Trouble at the Wedding by Laura Lee Guhrke Read Free Book Online Page A

The valet crossed the room to take his master’s place at the liquor cabinet, leaving Christian to resume his own seat.
    â€œYour visit intrigues me, Mr. Ransom, I confess,” he said as he sat down.
    â€œI hoped it would.” The lawyer paused a moment as if thinking out precisely what he wanted to say, then he went on, “As you already know, my niece is set to marry Lord Rumsford six days from now. I’m a pretty observant man, Your Grace, and from what I could tell last night, I think it’s safe to say that you and the earl aren’t exactly friends.”
    â€œPut it that way if you like,” Christian said cheerfully, leaning back in his seat. “You might also say we loathe each other to the core. That would be a less polite, but more precise description.”
    â€œThen you and I have something in common.”
    â€œIndeed?”
    Ransom plucked his glass of bourbon from the tray McIntyre presented to him and downed a hefty swallow. “I can’t stand him, either. Looking down his nose, giving me that little smirk every time I see him, acting like he’s doing us all a favor by marrying my niece. Goddamn, it gets my back up.” As if to demonstrate that point, he set his glass down on the table between them with enough force to rattle the tea things.
    â€œSo we agree that Rumsford is an ass,” Christian replied, reaching for his own glass. “Rum luck for you, since he’s about to become a member of your family. I fear your Christmas dinners will prove deuced awkward from now on.”
    â€œWhich is why I’m here. I think you might be just the person to help me avoid that calamity.”
    Christian hoped he was not about to be subjected to more matchmaking schemes, but to be on the safe side, his brain began crafting polite but emphatic statements about his aversion to matrimony. “While it would delight me to see Rumsford set down a notch or two, I don’t really see how I can assist you.”
    â€œI’m hoping you can stop her from marrying him.”
    He stared at the other man, astonished. “My good man, I’ve no cause to do so. If you somehow think I do, by breach of promise, or something along those lines, then you are quite mistaken. I’ve never even met Miss Wheaton, much less—”
    â€œI’ll pay you half a million dollars.”
    Christian nearly dropped his drink.
    Ransom had the good sense to stop talking and let the offer speak for itself. Christian took a hefty swallow of whiskey, calculated the exchange rate, and took another drink. “I’m listening. How could I not with that much money on the table?”
    â€œThe amount I’m willing to pay shows you just how desperate I’m getting. I’ve done everything I can think of, but it’s all been useless. Annabel just won’t see reason.”
    â€œIs she of age?”
    â€œShe’s twenty-five.”
    â€œOld enough to legally marry without your permission.”
    â€œYes. But per the terms of her daddy’s will, she doesn’t gain control of her money until she’s thirty, or until she marries. I’m one of her trustees, along with her stepfather, George Chumley, and another lawyer by the name of William Bentley. Two of the three trustees have to approve her marriage if she’s under thirty. Bentley knows he’d better stay on Annabel’s good side, unless he wants to be booted out after she’s married and in control of her own money. And Chumley just can’t bear to refuse his permission. He’s known Annabel since she was knee-high to a grasshopper, and he never could say no to that child, especially now he’s married to her mama. I’m the one holding out. I’ve tried to persuade Annabel to take more time and have a longer engagement, but the more I talk, the more she digs in her heels. Annabel can be mighty stubborn.”
    Studying the other man’s hard, determined