Free A Marriageable Miss by DOROTHY ELBURY Page A

prepared to go along with what you suggest, ma’am. Shall we say for a period of two or three weeks, perhaps?’
    The countess threw up her hands in astonishment. ‘ Two or three weeks, child! If we are to make any sort of an impact, it will require two months, at the very least!’
    ‘I had not intended that I should make an impact, your ladyship,’ replied Helena, dismayed. ‘I assure you that I would be perfectly content to attend the occasional assembly and, possibly, a couple of visits to the theatre.’
    ‘That might satisfy you, miss,’ countered the dowager, with some asperity, ‘but it would hardly serve our purpose. For this scheme to have any effect, you and Markfield will need to be seen together everywhere—at the opera house, in the park, at Almack’s—in fact, at any worthwhile social function to which I can procure an invite. Make no mistake, my gel, entry into society is by no means as simple as you seem to suppose!’
    ‘I had not supposed it to be simple, ma’am,’ protested Helena, growing more and more apprehensive by the minute. What had started out as a straightforward ploy to protect her father from unnecessary stress was beginning to turn into a predicament of a rather different nature. With the strings of control now firmly in the countess’s hands, Helena was conscious that it would take a good deal of ingenuity on her part to find a way to extricate herself from this entanglement.
    ‘And if Lord Markfield does not agree?’ she ventured, clutching at straws.
    ‘With what might I not agree?’
    With a guilty start, Helena spun round to see Markfield himself crossing the room. Uncomfortably aware that she had now entered into yet another pact, a faint flush spread across her cheeks. Would Lady Isobel divulge the details of their recent conversation to her grandson, she wondered but, more to the point, would he let slip that the scheme to which he had already given his agreement committed him to a far shorter duration than that which the dowager was demanding? Crossing her fingers, she forced a smile.
    ‘Her ladyship has been making some suggestions as to how we might proceed,’ she said lightly, turning again to the countess. ‘Perhaps you would care to elaborate, ma’am?’
    ‘Mere details,’ replied the dowager, shrugging diffidently. ‘However, it has just this minute occurred to me that, had I chosen to keep up my acquaintance with the Ashingtons, Miss Wheatley’s mother, Louisa—who, you must remember, was a peeress in her own right—could well have been my goddaughter. Since it is highly improbable that there is still anyone around who might be likely to dispute this point, I believe that this is the story we should put about.’
    He frowned. ‘Surely a good many of your acquaintances may well wonder why this fact has never come to light before?’
    Lady Isobel glared at him and pursed her lips. ‘Do stop being so difficult, Richard!’ she retorted. ‘You really cannot expect someone of my advanced age to keep a track of every one of her numerous godchildren! It was only when Miss Wheatley’s name was drawn to my attention that I recalled the connection. That this should have occurred at the same time as you succeeded to the title is pure coincidence.’
    For one moment, Helena wondered if she could have misunderstood the countess’s words for, if she had not, it would appear that her ladyship was already well into the process of believing her own fabrication. Stifling a smile, she could not resist glancing up at Markfield, in order to gauge his reaction to his grandmother’s performance. To her astonishment, the earl, too, seemed to be having some difficulty in controlling his own mirth.But then, as he caught her eye on him, he winked and gave her a quick grin, causing a sudden quiver of agitation to cascade through her. Blushing, she dropped her eyes and tried to concentrate on the countess’s continuing remarks.
    ‘In any event,’ her ladyship was saying,