It was too easy to rile Miss Mason. Sparring with her was enjoyable. Who knew? Perhaps there could be some redemption in this two-week interlude, he thought, catching himself gazing into very expressive, chocolate brown eyes.
“I recognize the distraught manner of your appearance. May I be of assistance?”
“I appreciate your keenness. I will be well enough, sir. However, I wonder at the urgency you must feel, having rushed past me,” she said acerbically.
He narrowed his eyes. “I see that I have not made a good impression on you. I would like the opportunity to correct that. Might we start again?”
“No, thank you,” she snapped. “I expect ours to be a perfunctory connection, Lord Shefford, and therefore I feel no need to begin again, as you request. You arrived, unannounced, to tell me you had won my orphanage in a bet and all but made me feel I should immediately pack my bags and those of the children. Before I can even verify that to my satisfaction, here you are again.” She narrowed her eyes and took a cleansing breath. “Pray, tell me at once your most urgent need to meet with me which keeps me from my business.”
He deserved that, Colin admitted to himself. His civility with her had been the bare minimum to non-existent, recalling that he just barged past her—a poor display of behavior which had not been his intention. Still, she could be the most infuriating of women. How had winning one game drawn him into such a predicament? He reminded himself that he needed to rub along with her for two weeks. “While sparring with you gives me much amusement, Miss Mason, I would seek a better level of understanding. I have a proposal for you.”
“A proposal?” she tittered. “What kind of proposal? I understood it was a foregone conclusion that the orphanage would be displaced because of my uncle’s loose morals.”
“That was my first thought, I will admit. However, I see that you are especially attached to this place.” He looked around the room. “I have done some research, and it seems this was a very popular orphanage in years past. Many of the children that lived here have gone on to make sizeable contributions to society.” He considered the meeting with the Countess as research, he reflected with some slight malice.
A smile formed on her face then, Colin noticed, despite her best efforts to suppress it. I hope she does not call me on this. He was on thin ice, unsure why he had fabricated such a tale, except that it seemed important to give her one rubber at least.
“What do you expect to achieve with this, Lord Shefford?” she questioned, remarkably with less hostility in her voice than before.
Good, I have her interest. “My proposal is that I come fairly regularly for a fortnight. I will be a willing participant in the day-to-day operations. My aim is that you prove to me that this orphanage has more chance of success in this building than the business I had in mind.” He noted her face, particularly the irritation flickering in her brown eyes. The hostility had returned.
“Lord Shefford.” She emphasized his surname with a hint of distaste. “That is a preposterous proposal—and it is a colossal waste of my time, for I am doomed before I begin. You do not have a reputation for charity, and I cannot imagine you deciding anything in my favor. You and your friends seemed both surprised and disgusted to find this building occupied when you arrived the other day.” She drew a slow breath. “Before I decide, I would invite you to meet some children the move would displace.”
“Certainly. To show you my sincerity, I would be happy to meet a few of your charges.”
“There are fourteen,” she challenged.
“Fourteen,” he concurred. “Where are they?”
“You shall meet one or two of them any moment now, unless I miss my guess.” At her words, Alice and Amy scurried into the room, accompanied by Mary.
“Miss Mason, Alice has something important to tell you,” Mary blurted out as she came in, giving a quick curtsey. Alice stood very still, squeezing a cloth in one hand and holding tight to Amy’s little hand with the other. She had a thumb in her mouth.
“What do you have to say, Alice?”
“I was looking out o’ the window and there were a tall man out on the street. A scary-looking man,” the child said, her voice wavering from fright. “I seen him before. He was near me old house.”
“Alice…”
