A Matter of Scandal Read Online Free Page B

fine reputation for itself in London,” she continued quickly. Overwhelming him with facts seemed her best chance. “Just in the last two years, we’ve seen our graduates marry a marquis, two earls, and a baron. That can only reflect well on you, as our landlord. We could never have fared so well under some harsh dictator’s hand.”
    “I’m hardly a dictator, Emma.”
    She smiled, squeezing his hand. “No, you aren’t. You are very kind, and helpful, and understanding. Which is why I won’t press you any further than to ask that Haverly take in the Academy’s horses while we repair the stable roof. I hope that is agreeable—and I won’t ask you for anything more.”
    “I—no, that’s—that’s not a problem. Of course.”
    The earl looked befuddled, which Emma took as her cue to retreat with as much speed as she could manage. She needed to think up a strategy before Haverly’s new rent ruined her plans for the Academy. She stood, nodding. “Thank you,my lord. I trust I’ll see you and Lady Haverly on Thursday evening, for Romeo and Juliet? ”
    “Ah, yes. Yes.”
    Hardly daring to breathe, Emma escaped out of the office, down the hall, and through the front door with no one calling her back to empty all of the change out of her pockets. This was a disaster. Worse than a disaster. The groom was nowhere in sight to help her into the saddle, so she grabbed Pimpernel from a pen and led the mare back toward the Academy as swiftly as she could. Her tactics, though not the most scrupulous, would at least give her until Thursday to come up with a way of countering this Wycliffe person’s idiocy.
     
    At the sound of the front door closing, Greydon set aside the Hampshire planting almanac he’d been reading and rose. He could sympathize with his uncle’s reluctance to increase the rent of Haverly’s tenants, in all instances but one. A finishing school for females—bah. They might as well have named it the How to Trap a Husband Academy. He could vouch for how successful the damned establishment was; Caroline had attended it, and she’d nearly gotten the wedding shackles locked around his neck.
    He’d left the library door open, hoping to hear the exchange between Miss Grenville and Uncle Dennis, but they’d managed to keep it fairly civilized, and he’d only discerned an occasional murmur of raised voices.
    Dare and the others had deserted Haverly for the day, ostensibly to tour Basingstoke and the surrounding countryside. He knew better, though; Tristan had gone looking for the pertmiss from the roadside. He wouldn’t have minded running across her himself, and he added the lost opportunity to his list of Miss Grenville’s faults. Crossing the hallway, he rapped on the office door and strolled inside. “I assume your news displeased the old spinster?” he asked, unable to keep the satisfaction out of his voice.
    The earl stood by the window, gazing into the garden. “You don’t need to enjoy it so much,” he grumbled.
    “You’re a better man than I am.” Grey joined him, shifting a white pawn on the chess board to counter his uncle’s move. “Nevertheless, being compassionate won’t save Haverly. Did you schedule the payments?”
    Dennis frowned. “No. I—” He stopped, and to Greydon’s surprise, chuckled. “Outmaneuvered me, she did. Outsmarted me, really.”
    “What are you talking about?” With a scowl of his own, Grey strode to the desk and grabbed the agreement he’d painstakingly drafted last evening. “She didn’t sign,” he said unnecessarily. He glared at his uncle. “Why didn’t she sign?”
    “I believe it was because she was more concerned with having me board the Academy’s horses while she repairs the stable roof.”
    “Damnation! Haverly’s not entailed, Uncle. And I doubt the rich merchant you end up having to sell to will be as generous with his tenants as you’ve been,” Greydon growled.
    “She makes a good argument.”
    “I don’t care. You would