Beaufort Brides: Hired Bride Part 2

"Just on paper."

There was silence on the other end of the call as Brie obviously tried to process all of this. "What the h.e.l.l kind of girl agreed to this wacky plan?"

"Deanna Beaufort. Have you ever met her?"

"I don't think so. Does she have some kind of crazy grandma?"

"Yes, that's her."

"I've heard the grandma has all her dead lovers stuffed and kept in a gallery in their decrepit old house."

Mitch.e.l.l gave a huff of amus.e.m.e.nt. "That's nonsense. The grandmother is definitely out of touch with reality, but that's working in my favor. She's desperate to marry Deanna off to a rich man, so she jumped at this chance. It's going to work out well for both of us."

"But what about poor Deanna? She actually wants to marry you?"

"I don't think so, but she seems pretty spineless and will do whatever her grandmother wants."

"So she's being taken advantage of here? That's just great."

He cleared his throat, getting a little annoyed at how his sister was blowing it out of proportion. "She's not being sold off to the highest bidder. It's a business deal. It's just six months of her time, and they'll get to restore that monster of a house. The terms of the contract will be perfectly fair, and you don't think I'm going to be cruel to her or anything, do you?"

"Not intentionally, no."

"What is that supposed to mean?" He was starting to get offended now.

"It means you're not going to do anything to hurt her on purpose, but she may get hurt anyway. A marriage is different than a handshake, you know."

"It doesn't have to be. It's all just on paper, I've told you before."

"So you're not going to even live together."

He hesitated. "No, we'll have to, or Gina won't believe it's for real. We'll keep up appearances, but that's it. Her lifestyle with me will be more comfortable than the one she has now. What the h.e.l.l will she have to complain about?"

"And what if she wants more than being treated as some sort of paid escort?"

He made a growly sound in his throat. "She's not going to want more. I don't even think she likes me, if her expression is anything to go on."

"Oh, this just gets better and better."

"Would you stop?" His tone was a little sharp, since he was running out of patience. "It's just six months. I'll fix her up a room in my place exactly as she wants it. She'll only be obligated to be seen with me socially a limited amount. We don't have to interact otherwise. It will be fine."

"And she'll agree to all this?"

"We'll work it all out in a contract. No one will be taken advantage of. What kind of man do you think I am?"

Brie didn't answer right away, and when she did her tone was reluctant. "I think you're a man who's used to always getting what he wants without trying too hard. This feels like a shortcut to me, and I don't think it's a good idea. Someone is going to get hurt."

"No one is going to get hurt."

"I don't think the restaurant is worth all of this."

Mitch.e.l.l felt a chill run through him. "It is. You know it is."

"I know it means something to Mom, but she would never want you to-"

"She's never going to know what I did to make this happen. Promise me you won't tell her."

"Mitch.e.l.l-"

"Promise me."

Brie sighed audibly. "I promise I won't tell her. But she wouldn't want this."

"I swore we'd get the restaurant back before she dies, and I'll do whatever I need to do to make it happen. This marriage is nothing compared to that."

Brie sighed. "I hope you still think so six months from now."

Mitchel bit back a sharp response, since Brie always liked to have the last word. Having the last word never mattered much to him. It was easier to just let other people have it when they got like this, since it didn't make any difference to reality.

No matter what his sister said or thought, this marriage wasn't a big deal. Everything would be fine.

"When do you see her again?" Brie asked in a different tone, when he hadn't replied.

"I'm heading over to their house right now, just to work out some basic stuff. Then my lawyers can get on with drawing up the contract."

In the silence, it felt like Brie was shaking her head, but Mitch.e.l.l managed to ignore it.

He'd always been good with people. And he wouldn't have any trouble dealing with an eccentric, fortune-hunting old woman and a compliant young woman.

"I can't understand how this stupid room collects so much dust," Kelly grumbled, running a disposable duster over the surface of an antique console table in their parlour, on which were displayed about fifteen clocks from different eras of the family history. The parlour was the only room in the whole house that had nice furniture and freshly polished trim, so it was always the room used to see company. "Didn't we just dust it yesterday?"

Deanna shook her head, on her hands and knees, picking up the leaves that had been shed by the potted plant in one corner. "No. I think it was Wednesday, when Reverend Wilson came over."

She stood up, brus.h.i.+ng off her cotton skirt, and went to straighten up the nineteenth century dresses that were hanging on a display rack against one wall. "I guess it looks okay in here. The a.s.shole is going to look down at us anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Just close the curtains over the Pride. He doesn't need to see them, for sure."

Kelly reached over to pull the cord that drew thick velvet curtains across the long shelf on which the stuffed cats were displayed.

Deanna could just imagine Mitch.e.l.l's face if he saw the Pride in all their faded, creepy glory.

"Is everything prepared?" her grandmother said, striding into the room unexpectedly with a frown, wearing her best day dress-which was black and almost exactly like her others, except in a more expensive fabric.

"Yes. We straightened up. I don't think it matters much, though. He needs something from us, so we have the advantage here. Who cares if there's dust on the furniture or not?"

"All of it matters. This could change our entire fortune. You will be agreeable, won't you?"

Deanna let out a breath. "I'll try. But I'm only going to agree to reasonable terms."

"Naturally."

There was no "naturally" about it. There was nothing even remotely natural about this situation. But, somehow, Deanna had known something like this would happen eventually, and this was actually better than some of the nightmare marriages she'd imagined her grandmother engineering for her.

Mitch.e.l.l only needed this to happen for a very limited amount of time. Then they could go their separate ways. And she was pretty sure he would leave her alone for most of their marriage, which certainly wouldn't have been the case with someone like Morris Alfred Theobald III.

She would absolutely have to say no to a marriage with Morris and completely betray her grandmother in the process.

But this would be better. This might be doable. This might be a way of remaining loyal to her grandmother without completely ruining her life. It would be more like a business arrangement than anything else.

After all, it would only last six or eight months. How bad could something like that be?

The deep resonance of the front doorbell startled her out of the reflections.

He was here. She felt a little jump in her heart.

Her grandmother went to answer the door, and Kelly came over to stand beside her, pus.h.i.+ng her gla.s.ses up her nose. "This whole thing is insane. You know that, right?"

"I know. But what do you suggest I do?"

"You could say no."

"Yeah, but she would never get over it. At least he's better than Morris Alfred Theobald III."

Kelly snickered and then straightened up as Mitch.e.l.l and their grandmother entered the room.

He was certainly better looking than her other suitor. Deanna couldn't deny that.

He looked leisurely and masculine in khakis and a camp s.h.i.+rt. He hadn't bothered to dress up for them, but this didn't surprise Deanna. He definitely seemed like the kind of guy who didn't put himself out more than he had to.

He grinned at her, his smile compelling enough to make her breath hitch just slightly.

She didn't trust men this good-looking. Maybe it meant she was judgmental, but she just couldn't believe it was real.

She smiled back, though, since she felt her grandmother's wary eyes on her face.

They took their seats as her grandmother made a ceremony about pouring the lemonade for everyone.

Mitch.e.l.l was looking around at the stuffy, dated room and the multiple collections of memorabilia and clearly didn't have good thoughts about it.

He probably thought the whole lot of them were bizarre anachronisms. Deanna was used to that sort of thing, but it bothered her coming from him.

He was the one who had suddenly announced he was engaged to her. He had no right to judge anyone else's eccentricities.

She straightened her back and tried to keep a pa.s.sive expression, but she saw Mitch.e.l.l watching her and suspected she hadn't hidden her annoyance well enough.

It didn't matter. This was his deal. If he wanted to back out of it, he was the one who would be put out the most. Nothing would change about her life except her grandmother would be deeply disappointed.

Mitch.e.l.l smiled again, as he accepted the gla.s.s of lemonade. "Thank you. I know this whole situation is a little odd, but I think it might work out to both of our benefits."

He was stating the obvious, probably to open up the topic so this meeting wouldn't last longer than it had to.

That annoyed Deanna too. Her grandmother, as strange as she was, was trying to treat him well, and all he wanted to do was get out of here.

Her grandmother didn't reply until she'd finished handing the gla.s.ses of lemonade to Deanna and Kelly.

To fill the silence, Deanna said, "I understand you want to make the restaurant deal with the Fentons, but marriage seems a pretty dramatic step."

Mitch.e.l.l gave a half-shrug. "It's only dramatic if you care about marriage. I don't."

"You don't care about marriage?" Kelly asked, clearly surprised enough to break through her normal reserve with company.

"No. Why would I care? It's just something people do because they've been told to do it. It's a silly remnant from history. Why put that kind of pressure on yourself? People should be together when they want to be together-without all the shackles. To me, it's just a piece of paper, so this arrangement can be purely business. I only commit to temporary relations.h.i.+ps anyway. A six-month marriage works just fine for me."

He couldn't have said something more likely to offend to the traditional Beauforts if he'd been trying. Maybe he was.

Her grandmother just ignored it, though. The lemonade poured, she took her seat and said in a measured voice, "I am sure we can work out some sort of arrangement. As I said last night, we have been trying to restore this house and have found the funding...difficult."

Mitch.e.l.l nodded, obviously understanding the implication. "I would be happy to help with-" His words broke off as he gave a sudden loud sneeze. "Sorry," he said, blinking and sniffing afterwards. "I would be happy to help with the work on your house."

"It is substantial."

Mitchel nodded. "I can see that. I-" He sneezed again, this time wiping his eyes. "I'm sorry. Do you have cat?" He looked around the room warily, as if he suspected one was lurking.

Deanna met Kelly's eyes across the room, both of them thinking of the Pride, sitting silently in a row behind the curtain.

But their grandmother just raised her eyebrows and said coolly, "We no longer have pets in this house."

"Okay. Probably just pollen or something." He picked up the napkin that had been set down for his gla.s.s and used it to wipe his eyes and nose. "Anyway, I understand there's a lot to be done. I can arrange for a contractor to give an estimate and do the work."

"We would have to agree to it," Deanna said, thinking it might not be beyond him to arrange some sort of under-the-desk deal with a contractor that would leave them with shoddy work.

He gave her a slightly surprised look that was ruined when he sneezed again.

He was definitely allergic to cats. The Pride must be setting him off.

Deanna was about to suggest they move to a different room-even though the other rooms weren't as presentable as this one-when Mitch.e.l.l said, recovering from the sneeze. "Of course. And I'll have to ensure that only the necessary work is done. Also, I'm not going to mess with all this other clutter."

She sucked in an indignant breath. The a.s.shole was implying they were going to sneak more money out of him than they had to, as if all he owed them for their side of this ridiculous bargain was the bare minimum of their house. And he must be trying to insult them by referring to her grandmother's treasures as "clutter."

She decided not to suggest moving rooms. He could sit in the room with the Pride for a while longer.

He sneezed again, clearly becoming frustrated by the allergy attack. "My lawyers can work out the contract this weekend. Perhaps we can go over the details in a meeting on Monday. The only other thing we need to decide now is how long."

He was definitely impatient to get out of here.

Feeling a malicious spark that wasn't at all typical of her, Deanna looked toward her grandmother. "I don't know. What do you think, Grandmama?"

As she'd expected, the old lady hemmed and hawed for a while. "Good question. There would be various benefits to different timelines. Anywhere from four months to a year might be possible."