Free The Earl and His Virgin Countess by Dominique Eastwick

of walking, but more for effect. “This is not to be taken lightly. You must investigate how this lack of knowledge happened.”
    “I have already put my solicitors on it, but would request your help in the matter. It would appear Miranda’s brother is well aware of the agreement and has, over the last few years, increased the amount of the allowance required to maintain Miranda’s standard of living.”
    “Bollocks! The amount given to me to pay her bills has decreased.”
    “I assumed as much,” Andrew replied drily. Another nail in the already nearly sealed coffin against Miranda’s brother. Exhaling forcefully, he rubbed the tension from between his eyes. Lack of sleep, anger, and unsated sexual needs did not a clear mind make. “What can I do to help you?”
    “I ask you to call for her brother. I doubt if I do so he will come, but if you were to say his poor sister has decided to marry someone else….”
    Andrew rose and strode to the window behind him, staring out at the busy street below before turning back to look at Sarah.
    “That might get him here rather quickly.”
    “You intend to marry my niece?”
    His eyes never wavered from hers. “I am most earnest.”
    “And you, Miranda…you still wish to become his countess?”
    “More than anything in the world.”
    Sarah nodded, walked to the pull cord, without the use of the cane, and pulled once for a servant. “Very well. I want nothing more than to see Miranda happy, and, somehow, you have convinced her you are the man to do it. And the gentleman I see standing before me does indeed seem to be up for the job.”
    She wrote out a letter then sanded and sealed it before giving it to the footman. “See this placed in Daniel’s hands by nightfall. You can return with him on the morrow, though I suspect he will be leaving on horseback first thing in the morning.”
    Miranda shifted on the chaise. “Your plans, milord?”
    “I have sent one of my men to the church at Windenshire. He has a letter for the chaplain with directions to begin the reading of the banns on Sunday. As today is Thursday, there is no reason to believe Daniel will be there to hear them.”
    “I can’t believe Daniel would steal from you,” she said in a small, broken voice. Her fingers fidgeted with the lace on one of the pillows.
    “We haven’t discovered where the money went. If he has used it to make much-needed repairs, or to better the lives of your servants, I have no reason to care that he used the resources. If they were for more selfish reasons, I will be less able to look away.” Andrew crouched before her and grasped her hands in his. “He has taken a great deal of money from you. Not me. And he has created a situation where I might unwittingly have married another.”
    “But he is my brother.”
    “That is the only reason I am not on my way up there to smash his face with great force.” Unable to stand the sadness on her face, Andrew leaned forward and kissed her temple. “I promise to take into account your love for your sibling, no matter how misplaced it might be.”
    “Promise?” Her misty eyes met Andrew’s.
    “Promise. I just don’t have to like him.”
    “Fair enough.”
    The smile, though tentative, told him she trusted him to take care of the situation with care. Her happiness had suddenly became very much intertwined with his. Wolfe had told him when he’d met his fiancée, Wolfe had said almost immediately no other woman would compare. Yet, for Andrew and Miranda, it hadn’t been so simple. He had nearly walked out a couple of times, Miranda’s intense hostility and hate toward him palpable. After the incident in the maze, he never would have given her a second chance for a 1Night Stand liaison, had he known it was her. But once he had known the reason behind her feelings, he’d understood completely. She’d had years to build hostility and discontent with him, while he’d had less than twenty-four hours to reconcile his conflicted