Castles (19 page)

“Or until the general has either won or lost his campaign for the throne,” Caine interjected.

“Hell, that could take a year,” Colin predicted with a scowl.

“Perhaps,” his brother agreed. He turned to his father then and said, “I think Colin's right. Alesandra should continue to stay with him. He's more experienced in these matters and it would be less dangerous for you and Mother.”

“Nonsense,” his father countered. “I know a thing or two about protecting my family. I can handle any danger that comes my way. The gossip, however, is something we must address. Now that your mother and I are feeling fit again, Alesandra will have to move in with us. It isn't acceptable for an unattached man and woman to live together.”

“It was the thing last week,” Caine reminded his father.

“Because of our illness,” his father replied. “Surely people will understand.”

Colin was incredulous. He didn't know what to say to his father's naive belief. He turned to his brother for help in arguing his point against Alesandra moving and saw that Caine was just as incredulous.

“Have you heard any gossip?” his father asked Caine, frowning now over that worry.

Caine shook his head. Colin tried to hold on to his patience. “Father, gossip isn't the important issue here,” he said. “You cannot equate the danger you would be placing your family in with a few whispered remarks. Of course people are talking. Alesandra and I don't care.”

“I won't let you argue me out of my decision,” his father stubbornly insisted. “You insult me if you believe I can't look out for my ward. I've taken care of a wife and six children all these years without a problem and I'm not about to stop now.”

“But no one has wanted to kidnap Mother or . . .” Caine began.

“Enough,” his father ordered. “The topic is closed.” He softened his tone when he added, “Your mother was right when she said Alesandra should get married as soon as possible. That would put an end to all this nonsense.”

Colin looked at Caine. “She has this damned list.”

“I gave her that list, son.”

Colin didn't know what to say to that.

“A list of what?” Caine asked.

“Must you explain to Caine?” she whispered. Her cheeks were turning pink with embarrassment. “He's already married.”

“I know he's married,” Colin replied with a grin.

Caine pretended he hadn't heard Alesandra's protest. “A list of what?” he asked his brother again.

“Men,” Colin answered. “She and Father have made a list of suitable men to marry.”

Caine didn't show any outward reaction to that explanation. He could tell from Alesandra's expression she was uncomfortable with the topic they were discussing. He decided to try to make her feel more at ease. “That sounds reasonable to me,” he announced.

“Reasonable? It's barbaric,” Colin told him.

Caine couldn't suppress his grin.

“This isn't amusing,” Colin snapped.

“No,” Caine agreed. “It isn't amusing.”

“It's most serious, sir,” Alesandra interjected with a nod.

Caine sat up a little straighter. “So the purpose of this meeting is to select a husband from the list? Have I got it straight in my mind?”

“Yes,” Alesandra answered. “I wanted to interview the candidates last week, but Colin became ill and I was occupied nursing him back to health.”

“You nursed him?” Caine asked with a smile.

She nodded. “Night and day,” she said. “He needed me.”

Colin was exasperated. “I did not need you.”

She took exception to his gruff tone of voice. She leaned back against the settee. “You're a very unappreciative man,” she whispered.

Colin ignored her remark. He nodded to Caine. “That reminds me,” he said. “I wanted to thank you for your help. The ledgers haven't looked so organized in over a year.”

“What ledgers?”

“The shipping ledgers,” Colin explained. “I appreciated your help.”

Caine shook his head. Alesandra nudged Colin to get his attention. “Couldn't we get back to the topic at hand? I would like to get this settled as soon as possible.”

“I didn't touch your ledgers,” Caine told his brother.

“Then who . . .?”

No one said a word for a long minute. Alesandra turned her attention to straightening the folds in her gown. Colin slowly turned to look at her.

“Did you hire Dreyson or someone else to work on my books?”

“Of course not. Your books are private. I wouldn't let an outsider look at them. Besides, no one was admitted while you were sick.”

“Then who the hell did the work?”

“I did.”

He shook his head. She nodded. “Don't jest with me, Alesandra. I'm not in the mood for it.”

“I'm not jesting. I did do the work. I organized all of your logs, too, and filed them away.”

“Who helped you?”

She was highly insulted by that question. “No one helped me. I'm very good with figures,” she told him. “You have my permission to write to Mother Superior if you don't believe me. I made a second set of books for her so the banker would give her . . . Oh, dear, I probably shouldn't have mentioned that. Mother Superior called it a sin, but I didn't believe it was. It wasn't larceny, either. I only changed the numbers so she could get the loan.”

Colin had an astonished expression on his face. She guessed he found her confession shameful. She quit trying to explain herself and took a deep breath. “As for your ledgers,” she continued. “Transferring numbers and totaling your columns didn't require special training. It wasn't difficult, just tedius.”

“And the percentages?” Colin asked, still not certain he believed her.

She shrugged. “Anyone with half a mind could figure out percentages.”

He shook his head. “But you're a woman . . .”

He was going to add that he couldn't imagine where she'd gotten the training for book work, but she wouldn't let him finish.

“I knew that would come up,” she cried out. “Just because I'm a woman, you assume I couldn't possibly understand anything but the latest fashions, isn't that right? Well, sir, you're in for a surprise. I don't give a twit about fashions.”

Colin had never seen her this riled. Her eyes had turned into blue fire. He thought he might like to strangle her. But he'd kiss her first, he decided.

Caine came to her rescue. “And did the mother superior get her loan, Alesandra?”

“Yes, she did,” Alesandra answered, her voice tinged with pride. “Mother didn't know the banker was looking at the second set of books, of course, or her vows would have forced her to confess. The nuns all follow very strict rules. She didn't find out until it was too late. She'd already spent the money on a new chapel. So it all worked out quite nicely.”

Colin let out a snort. “I'll wager she was sorry to see you leave,” he said dryly.

“Shall we get back to our reason for being here?” Caine suggested. He stood up and walked over to Alesandra. “May I have a look at your list, please?”

“Yes, of course.”

Caine took the notecard and went back to his seat. “It isn't complete,” Alesandra explained. “There are ten names on the list now, but if you want to add another one or two, please do so.”

“I believe we should go ahead and start without Gweneth,” her guardian announced. “Caine, read the first name and we'll put the man under discussion.”

Caine unfolded the sheet of paper, scanned the contents, and then looked at his brother.

“Get started, son,” his father insisted.

“The first name on the list is Colin,” Caine announced, his gaze directed on his brother.

“Yes, but I've scratched him off,” Alesandra explained. “Do you see the line through his name? Please go on to the names I haven't scratched through.”

“Hold on,” Caine said. “I want to know why he was marked off, Alesandra. Did you put his name on the list or did my father suggest Colin?”

“I gave her his name,” his father answered. “She hadn't even met Colin when we started the list. I believed it would be a sound match, but now I can see it wouldn't wash. They aren't suitable for each other.”

Caine was of the opposite opinion. The sparks flying between Alesandra and Colin were close to igniting, and each was desperately trying not to acknowledge the reason behind his or her frustration.

“How did you come to the conclusion they weren't suited?” Caine asked his father.

“Just look at the two of them together, son. It's plain for anyone to see. Alesandra's looking terribly uncomfortable and Colin hasn't quit frowning since he sat down. It's apparent they don't get along. And that, you see, is an important ingredient for a sound marriage.”

“Could we get on with it, Caine?” asked Colin.

“Colin, do you have to be so irritable?” Alesandra asked.

He didn't answer her. She turned her attention to Caine. “He's been ill,” she reminded his brother, using that as her excuse for Colin's surly mood.

“It's this topic,” his father interjected with a frown in Colin's direction.

“If Colin agreed to marry you, Alesandra, would you have him?” Caine wanted to know.

“He has already declined,” Alesandra explained. “And he wouldn't be acceptable anyway.”

“Why not?” Caine asked.

“Will you let it go?” Colin demanded.

Caine ignored his brother's protest. So did Alesandra. She frowned while she thought about her answer. She didn't want to confuse Caine but she didn't want to have to go into a lengthy explanation either. “He isn't acceptable because he wouldn't touch my inheritance.”

“Damned right I wouldn't touch it.”

“There, do you understand now?”

Caine didn't understand anything. The look on his brother's face told him not to prod further, however. Colin looked ready to grab somebody's throat and Caine didn't want to be his victim.

“Isn't there a better way to handle this situation?” Caine asked then. “Alesandra should be allowed to take her time . . .”

“But there isn't time,” his father interjected.

“I do thank you for your concern, Caine,” Alesandra added.

“Go ahead, son. Read the second name on the list.”

Caine gave up. The second name had also been crossed through. Caine moved to the third name. “Horton,” he read. “The Earl of Wheaton.”

“I met him once,” his father announced. “He seemed like a decent chap to me.”

Caine was nodding agreement when Colin started shaking his head. “What's wrong with him, Colin?” his brother asked.

“He's a drunk. He won't do.”

“He's a drunk?” his father asked. “I never realized that about Horton. Cross him off, Caine,” he added with a scowl. “I won't have her wed to a drunk.”

“Thank you, Uncle Henry.”

Colin could feel himself getting ready to explode. It took all he had to keep his temper under control. In truth, he didn't understand why he was so agitated. He had made the decision not to marry Alesandra, but, damn it all, the thought of anyone else touching her didn't sit well with him.

As though it were the most natural thing in the world to do, Colin leaned back against the cushions and put his arm around Alesandra's shoulders. She instinctively moved closer to him. He could feel her trembling, knew then she hated having to go through this ordeal as much as he did.

Caine was right. There had to be a better way.

His brother drew his attention when he read the next name. “Kingsford, the Earl of Lockwood.”

“Gweneth suggested Kingsford,” his father announced. “She was taken with his polite ways.”

Colin shook his head. “He might be polite, but he's also got a reputation for his sadistic pleasures.”

“Good God,” his father muttered. “Sadistic pleasures, you say? Mark him off, Caine.”

“Yes, Father,” Caine agreed. He read the next name. “Williams, the Marquess of Coringham.”

“I suggested him,” his father explained. His voice reeked with fresh enthusiasm. “He's a fine fellow. I've known the family for years. Comes from good blood, Harry does.”

Caine was having difficulty maintaining his serious expression. Colin was already shaking his head.

“Harry's a womanizer,” Colin announced.

“I never realized that about Harry,” his father muttered. “Gweneth and I need to get out more often. I'd pick up on these things if we mingled more with society. All right, then, he won't do. We aren't marrying her to a future adulterer.”

Caine stared at Colin when he called out the next name on the list. “Johnson, the Earl of Wentzhill.”

He hadn't gotten the man's full title out of his mouth before Colin started shaking his head.

And so it continued. Colin found something wrong with every man mentioned. By the time Caine had gotten to the last name on the list, the Duke of Williamshire was slumped in the corner of the settee, his hand to his forehead, looking thoroughly defeated. Caine could barely contain his amusement. His brother was having difficulty coming up with a suitable vice after Caine had read the last name, Morgan Atkins, the Earl of Oakmount, and Caine was dying to hear what he had to say about him.

“I've met Morgan,” Alesandra announced. “He came to Colin's house to discuss a business matter. He seemed very nice.”