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“You will see what done? Say the words, my boy.”
“I will have Jane come to visit you.”
“When?”
“She will be here by next week,” he said with the comfort of a man assured of his own consequences in the world. He had money. Too much of it. He would see that a most suitable lady named Jane would meet his grandmother soon.
The shock in his grandmother’s eyes deepened. Had she suspected he made up this entire business about forming an attachment? She reached up to grip his hand with more strength than he thought possible of her and smiled. That smile was everything to Phineas. He had not seen it in weeks. It was the sunshine peeking from behind bloated clouds after a terrible, cold storm. He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to it, a reassurance and promise that he would keep his oath.
His grandmother relaxed into the bed and closed her eyes. Phineas stood and walked from the room to return to town post-haste. He went into the drawing room where the family physician was leaving after conferring with the countess, his mother.
“A word, Dr. Greaves. In my library.”
His mother stood. “I am about to visit your grandmother to see if she is up for a spot of reading. You may have the room.”
“Remember not to visit too long with her ladyship,” Dr. Greaves cautioned.
Phineas turned to the man at the closing of the door and indicated for him to sit in a chair. “I thought the report on Lady Wyndham to be good.”
“There has been no marked improvement, my lord,” the doctor replied, sitting in a high wingback chair.
“There is a matter I wish to discuss with her, but I have some concern about how it might impact her. I would value your opinion and discretion on this, Dr. Greaves.”
The man’s bushy brows furrowed and light blue eyes slightly widened. “And what matter is this, your lordship.”
“I have no fiancée, and I would like to inform her of it.”
The doctor closed his eyes briefly, and a heavy sigh left him. “I would not advise it, my lord. Lady Wyndham must not suffer any such disappointment or any sort of excitement in the coming weeks. Her heart…” He grimaced. “I fear her heart might not withstand such a blow. Her ladyship’s constitution is not as it once was. I am afraid only a sense of contentment might serve to assist her in the coming weeks.”
“Are you saying my grandmother only has weeks to live, Dr. Greaves?” Phineas asked, his gut tying itself into brutal knots.
“I am but a physician, your lordship. I do not know the date for the precise demise of anyone. But I am almost certain her ladyship can live much longer if her sensibilities do not suffer any shock or disappointment. I suggest, my lord, now is not the time to advise her ladyship that there is, err…there is no engagement.”
Bloody hell. Phineas scrubbed a hand over his face and stood. “Understood, doctor.”
Dr. Greaves rose, dipped into a bow, and departed the manor.
It was inescapable. He had a potential fake fiancée to find. He mentally wrote down his checklist and called for his horse to be readied.
She must be a plain Jane.
She must understand this is a purely business transaction.
She must understand nanna must never know she is a pretend fiancée.
And most importantly…
She must understand that there will be some kisses.
Phineas frowned. Where would he find a lady to agree to this sort of scandalous arrangement? Still, what was a pretend engagement without kisses and mild flirtation? Especially under the eagle eyes of his discerning grandmother. To London he would go immediately.
He had a bride to find.
CHAPTERTHREE
The ballroom was tightly packed with all the popular ladies and gentlemen in their fineries. Music, laughter, and chatter pulsed around Felicity, and as she stood by the sidelines, she hated that she had attended tonight. There was simply no use for her to attend balls. No one ever asked her to dance, and though she loved music, it was starting to feel like a chore to attend a ball knowing nothing exciting would happen. A deep ache whispered through Felicity.
Why had she allowed Lady Charity, the new Countess of Ralston, and a dear friend to persuade her to come? Glaring down at the glass of champagne clasped in her hand, Felicity snorted in a most unladylike fashion.
