Another laugh escaped Lady Clayworth. “Yes, I don’t think Phoebe would appreciate him taking a fiancé.” Then her eyes lit with something…an idea, perhaps. “But I think I know the perfect man for the job,” she said carefully.
“Who?” Bella asked, leaning closer to the countess.
“A handsome fellow. Titled.” Lady Claywoth shrugged slightly. “He keeps mostly to his country estate, but he owes my husband a rather large debt.”
A handsome, titled gentleman who could be persuaded to participate in their ruse? Bella couldn’t imagine such a man existed.
“Who?” Lissy echoed.
Lady Clayworth stared intently at Bella. “Do you have aspirations for a love match?”
She was certain a blush stained her cheeks. Considering her strangeness, holding out for a love match wasn’t a luxury Bella had. “Aren’t such things fairy tales?”
“They don’t have to be,” the countess said softly.
They might as well be. The memory of the devoted couple she saw in the park that morning flashed in her mind, but Bella shook the thought away. Chasing the illusion of such devotion was certain to be a waste of time. “I don’t want to marry Johann. He’s angry and unkind. Beyond that, if I end up married to a courteous man, that’s all I require.”
Seemingly satisfied with that answer, Lady Clayworth patted Bella’s hands. “I’ll speak to the gentleman I have in mind then, and I’ll report back.”
“And he is?” Lissy pressed.
“I’d rather not say until I’ve had the chance to speak with him, but his name and reputation are intact. Bella’s family won’t find issue with him, you can trust me on that.”
Bella smiled thankfully. “I only have thirteen days to find someone, Lady Clayworth. And last night my brother made a spectacular spectacle of himself. If your gentleman can help me, I’ll be forever in your debt and in his.”
The countess smiled warmly. “Breathe easy, Lady Arabella. I’m certain the fellow I have in mind will be more than happy to be of assistance.”
* * *
What were the odds, Cordie Clayworth wondered, that the girl Greg had mentioned that morning would find herself in Cordie’s parlor that very afternoon? She knew without a doubt the girl was the one from the Astwicks’ ballroom. For one, she was the Duke of Chatham’s granddaughter, and for another the girl’s brother had made a spectacle of himself the previous evening. Lady Arabella was most definitely the girl who had so flummoxed Greg, she didn’t have a doubt.
Cordie knocked lightly on the door of her husband’s study, her mind spinning with ideas after Lissy and Lady Arabella’s visit. She did have the perfect man in mind for the job in question, but she’d have to get Brendan’s blessing. She needed, after all, to use the debt owed her husband to her advantage.
“Yes?” Brendan called.
She took a steadying breath then pushed the door open and stepped inside her husband’s private domain.
Upon seeing her, Brendan rose to his feet. “What a pleasant surprise,” he said, a charming smile lit his handsome face.
That smile still made her belly flip. She doubted she would ever tire of it. “I’m not disturbing you, am I?”
Brendan’s dark blue eyes twinkled as he stepped around his desk and closed the distance between them. “You could never disturb me,mon minouche.” He lightly caressed the apple of her cheek with his thumb. “Is everything all right?”
She nodded quickly. He’d always been a most caring husband, but he’d been even more so since her miscarriage…Cordie pushed the thought from her mind. She didn’t want to dwell on that, not now, not ever, if she could help it. And that was precisely why helping Lady Arabella, and perhaps her brother, was of the utmost importance. Aiding others would keep her mind off things she’d rather not think about. Besides, someone had to help the girl, and this was the perfect opportunity for Greg to make the amends he seemed to want to make. “But I wanted to talk to you about Greg.”
Brendan’s brow furrowed and his muscles visibly tightened. “I know I shouldn’t have said anything to him this morning, but his hypocrisy about that poor girl’s brother—”
“Brendan.” Cordie sighed. “I don’t blame him.” And she didn’t. Greg wasn’t responsible for their mother’s actions, even if he did blame himself.
“Well, that makes one of us.”
“Please.” She shook her head. Why did the male of the species have to be so difficult? “He is my brother and I do love him.”
Her husband said nothing, though his jaw did tighten a bit.
“I need you to forgive him, and I want him to find a way to forgive himself.”
Brendan heaved a sigh, but he was softening, she could see it in his eyes.