Pride and Pleasure by Sylvia Day Read Free Book Online Page B

Martin’s fortune and settle his debt?”
    “Actually, it was Miss Martin who held my interest.”
    “Ah . . . I failed to collect that elusive bluestockings were to your taste.”
    “Paying clients are always to my taste.”
    “Interesting.” Westfield’s brows rose. “Why does Miss Martin require your services?”
    Jasper spurred his horse into motion. The earl followed suit.
    “What do you know of her and her kin?” Jasper asked.
    “The Tremaine brood is unquestionably an odd lot, which makes them fiendishly easy to gossip about. The males are known to be brilliant to the point of madness, and the females are blessed with that stunningly beautiful shade of hair. Miss Martin seems to have inherited a bit of both traits in addition to her sizeable fortune. As for her parents, Mr. Martin was a man of trade and Lady Georgina was known to be charming and vivacious. Although Miss Martin seems as indifferent to men as her mother was appreciative, I’ve wondered if a deeper resemblance between them is simply untapped. Intriguing to contemplate.”
    “Are you saying her mother was indiscriminate?”
    “Lady Georgina was known to have a fondness for the social company of men. Does that mean she took many to her bed?” Westfield shrugged. “I cannot say. However, she married Martin immediately following her presentation. She would have had her pick of peers, but instead jumped into matrimony with a commoner. Why, unless it was a love match? And if it was a love match, I doubt she would stray.”
    “What do you know of Mr. Martin?”
    “I know his death was shocking to many. He was said to have a vigorous constitution. He was built like a laborer and often pitched in as one when the opportunity presented itself. A servant found him dead in his office when he failed to appear for supper. A weak heart was blamed.”
    Jasper decided he would have to dig further back, before Eliza’s present-day suitors, to see if the trouble plaguing her had begun long before now.
    Westfield inclined his head at a passing acquaintance. “Many have speculated that the vagaries of the family he married into might have hastened him to his grave. His due, so to speak, for his lofty marital aspirations. After his passing, Lady Georgina married again, to another commoner.”
    A woman of high passions and a lack of prejudice. Did Eliza carry those inclinations? How delicious if she did . . .
    Jasper shook off the tangential thought. “Miss Martin has a stepfather?”
    “Had. Lady Georgina and Mr. Chilcott were killed together in a carriage accident before Miss Martin’s first Season. The poor girl has been sorely afflicted with tragedy.”
    Did she grieve? Jasper wondered. Had she always been so detached from others or was that a recently acquired safety mechanism?
    “Now tell me,” the earl said, “what has Miss Martin engaged you to do?”
    “She has cause to fear for her safety.”
    Westfield’s brows rose. “Truly? Who would want to injure her? She’s worth more alive than dead.”
    “She believes someone—perhaps an overzealous suitor—is trying to goad her into marriage as a means of protecting herself. I haven’t yet decided if she’s correct, but hearing about her parents’ untimely demise only incites further concern.”
    “How diverting,” the earl said. “Can I assist you in any way?”
    “I was hoping you would ask.” Jasper reached into his pocket and withdrew the small book containing Eliza’s social calendar. It was an unavoidable fact that there were some doors he needed a peer to open. “I must attend as many of these functions as possible.”
    The earl flipped through the small bound pages with one hand. “I see I will have to refrain from arranging a liaison tomorrow evening, so I can squire you about.”
    “I appreciate your sacrifice,” Jasper drawled.
    “I should hope so.” Westfield’s tone was droll. In truth, he enjoyed participating in Jasper’s work when the circumstances allowed. He