you?”
“We had a dozen printed,” she said. “I’m afraid the rest are at Colonel Branbury’s house, however.”
“Come by at eight o’clock tonight,” her father suggested. “We’ll have a brandy before we venture to Almack’s, and I’ll give you one.”
The duke nodded, turning for the door. “I will. If you’ll excuse me, I have some business to take care of before tonight.”
“Good day, Melbourne. And thank you.”
“Until tonight.” His parting glance was at Josefina, and she took a slow breath. She needed to secure his interest. Apparently she already had his attention.
Chapter 5
“J ust why are you dragging me to Almack’s?” Valentine Corbett, the Marquis of Deverill, muttered as he tried to balance half a glass of scotch in the rocking coach.
“Because you married my sister and you’re now part of the family.” Sebastian snagged the glass from his closest friend and took a swallow. “And because you’re incurably cynical.”
“A character trait of which I’ve always been proud.” Deverill recaptured the scotch and nearly had it jostled out of his grip. With an annoyed scowl he opened the coach door and tossed out the liquid, dropping the glass onto the seat beside him. Out of their sight on the street a male voice yelled a curse.
“Valentine. That’s my crest emblazoned on the door, you know.”
“And this is a new jacket. I didn’t want to see it ruined. Though after wearing it to Almack’s I may never want tosee it again.” He sat forward. “So I ask you once more, Melbourne. What am I doing here?”
“I want your opinion.”
“Very well. On what?”
This time Sebastian frowned. “I’m not certain.”
“That’s helpful.”
“Just keep your eyes and ears open tonight.”
“Regarding your new royal friends, I suppose?” Valentine looked at him, then sat back again. “Very well.”
It would have been so much easier if he’d known what it was that had been tickling at him all afternoon. For a former soldier, Stephen Embry definitely knew his way around matters of finance. With two years to formulate a plan, however, he should have been knowledgeable. The rey was also glib and charming—but again, if he hadn’t been, King Qental wouldn’t have been moved to grant him a substantial piece of the Mosquito Coast. Granting the loan made sense—even with a hundred thousand pounds at risk, the probability of a profit to investors was very high. And the benefit of having another friendly port in the New World couldn’t be overstated.
“What do you know about Central and South American politics?” he asked, since he couldn’t be more specific even if he wanted to be.
“Only the broad strokes. Spain governs most of it, but the independence movement seems to be filtering south from the Colonies. Bits and pieces are being chipped away, and Spain’s not happy about it. With Bonaparte in their home territory, though, their focus isn’t on undeveloped land an ocean away.”
Sebastian cracked a brief smile. “I sometimes forget that you do pay attention.”
“I’m a husband and a father, now. I’ve found that that circumstance both narrows and broadens one’s perspective.” He kicked Sebastian in the ankle. “If this is going to be another lunatic assignment from you of the keeping-an-eye-on-someone sort, I want more details. What’s going on?”
“You heard about last night, I presume.”
“The chit slapping you and then you dancing with her? No, didn’t hear a bloody thing.”
“Mm-hm. Prinny’s gotten some sort of honor from them, and he thinks very highly of the rey and his entourage. For me, what’s the saying? If something seems too good to be true, etcetera, etcetera.” The explanation was as vague as he could make it; Valentine was as sharp as a knife blade, and no one needed to know that he’d blundered so far as to kiss Princess Josefina.
“I’m a damn chaperone.”
“You—”
“Shay’s the diplomatic one. Why isn’t
“We had a dozen printed,” she said. “I’m afraid the rest are at Colonel Branbury’s house, however.”
“Come by at eight o’clock tonight,” her father suggested. “We’ll have a brandy before we venture to Almack’s, and I’ll give you one.”
The duke nodded, turning for the door. “I will. If you’ll excuse me, I have some business to take care of before tonight.”
“Good day, Melbourne. And thank you.”
“Until tonight.” His parting glance was at Josefina, and she took a slow breath. She needed to secure his interest. Apparently she already had his attention.
Chapter 5
“J ust why are you dragging me to Almack’s?” Valentine Corbett, the Marquis of Deverill, muttered as he tried to balance half a glass of scotch in the rocking coach.
“Because you married my sister and you’re now part of the family.” Sebastian snagged the glass from his closest friend and took a swallow. “And because you’re incurably cynical.”
“A character trait of which I’ve always been proud.” Deverill recaptured the scotch and nearly had it jostled out of his grip. With an annoyed scowl he opened the coach door and tossed out the liquid, dropping the glass onto the seat beside him. Out of their sight on the street a male voice yelled a curse.
“Valentine. That’s my crest emblazoned on the door, you know.”
“And this is a new jacket. I didn’t want to see it ruined. Though after wearing it to Almack’s I may never want tosee it again.” He sat forward. “So I ask you once more, Melbourne. What am I doing here?”
“I want your opinion.”
“Very well. On what?”
This time Sebastian frowned. “I’m not certain.”
“That’s helpful.”
“Just keep your eyes and ears open tonight.”
“Regarding your new royal friends, I suppose?” Valentine looked at him, then sat back again. “Very well.”
It would have been so much easier if he’d known what it was that had been tickling at him all afternoon. For a former soldier, Stephen Embry definitely knew his way around matters of finance. With two years to formulate a plan, however, he should have been knowledgeable. The rey was also glib and charming—but again, if he hadn’t been, King Qental wouldn’t have been moved to grant him a substantial piece of the Mosquito Coast. Granting the loan made sense—even with a hundred thousand pounds at risk, the probability of a profit to investors was very high. And the benefit of having another friendly port in the New World couldn’t be overstated.
“What do you know about Central and South American politics?” he asked, since he couldn’t be more specific even if he wanted to be.
“Only the broad strokes. Spain governs most of it, but the independence movement seems to be filtering south from the Colonies. Bits and pieces are being chipped away, and Spain’s not happy about it. With Bonaparte in their home territory, though, their focus isn’t on undeveloped land an ocean away.”
Sebastian cracked a brief smile. “I sometimes forget that you do pay attention.”
“I’m a husband and a father, now. I’ve found that that circumstance both narrows and broadens one’s perspective.” He kicked Sebastian in the ankle. “If this is going to be another lunatic assignment from you of the keeping-an-eye-on-someone sort, I want more details. What’s going on?”
“You heard about last night, I presume.”
“The chit slapping you and then you dancing with her? No, didn’t hear a bloody thing.”
“Mm-hm. Prinny’s gotten some sort of honor from them, and he thinks very highly of the rey and his entourage. For me, what’s the saying? If something seems too good to be true, etcetera, etcetera.” The explanation was as vague as he could make it; Valentine was as sharp as a knife blade, and no one needed to know that he’d blundered so far as to kiss Princess Josefina.
“I’m a damn chaperone.”
“You—”
“Shay’s the diplomatic one. Why isn’t
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