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Dawning, or so he thought, lit his blue eyes. “Oh, so that’s it, eh? Well, Jess, as it happens, they are laying odds at White’s that he will come up to scratch before the month is out.”
She waved her hands about his face with some excitement. He brushed aside her offending hands as she said, “In truth, Pauly, are you certain?”
“’Course I am. Here, don’t say you didn’t realize that by now? Would have to be blind not to see that Sir Warren means to have you. Though I wish you didn’t want him—of all the men courting you, I wish he wouldn’t be your choice.”
Her smile vanished. “Sir Warren? Who said anything about Sir Warren?”
“Now, Jess, what fish then are we talking about?” He eyed her with new interest.
She laughed and gave his shoulder a mild rap. “What fish, indeed! That is no way to speak to a lady, sir.” She arched a brow at him and moved away.
“Which is precisely why I ain’t in the petticoat line,” he returned with feeling and a wide grin. “Though...one day...you never know.”
She opened her eyes wide. “Really...have you someone in mind?”
“No, have a few years yet left to me before I even look, but I am expected to marry and carry on the line, and I should like to do so with someone I fall in love with and who loves me in return.”
Jessie threw her arms around him. “Oh yes. I hope for that for both of us.”
“So, are you saying you won’t have Sir Warren?” he asked curiously.
“No...no, I will not, and hope to avoid him whenever possible,” she answered firmly.
“Good, as I said, I don’t think he is the right choice for you,” Pauly answered on a frown.
She stared, and had it been any other man but Pauly, he would have fallen into her dark violet eyes. “You always have a reason for your likes and dislikes. You don’t like Sir Warren. I am curious as to why?”
“Well, can’t really pinpoint it for you, Jess. You know Sir Warren and I don’t really travel in the same circles...as he is older and...well, let us leave it at that.”
“Older than you, but certainly not more than eight and twenty,” Jessie returned. “I think you like Rodrigo, and he is about the same age as Sir Warren.”
“Right you are. I do like Don Rodrigo, and if he were to come up to scratch, I wouldn’t mind that at all. Visit you both in Argentina...yes, I would,” Pauly said with enthusiasm.
Jessie’s face fell and she said somberly, “Well, that will never happen. He is not in love with me.”
Pauly eyed her because he wasn’t blind, and he had seen she seemed to have a partiality for Rodrigo’s company.
“Well...enough of that. Why don’t you like Sir Warren?” he asked to divert her.
“Hmm, I don’t like him because his flirtation is...too aggressive, but some of my friends find him most charming.” Jessie frowned over this.
“Aye, I can see that the ladies might think him a catch. He was something of a rakehell before he set his sights on you. I do know he means to put his estates in order and give up the untidy life. Got that from gossip at White’s.”
“Ah, so that is why he is courting me...money,” Jessie said with disgust.
“I never said that. He seems genuinely taken with you, but his estates are to let, and you are an heiress. ‘Tis why your uncle doesn’t approve of him.”
“Doesn’t he? Uncle has been so busy lately, I haven’t seen much of him,” Jessie mused, and added, “so then, I do think he is lusting after my fortune and not my body or heart.”
As she had intended shocking her friend, she burst out laughing at his expression. He wagged a finger at her. “Jessie, talk like that is precisely why Gerty thinks you wild beyond saving.”
Jessie smacked his arm. “Did she say that, really?”
“She did, but I would hear none of it and walked out,” Pauly said with feeling.
“Oh, Pauly, now all is really forgiven, you dear boy,” she said, and linked her arm through his. “There is only one solution to my problem. I won’t have any of the fortune hunters out there because I mean to have you!”
He backed away from her in horror. “Jessica!”
