"It"s rumored to be a very high-quality crop." Shay made a note in the ledger book in front of him. "We paid three shillings eight last year."
"It"s coffee beans, Shay. Not gold dust. Four shillings. I doubt they"ll find a better price elsewhere. Let them look."
The middle Griffin brother nodded. "That"s all I have for now, then." Slowly he closed the ledger. "So are we ever going to discuss last night?"
Sebastian cleared his throat. "No, we are not. I was forced by duty to dance with a lunatic, and I did so. The end."
"But you were attracted to her; that was obvious."
"Was it?" he asked sharply.
"To me. To the family, I mean. Caro nearly slapped Zachary, his jaw was hanging open so far. No one else noticed a thing, I"m certain."
"She"s pretty." He stood, practically shoving Charlemagne out of the opposite chair and into the hallway. "And a lunatic. I find the combination at first glance intriguing, and at second glance horrific."
"All the same, Seb, it"s been a long-"
"Stop it," Sebastian interrupted. "I loved Charlotte. I still love her. With you and Zach and Eleanor married and procreating, and with Peep nearly eight, the Griffin bloodline is secure. That would be my only reason for pursuing anyone, and I"m grateful to all three of you for saving me from being placed in that position."
"Still, even if you aren"t interested in remarrying, there is still the fact that s.e.x is fun." Charlemagne made a face. "Not with the lunatic, I mean, but there are any number of-"
"Have I ever given the impression that I require your advice or a.s.sistance with anything regarding women?" For G.o.d"s sake, one slap from that...female and his own family thought he"d lost his ability to reason. He could only imagine what the rest of his peers must be thinking. And that, unfortunately, could be a problem.
"Of course not. But the thing is, you haven"t shown the slightest interest since Charlotte died."
"I believe that to be my affair. To you I"ll admit that Princess Josefina surprised me last night. From now on I"ll stay out of slapping range." Sebastian forced a smile. "And I won"t be sorry to see her gone, something which will hopefully come about sooner rather than later."
Shay spent another moment gazing at him. Sebastian didn"t know what he might be looking to see-regret? Evidence of prevarication?-but he wouldn"t see anything his older brother didn"t wish him to.
"Fine," Charlemagne finally said, walking down the hallway. "You"re the one who can read minds, not me. You can hardly blame us for wanting to see you happy, though."
"I am content," Sebastian returned diplomatically. "And at any rate, bedding a mad woman would not be conducive to my continued peace of mind."
"I"ll write Prask with our offer. I imagine he"ll accept it, since you"re right about the price."
"I"m always right."
As he walked Shay out the front door, he could feel the relative emptiness of Griffin House pushing against his shoulders. Peep was there, and servants aplenty, but it was a b.l.o.o.d.y large house for just Penelope and him to rattle around in.
"Melbourne?"
He started. "Apologies, Shay. What were you saying?"
"I just asked if you were still going to Almack"s tonight."
"Prinny sent a note asking me to escort the Costa Habichuela contingent there, so yes, I suppose I am. I had to cancel my visit to Vauxhall with Peep. Lord and Lady Bernard are taking her and Mary Haley."
"I wager it was a close choice, though, Lady Margaret Trent or Her Highness." Shay shot him a brief grin. "You might want to put on Great-grandfather Harold"s suit of armor before you go."
"I"ll consider it."
Chuckling, Shay clapped him on the shoulder and made his way down the front steps to his horse. A moment later he was gone down the street. Sebastian watched for a moment, then turned back inside.
"Any letters, Stanton?" he asked, as the butler closed the door behind him.
"Yes, Your Grace." Stanton lifted the salver off the foyer table. A pile of hand-delivered missives and invitations and calling cards awaited his attention. His secretary, Rivers, would have taken the business correspondence, which meant all of these here were social.
He scooped up the lot of them. "Thank you."
"Very good. And Your Grace? I was instructed to inform you that Lady Penelope requests an audience at your earliest convenience."
Sebastian grinned. "Where is she?"
"In the music room with Mrs. Beacham-and an unnamed friend."
"Unnamed?"
"At Lady Penelope"s request, Your Grace."
Dropping his correspondence off in his office, Sebastian climbed the stairs to the first floor. Even from the far end of the house and through the closed door he could hear the pianoforte. Either Peep"s playing had vastly improved since yesterday, or the unnamed friend was playing-and quite well.
"Please don"t let it be Lady Margaret Trent," he muttered, and pushed open the door. "You wanted to see me, P-" he began, and clamped his mouth shut.
His daughter danced a jig across the floor, but she wasn"t what caught his immediate, startled, attention. Sitting at the pianoforte, an easy smile on her face as her fingers flew nimbly across the keys, was her. The lunatic. Princess Josefina Embry. The low tug began again in his gut.
"Papa, look!" Peep gestured toward the instrument. "She"s a princess."
"Yes, I know. We"ve met." Belatedly he sketched a bow. "Your Highness."
Still playing, she inclined her head. "Melbourne."
"If I might ask," he said, sending an annoyed glance at Mrs. Beacham, "what are you doing in my music room?"
"I came to see you, actually."
"I saw her at the door," Peep took up, "and told her you were closeted with Uncle Shay. And then she said she was Princess Josefina, so I invited her to come listen while I took my music lesson. She grew up in Jamaica, and she knows pirate music."
"That"s not pirate music," Sebastian corrected. "It"s a sailor"s jig." He returned his gaze to the princess, aware that he didn"t like having her in his house-which was odd, considering the number of parliamentary members whom he personally detested but had welcomed in over a brandy simply to gain their support on some matter or another. "Where did a royal princess learn a jig, if I might ask?"
She finished with a flourish. "I wasn"t always a princess. My father was only granted Costa Habichuela and proclaimed rey by its people two years ago."
He took a step closer as she stood. She"d worn a white sprig muslin dotted with a rainbow of spring flowers, a green cross sewn onto the left sleeve. "And what were you before you became a princess?"
"The daughter of a much-decorated and well-beloved army colonel, and the granddaughter of a Venezuelan viceroy," she returned, lifting her chin. "What were you before you became a duke?"
"A duke"s son." And the Marquis of Halpern, but that didn"t signify at the moment. He knew the point she was attempting to make.
"Hm. So my father earned his royalty by acclaim, and you inherited your t.i.tle."
"And what did you do to gain yours, Your Highness?"
She sniffed. "And to think, I came here with the idea of asking for peace between us, and you only continue to insult me."
"Did you insult her, Papa?" Peep asked from beside Mrs. Beacham, where both had been watching the exchange, wide-eyed.
"Not until she slapped me."
"You hit my papa?" Peep exclaimed, her gray eyes narrowing. "He"s the Duke of Melbourne-the greatest man in England!"
Princess Josefina"s gaze hadn"t left his face. "England is a very small country, my dear."
"You-"
"Mrs. Beacham," Sebastian interrupted, "please remove Lady Penelope and yourself immediately."
The governess gave a hurried curtsy and pulled Peep to the door. "At once, Your Grace." As the door swung to behind them, he heard her continue. "And that is why we do not invite strangers into the house, young lady."
"But she said she was a prin-" The door clicked shut.
Sebastian took a deep, hopefully steadying breath. "Since you are unchaperoned, Your Highness, allow me to escort you outside. I will provide my coach for you if you wish, and then I will send a note to Prinny explaining that for personal reasons I must decline his offer of a position aiding your country"s government."
Considering that as head of the Griffin family he could probably buy and sell her little country, he expected a swift apology and a hasty retreat. Instead the princess stalked up to him, hands on her hips. "Good! I"m certain your Regent could find someone more qualified than you by looking in the nearest brothel!"
"Enough," he snarled, striding forward. She would stop insulting him.
Sebastian grabbed her by the shoulders. He yanked her forward. And then he kissed her.
He wasn"t delicate about it, either. The princess shoved against his chest, then groaned and swept her arms up behind his neck, tangling her fingers into his hair. G.o.d, her lips were soft and warm, melting against his. Heated arousal swirled down his spine. Holding her hard against his body, he nudged her mouth open with his tongue, tasting and plundering.
With another shuddering moan from her that had his c.o.c.k straining at his trousers, Princess Josefina abruptly pushed him away so hard that he stumbled. "Maldita sea!" she exclaimed, her gaze focused on his mouth. "What the devil do you think you"re doing?"
Christ, what was wrong with him? "It seemed the most effective way to shut you up," he panted, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth.
"You-for my father"s sake, I will say nothing of this," she managed, straightening the front of her gown and belatedly backing away from him. "You had best do the same."
"Don"t fret about that," he returned feelingly.
"But you now owe me a good turn," she stated.
"How is that?"
"You a.s.saulted me!"
"I did no such thing."
"Bah! My father has set an appointment to see Sir Henry Sparks today, and he asks that you join him at the Bank of England at three o"clock. I do not wish to have to tell him why you chose to decline, so I will expect you to be there, Duke." She retrieved her reticule from the seat of the pianoforte. "Is that clear?"
Ruthlessly he squelched his flaring desire. If he grabbed her again, he wouldn"t stop at a kiss. "Abundantly clear. I can only hope, however, that you will be elsewhere."
She stopped halfway to the music room door. "I go where I please. And no mere duke or one...amateurish kiss can convince me otherwise."
""Amateurish"?" he echoed, moving up behind her. "You knew it would happen. That"s why you came here in person instead of sending a note." Reaching past her, intentionally brushing her bare arm with his hand, he pulled open the door. "You"ve been attempting to seduce me since the moment we met."
"Mentiroso," she snapped. "Liar."
"Mm-hm. You wanted me to kiss you," he murmured into her ear, blocking her way with his shoulder. "You want me to do so again."
"I cannot be responsible for your flights of imagination, Melbourne. Now move aside."
He stepped sideways, letting her pa.s.s. Sebastian watched her hips sway as she descended the stairs. "Stanton, hire Her Highness a hack," he instructed. Whatever she was up to, it seemed to have something to do with connecting herself to him. He would therefore take steps to minimize that.
"Right away, Your Grace."
For a second she turned to stare back up at him, her brown eyes glinting. "Bah," she finally muttered, and stomped out the door behind the butler.
As he turned around he caught sight of another of the footmen, taking firewood into the drawing room. "John, when Stanton returns to his post, please inform him that I am not to be disturbed," he grunted, and clomped down the stairs to his office without waiting for an answer.
He"d thought that-well, he hadn"t thought at all, in the music room-once he kissed Josefina he would understand her nature, seductive and demure one moment, and a direct, confrontational force of nature the next, and be able to set her aside. After kissing her, though, the foremost thought in his mind was that he wanted to do so again. Badly.
Chapter 4.
J osefina lowered the magnifier and looked up at her father. "Are you certain Mr. Halloway hasn"t done this all his life?" she asked with a smile in the clerk"s direction. "Father always said you were a fine army clerk, but I believe legal doc.u.ments are your forte."
The clerk blushed. "Thank you, Your Highness. I"ve been studying English property law."
"It shows."
"We"ll have nearly a hundred of the bonds for our meeting this afternoon."
The clerk made a quick calculation on a piece of sc.r.a.p paper. "One hundred thirty-seven, by three o"clock, Your Majesty."
"Splendid."
Josefina took her father"s arm as they left the back rooms of Colonel Branbury"s house. "Who would have thought that making a country would require so much ink?"
He chuckled. "I never would have, if I hadn"t watched so many other movements rise and fall. It"s all well and good to declare independence from Spain and set up a government based on strong principles. But Spain has principles, as well, and even more importantly, they have an army."
"An army you"ve fought on numerous occasions."
"Under Diego Rivera and Simon Bolivar-who both have failed with nothing but principles and conviction to back them up. This is now my great project. And at the moment I have a personal guard and some poorly armed volunteers. It"s logical that we raise capital. I think the Bank of England will see that. Once Sir Henry Sparks accepts our proposal, his own people can take over the printing of the bonds, and our people can concentrate on stirring interest in buying them."