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"Is that what you call the away froers to bea better description"

"Oh, sod off, Thurborne, " she ed the dooropen

Chapter Eight

"Marryoaway"

Valoree grihed She supposed he had been encouragedby her pauseat openingthe door It wasn’t that she didn’t knohat to do It was that shecouldn’t believe how ossip There wereatleast thirtyof thees, shapes, and sizes If She hadrealizedhow easy getting them to her door would be, she neverwouldhave bothered withallthe nonsenseof dresses andtohavea chatwiththeappropriate parties, then sat backto await the arrival of every single malein London ished to h them and decide which was the weakest, and in the Daniel, she straightened her shoulders and addressed the waiting le one of you is heretoday because you heard the ru to marry to claim my childhood ho that statement when the men rumbled to life with denialsOh, no theyweren’t there because she needed tomarry!They werethere tobaskin her beautyToin her wit To enjoyher intellect

Valoreerolledhereyes "You can stop your nonsense now, "

she interrupted "You canall seethatI suffered a reaction tothe foundation and fucus I wore to yesterday’s ball There is no beautyto bask in AndIa particularly wittytoday eitherSoif you aren’there with an interest in me for my wealth, then you can leave now"

There was an uncomfortable silence as the men peered anywhere but at her Valoree supposed thesudden shifting and nervous silence were because thelords of the tonwere not used to suchopen honestyin regards tomotive She supposed they all wouldhavebeename where she pretended they all were ensnaredby her femininewiles, andthey pretended she found the creatures alive

Well, pirates did not goin much for lies! Their motives ealthandthey madeno bonesaboutit That was the society she’d learned to respect She had neither the patience nor the intent to lie her way through several weeks of courting, smothered by smarmy compliments thatweren’tsincere

Despite their discole man leftthe room Valoreenodded her headsolemnly, then said, "To inherit, my husband has to be a member of the nobility If youare not such, you eneral shiftingofbodies as first one man, then two others, made their way out of the crowd and moved past where she and Daniel stood by the door

Well, she thought, three down and twenty-seven to go "I onebymy twenty-fifth birthday - which is a little less than nine months away, " she continued There was dead silence in answer Valoree frowned slightlyShe hadhoped at least another oneor two ht be eliminated by thatThey couldn’t all be thrilled tobed her Just as she would have opened her

"LadyAinsley’s uncle will, of course, have you all thoroughly investigatedto discoverwhetheryou are truly members of the nobility Also, that you have not suffered any injury or illness that htraise some doubt as to your ability to perfor an heir, " he announced pleasantly A sudden ripple of alarroup Valoree watched ina suitors made a quick exodus

"All of them could not be unable to produce heirs, " she htly

"Nay Doubtless some of them werenot really nobility, but had hoped to be ableto convinceyou theywere long enough to trick you intoe Then, too, someof themmay have skeletons in their closets that they do notwish uncovered byyour uncle’s ’investigations’ "

Valoree nodded That madesense Notthat she hada problem with skeletons inone’scloset She had seventy-five of her own, every oneof thee Resigned, she eyed the twelvea presencebehind her, she glancedover her shoulderto see Henry standing there, his eyebrows raisedasthe dozen men left

"Bullsaidyou antin’ e "What happened to the restof ’em? "

"We weeded out the ones eren’t nobles, orable to father anheir, " Valoreeanswered, perusing the suitors that were leftAs she turned back, she thought she saw an odd glint in her quarter at Daniel

"What are ye going to do with the rest of ’em? " Thurborne asked

Valoree was silentfor a rimace on her face "I suppose Ishall have to spend some time with each to seewhichone would suit best"

"Or you could saveyourself the trouble and ain, andshe quickly moved to squash that notion

"I already know you would not suit She turned to Henry

"Take the room Schedule visits witheach of them sothat I can see what theyare about, Henry Ifork this right, we couldbe out ofthisstinking town by week’s end"

Nodding, her right-hand rooet ye names and schedule each ofye with an appointment to return, then ye can leave

Follow me"

Valoree and Daniel stood asideas the crowd vacatedher salon, each ive her sreesof a passion Each assured her they could not wait fortheir visitationShaking her head as shewatchedthe last man troop out thedoor, Valoree released abreath hat she told herself was satisfactionThere was not a single realthe bunch This endeavorto find aneasily subdued ht i to look si a kisstoherneck that madeher juh o’ that, it will, " she snapped, quashingthe shivers the briefcaresshadsentthrough her There wasatime for business anda time for fun afterall - andshe was still on business ti, " he said with a wicked s her stiff body against his own "I notice it tends to turn into soet excited" His hands slid down her backtoclasp her bottoainst hiether "Oddly enough, I findthatexcitesValoree at once, Thurborneleapedguiltily awayat his ht hihtly wry s in the kitchen, Mother? "

Beforeshe could respond, Meg appearedbehind her "Why, Lady Thurborne! What a pleasant surprise Zachariah said we hadco over the na across the hall, his face contorted with led embarrassment and displeasure

Zachariah? She hadn’t even knownthat that was his realname

God’steeth! It was no wonder he preferred to be called Bull