The Husband List -2 by Victoria Alexander Read Free Book Online

conveniently fails to note overlong noses or mottled complexions.” He refilled his glass and held the bottle out to Richard. “And when you’re not here you’re in the country trying to do something completely absurd like assist your tenants with harvesting—”
    “Planting at this time of year.” Richard removed several brushes from a glass, wondering vaguely if he didn’t have an actual snifter somewhere, dropped them on the table, then crossed the room and accepted the bottle.
    “Regardless. You’re in the fields or pouring over ledgers or trying to mend the roof of Shelbrooke Manor—”
    “Someone has to.” Richard shrugged and poured the brandy.
    “Yes, but that someone needn’t be you.” Thomas drew a deep breath. “Gillian can introduce your works—”
    “Toussaint’s works.”
    “ Your works to the people who could most benefit your career. Your paintings will be in demand. You could charge whatever you wish.” He aimed his glass at Richard. “And you’ll have the money to hire someone to fix the blasted roof or do anything else you want.”
    “Very well.”
    “Very well?” Thomas’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What do you mean, very well ? I’ve offered to involve Gillian before, but you’ve always rejected the idea in no uncertain terms. Why aren’t you objecting now? What are you up to, Richard?”
    “Not a thing. I’ve come to my senses, that’s all. You’re right: the Lady Gillian can be a great help to my endeavors.” What would Thomas say if he knew just how much of a help his sister really could be?
    “I’m right?” A slow grin spread across Thomas’s face. “Of course I am.”
    “So.” Richard pulled a long swallow of the brandy and tried not to compare it to the fine liquor he’d sampled last night. “Tell me about her, this sister of yours?”
    “Well... she’s a sister. You understand, you have sisters.” Thomas shrugged. “I don’t know exactly what to say. She’s quite smart and somewhat pretty, even at her age—”
    “Very pretty.”
    “Stubborn and strong-willed, but then, she’s an Effington.”
    “Why hasn’t she married again?” Richard asked as if the answer was of no importance.
    Thomas stared into his glass. “She loved Charles very much. Had loved him from the time she was a child. It was really quite impressive.” He looked up. “She was devastated when he died and not herself for a long time. My parents worried that she’d never be the same again.
    “She was, of course, eventually, although she is somewhat more reserved now than she was then.”
    Thomas shook his head. “One never knows what Gillian is thinking or feeling. At least I never do. Maybe her friends—”
    “Weston and Cummings?”
    Thomas nodded. “The three—four, including Charles—practically grew up together. I’ve often wondered if they’re among the reasons she hasn’t remarried.”
    Richard swirled the brandy in his hand, the pale amber coating the sides of the cheap glass. “I understand her husband had not yet inherited.”
    “Bloody piece of bad luck. She deserved better. She does receive an allowance from the family, but it’s not extensive. Mother frets that she won’t accept more. I don’t understand it myself. Gillian rarely speaks of it, but I suspect she would prefer not to take anything at all.”
    “I see,” Richard said quietly, remembering her passionate comments last night. Maybe Gillian was simply tired of her family’s charity. For whatever reasons, she obviously wanted this inheritance badly.
    “I should be on my way.” Thomas glanced at the new painting. “I gather this isn’t ready for me to take yet?”
    “Not quite. It should be completely dry by the end of the week. You can fetch it up then. I expect it to bring enough to pay the staff at Shelbrooke Manor, or what’s left of the staff, for a good three months.”
    “You could also invest in a new jacket.” The marquess cast a disdainful glance at the glass in his