Page 30 of The Truth About Lord Stoneville

“You do that a great deal, don’t you?”

He swallowed the rest of his wine. “What?”

“Close up into yourself whenever someone tries to peer into your soul. Make a joke of it.”

“If you came out here to lecture me,” he snapped, “don’t bother. Gran has perfected that talent. You can’t possibly compete.”

“I only want to understand.”

“I want to be consumed by a star, but we don’t all get what we want.”

“What?”

“Never mind.” Turning for the nearest door into the house, he started to stalk off, but she caught his arm.

“Why are you so angry at your grandmother?” Maria asked.

“I told you—she’s trying to ruin the lives of me and my siblings.”

“By requiring you to marry so you can have children? I thought all lords and ladies were expected to do that. And the five of you are certainly old enough.” Her tone turned teasing. “Some of you are beyond being old enough.”

“Watch it, minx,” he clipped out. “I’m not in the mood for having my nose tweaked tonight.”

“Because of your grandmother, you mean. It’s not just her demand that has you angry, is it? It goes back longer than that.”

Oliver glared at her. “Why do you care? Has she got you fighting her battles for her now?”

“Hardly. She just informed me that I was, and I quote,‘exactly the sort of woman who would not meet my requirements of a wife.’ ”

A smile touched his lips at her accurate mimicking of Gran at her most haughty. “I told you she would think that.”

“Yes,” she said dryly. “You both excel at insulting people.”

“One of my many talents.”

“There you go again. Making a joke to avoid talking about what makes you uncomfortable.”

“And what is that?”

“What did your grandmother do, besides giving you an ultimatum about marriage, that has you at daggers drawn?”

Blast it all, would she not leave off? “How do you know she did anything? Perhaps I’m just contrary.”

“You are. But that’s not what has you so angry at her.”

“If you plan to spend the next two weeks asking ridiculous questions that have no answers, thenIwill pay you to return to London.”

She smiled. “No, you won’t. You need me.”

“True. But since I’m paying for the service you’re providing, I get some say in how it’s rendered. Bedeviling me with questions isn’t part of our bargain.”

“You haven’t paid me anything yet,” she said lightly, “so I should think there’s some leeway in the terms. Especially since I’ve been working hard all evening furthering your cause. I just finished telling your grandmother that I have ‘feelings’ for you, and that I know you have ‘feelings’ for me.”

“You didn’t choke on that lie?” he quipped.

“I do have feelings for you—probably not the sort she meant, though apparently she believed me. But she was suspicious. She’s more astute than you give her credit for. First she accused us of acting a farce, and then, when I denied that, she accused me of thinking to marry you so I could gain a fortune from her down the line.”

“And what did you say to that?”