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“Sir James wished to know if you could meet with him today at half past two,” the messenger said politely.

  “Half past two?” Thea consulted the clock on the mantel over the hearth. It had been Boyd’s mother’s and was the nicest thing she owned. It was already one. “Yes, of course I can.” She reached for her reticule and pulled out a coin to tip the man.

  The messenger smiled as he saw her open her purse, a smile that turned brittle at the small amount she placed in his palm. She knew what he was thinking, but she didn’t care. She must watch every penny.

  “I shall return to him with your acceptance.” The messenger bowed and was on his way.

  Thea shut the door. For a second, she allowed herself a moment’s relief over the letter not being from her brother—and then she danced a little jig. Christopher started dancing with her, his worry giving way to a huge smile.

  “What was in the letter, Mother?” Jonathan asked, too dignified to join in their little party.

  She knelt down to the level of her two handsome sons. “A chance to earn the money we need for your school fees.” She wrapped her arms around them and gave them both a big hug. “I was so worried, but God does provide.” Yes, yes, yes. She’d been living on what God provided ever since Boyd had abandoned them in Manchester right after Christopher was born.

  “Do I still have the interview with the school next month?” Jonathan asked.

  “Yes,” Thea said, “and you shall do very well. Westminster will be happy to have you. But first, I must see Sir James.” She was on her feet in a blink, her mind a flurry of activity.

  She needed someone to watch her sons while she was out. She ran up the hallway stairs to Mrs. Hadley’s door. Mrs. Gray, Mrs. Hadley’s sister by marriage, answered. She’d only arrived last week, and Thea didn’t know very much about her except that her late husband had been a country vicar. She was a petite woman with a comfortable bosom and sad brown eyes.

  “I am looking for Mrs. Hadley,” Thea said.

  “Oh, she is off to care for my brother at the hospital,” Mrs. Gray replied. “You know how it is in those places. If your family doesn’t see to your care, you can rot.” Mr. Hadley suffered from consumption. Thea had been relieved when he’d been taken to the London Hospital, away from her boys, with his coughing and hacking.

  “This is sad news,” Thea said. “I wanted to ask her to watch my sons while I ran an errand. Mrs. Hadley is usually home by now.”

  “I don’t know what has been keeping her, but if it is help you need, I’ll watch your boys for you,” Mrs. Gray volunteered.

  Thea’s first instinct was to refuse the kind offer. She hated leaving her sons alone at any time and was very particular about whom she asked for help.

  However, this was a special circumstance.

  “Are you certain it wouldn’t be a bother?” Thea asked. “I dislike imposing.”

  “No trouble at all. I’ve seen your lads walking with you. They seem to be good boys.”

  She had such a soft, melodic voice and grandmotherly way—and Thea really didn’t have another choice. Not on such short notice.

  “Thank you,” Thea said, meaning the words. “I must change my dress, but if you could come down in ten minutes?”

  “Of course I will.”

  Thea didn’t waste another moment. She flew down the stairs, changed her into her best dress, a cambric gown in a brown with a reddish tint, then donned a very plain poke bonnet and dark green pelisse. Within ten minutes, convinced she looked every inch the part of a sensible matchmaker, Thea set off for Sir James’s offices on Beatty Street.

  Thea actually arrived a few minutes early for the interview.

  The law offices of Sir James Smiley, Esq., consisted of two rooms. Sir James’s clerk sat at a desk in the first room. At her entrance, he jumped to his feet. He was all of seventeen, with a slender frame and straight blonde hair parted to one side. He pushed his spectacles up his nose. “Mrs. Martin? Sir James is waiting for you.”

  Thea always used her married name. She never even thought of herself as Lady Thea, which had really been nothing more than a courtesy title, since she was the daughter of a duke. In truth, a true lady would never style herself above her husband, and at this point in her life, Thea was concerned about what was honest and real over “courtesy.” After all, her ducal father had disowned her, and, as Mrs. Martin, she was determined to stand on her own two feet . . . no matter how wobbly she felt doing so at times.

  “I hope I’m not too late?” Thea said, nerves making her sound a bit breathless.

  “You are right on time,” the clerk assured her. “One moment, please.” He crossed to the room’s other door, gave a knock and opened it. “Sir James, Mrs. Martin has arrived.”

  “Send her in, send her in,” a hearty male voice ordered.

  The secretary held open the door. “Mrs. Martin,” he announced, ushering her forward with a small sweep of his hand.

  Her heart pounding in her ears, Thea crossed into the other room.

  Sir James’s book-lined office was the typical sort one would expect from a solicitor. The desk was huge and covered with neatly stacked papers, the ink-and-quill stand was solid silver, and there was a side table for the wig stand that held the curled peruke of his profession. Two comfortable wooden chairs were arranged in front of the desk.

  “Come in, come in,” Sir James said in greeting as he walked around the desk to welcome her.

  He was a robust man with flinty blue eyes, a hawkish nose and an air that proclaimed him no one’s fool. “I’ve heard much about you, Mrs. Martin, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Please, have a chair.”

  Thea sat on the edge of the offered chair, holding her reticule in her lap with both gloved hands. Sir James took his seat behind his desk.

  He smiled at her.

  She smiled back, very nervous.

  “I suppose you are wondering why I requested this interview?” he asked.

  “You mentioned my assistance to Mr. Goodfellow,” she murmured.

  “I’m his uncle, and only one as familiar as I was with the situation can truly appreciate the miracle you wrought. All of us in the family adore his wife, Emma. How you managed to convince her to marry him is beyond our understanding, but we are thankful you did. In fact, his mother, my sister, has suggested I should think about seeking your services. She claims I’m too old to continue bachelor ways, but I am not ready to hand over my freedom yet. By the way, did you hear that Peter and his wife are expecting their first child?” Sir James asked. “One can hope the child looks more like Emma than Peter.” He paused before adding thoughtfully, “You know, Emma seems to love him. She sees the better qualities in him.”

  And finding a suitable husband without the aid of even a modest dowry meant Emma had little choice in husbands Thea could have added, but didn’t. “How wonderful for them.”

  “Yes, and when one of my clients mentioned he wished to find a wife to meet his most unusual specifications, I thought of you.”

  “Thank you,” Thea said. She prayed this wasn’t going to be a task as difficult as Peter Goodfellow had been. “But exactly what is the gentleman looking for in a wife?”

  Instead of answering, the lawyer straightened in his chair, listening.

  Male voices came from the other room, one the clerk’s and the other a deep, well-modulated tone. Sir James smiled. “I’ll let him tell you himself. I believe you will be pleased. He won’t be as challenging a case as my nephew.” He rose and crossed the room, throwing open the door. “My lord,” he said in greeting. “Good of you to join us.”

  “She’s here?” his lordship said.

  Thea came to her feet. She caught a glimpse of the gentleman but could not see his face from this angle. She had the impression he was taller than Sir James, and that was good. Women liked tall men.

  “Yes, she i
s, and very interested in meeting you,” Sir James said.

  “I don’t know,” the gentleman said, doubt filling his voice.

  “Speak to her. See what you think,” Sir James said. He stepped aside to let the gentleman enter the room first.

  Thea caught her breath in anticipation, silently praying this man was not an unfortunate-looking soul like Peter Goodfellow. After all, there was usually something wrong with all of her charges, else they wouldn’t need her guidance—

  Her breath left her with a small exclamation of surprise.

  He wasn’t her usual charge.

  This man was everything a young lord should be. He was tall, taller than most, with square shoulders and no sign of belly bulge or flabby calves. Strong legs were encased in buff-colored breeches and shining, tall black boots. He was handsome. Slashing black brows, a resolute jaw, blue eyes that seemed to look right into a person. The material of his bottle green jacket was of the finest wool and molded to his shoulders in such a way that she knew he did not need padding.

  Indeed, there was so much masculine energy about him that most women would find it hard to breathe, let alone think, in his presence. Thea was no exception. Her mind had come to an abrupt halt. She couldn’t think, couldn’t speak, couldn’t do anything but stare, and not out of admiration . . . but from the shock of recognition.

  Before her stood the wealthy, reclusive Neal Chattan, Lord Lyon—the most eligible bachelor in society, and a man who had once been her closest confidant until he’d rudely rejected her friendship.

  “Mrs. Martin,” Sir James said with the eagerness of someone very pleased with himself, “this is Lord Lyon.” He shut the door behind him and came into the room. “My lord, may I present to you Mrs. Martin, the matchmaker I’ve suggested you enlist.”

  Neal appeared to be having his own bout of mind-numbing recollection. He didn’t react to Sir James’s introduction but stared at Thea with an unnerving intensity.

  Or, perhaps, age had made his expression intense. She wouldn’t know. Their paths hadn’t crossed in close to fourteen years.

  But he was here before her now.

  She straightened her back and lifted her chin, keeping both hands on her reticule for balance, for support. “My lord.” She almost choked on the words. She’d heard his father had died several years ago, knew that he’d ascended to the title.

  “Mrs. Martin?” He moved a step away, as if uncertain.

  His movement allowed her to take two paces opposite his. “I married,” she said.

  “Apparently.”

  Sir James looked at Thea, looked at Lord Lyon, and then back at her. The welcoming smile left his face, replaced by uncertainty. “Do you two know each other?”

  “Barely,” Thea replied crisply even as Lord Lyon barked, “Hardly.”

  The twin words lingered in the air, followed by a beat of heavy silence, and Thea couldn’t help but remember their childhood days together, back when her father had always banished his children to the countryside, where the favored sons had been encouraged to hunt and fish, and the girls had been left to sew samplers. Thea had escaped the house back then and come across Neal, who’d been just as lonely as herself.

  Lord Lyon must have been thinking along the same lines. “I knew her when she was Lady Thea,” he told Sir James. There was an accusatory tone to his voice that Thea did not like.

  Sir James dismissed this bit of information with a wave of his hand. “Yes, yes, we all know she is the duke of Duruset’s daughter. You needn’t worry about the current Duruset’s opinion, my lord. His father disowned her when she married. The current duke has stated publicly he won’t have anything to do with her.”

  Lord Lyon frowned. “Is that true?” he demanded of Thea.

  She was not pleased to have her business bandied about, yet she was also proudly defiant. “It must be,” she said. “Sir James wrote the letter from my father cutting me off.”

  “Bad bit of business it was,” Sir James said, moving around his desk to his chair. “Never enjoy those sorts of things, and I admit I’ve been doing what I can to help her out. She’s widowed now. The marriage is done, but she is developing a very respectable reputation at putting the right sort of people together. She helped immeasurably with Peter, and you know we fretted of ever marrying him off. Considering your unusual desires for a wife, you’d be wise to listen to her.”

  “Perhaps his lordship would not care to work with me,” Thea suggested stiffly.

  “Perhaps,” Sir James echoed. He stood behind his desk now, his fingers resting on its polished surface. “Will you sit down and discuss the matter with her, Lyon? Or shall I toss her out?” He said this last with the familiarity of one who knew his customer.

  Lord Lyon shifted his weight as if in indecision, and then he shrugged. “Very well, she may try. I suppose it doesn’t matter who I use as long as she is effective.”

  “I believe you will be pleased,” Sir James said. He smiled. “Perhaps someday I shall use her myself. Like you, I must marry sooner or later. Will you sit, Mrs. Martin?”

  Thea had the urge to run from the room, but then she thought of her sons, of her looming plans for Jonathan’s education. Lyon was rich. “I shall stay, but it will cost you a pretty penny, my lord,” she said, wanting to give him a bit of his own arrogance back. “My services are not inexpensive.”

  “I can’t imagine they would be,” Lord Lyon replied. “In fact, if you find the wife I am looking for, I’ll triple whatever your commission is.”

  Thea sat.

  Lord Lyon took his seat.

  “Now isn’t this better?” Sir James said brightly, taking his own chair.

  Thea forced a smile. Neal remained stony-faced.

  She decided to really tweak Lyon’s nose and take charge. “Sir James said you have particular qualities you are looking for in a wife. Please tell me what they are?”

  He shifted in his chair, crossed his arms and his legs, not looking at her.

  “Do you wish her to have blonde hair?” Thea queried in a pert, businesslike voice—one that she knew would needle him. “Or a brunette? Do you like voluptuous women? Or perhaps a more slender version?”

  Lord Lyon looked to Sir James. “This is uncomfortable.”

  “They are reasonable questions, Lyon,” Sir James said. “If she is to search for a wife for you, then she must know.”

  “Or,” Thea said, “you could head out on the Marriage Mart and look for yourself.” The “Marriage Mart” was the name given to the round of social parties and engagements during the season when Parliament was in session. Many a match had been made at these events.

  “I don’t want to do that,” he said, still not making eye contact with her.

  A memory came to her of the two of them sitting on the same rock beside a running stream, their secret place. She’d been what? Fourteen? He must have been sixteen. She saw them, their heads together, laughing, drawing courage from each other. Their friendship had helped make her world sane, and then the next day, she’d escaped to meet him again as they had done every morning for the past month or more, and he hadn’t been there. She’d visited the site every day for the rest of her summer, and he’d never showed again.

  No warning, no explanation . . . and then, in the fall, she’d heard that he’d left for school and she’d stopped searching for him. She’d not seen him again until this moment.

  “Then I shall need to know what you are looking for if I am to sift through the large number of women who would be very pleased to marry a wealthy, well-respected nobleman.” She heard herself sounding like a society matron planning a party. She liked the tone. It was distant and didn’t convey the turbulence of her own emotions.

  His jaw hardened.

  When he didn’t speak, Sir James prompted him once again. “Lyon, what are you looking for in a wife?”

  H
is lordship stirred himself then to sit up. He answered, still addressing himself to Sir James, his voice low, almost inaudible. “Good family.”

  How original, Thea wanted to say. Instead, she said, “Absolutely. And other qualities?”

  There was a beat of silence. Thea felt her disdain for this man growing. After the confidences they had shared, how could he sit beside her as if they were strangers? How could he be so bloody cold?

  “I don’t want a cold woman,” he said, as if he’d divined her thoughts. “My mother was cold. Some say I am as well.”

  But he didn’t used to be. A wave of sadness swept away her disdain.

  “Good with children,” he continued. “Our children must be her priority.”

  Something that hadn’t been true about his mother.

  Thea resisted the urge to place a comforting hand upon his arm. If Neal hadn’t valued their friendship, he certainly wouldn’t want her pity now.

  “And she must be someone I cannot like,” he said. “Admired by others . . . but I must not like her.”

  Warm thoughts of him vanished from Thea’s mind. “You don’t want to ‘like’ the woman who will be your wife?”

  At last he faced her, his features set. “No.”

  “My lord, that is a ludicrous, irresponsible position.” The words had just burst out of her, carried by her previous disappointments in him.

  Apparently, few talked to Lord Lyon in such a direct manner. Sir James’s mouth dropped open.

  His lordship sat up even taller. “I find it very responsible.”

  “Then you are deceiving yourself,” Thea said. She’d gone this far, she might as well go further. “Not all marriages can be built on love, but those are the best. At the very least there should be the compatibility of admiration and respect. Of liking the person you take a vow before God to cherish and honor.”

  “That is your opinion. It is not mine.”

  Thea looked into his eyes and saw a stranger. “Whatever happened to that boy I once knew who believed in friendship?” she said. “That lad whose confidences I valued and whose opinion I trusted?”