Married to the Viscount Read Free Page A

lord,” Evelina broke in, “Nathaniel told me and Mama all about his recent visit to America, but we haven’t heard a word from you about it.”
    Spencer regarded the girl with surprise. The polite Evelina rarely interrupted anyone, much less a woman of Lady Brumley’s standing. Perhaps she wasn’t as oblivious to the situation as he’d thought.
    When everyone else turned their attention to her, Evelina flushed, but kept her eyes on Spencer. “I know you didn’t spend as much time there as Nathaniel, but how did you like it? He seemed to enjoy it quite a lot. He spoke highly of the Mercers and was very impressed with Dr. Mercer’s Medicinal Mead.” She smiled at her listeners. “That’s the doctor’s tonic for indigestion and other ailments. Dr. Mercer’s company produces it.”
    “Never heard of it,” Lady Brumley put in. “And you can be sure I know all the tonics for indigestion.”
    “It sells only in America right now, my lady.” Evelina served herself asparagus with shaky hands. “But Nathaniel thinks it could sell quite well here. So in exchange for part ownership in the company, Nathaniel is promoting the tonic in England.”
    Spencer hadn’t known what Nat was planning. What else had his brother not told him?
    Lady Brumley shot Spencer a reproachful look. “Have you gone mad, my lord? Why would you allow your brother to pursue some wild scheme—”
    “But it’s not,” Evelina put in hastily. “Nathaniel believes this Mercer fellow’s enterprise is a worthy one. His lordship does, too—he’s agreed to invest in it himself.”
    “Really, Ravenswood?” Lady Brumley asked. “You’re encouraging this idiocy?”
    “I’m always eager for a good investment.” But Nat hadn’t actually asked him for any money yet, and Spencer only half remembered the drunken night when he’d agreed to invest. “In the brief time I had to observe Mercer’s company, it seemed sound.”
    “Nathaniel is determined to make a go of it,” Evelina said. “He has his own stake in the firm, you see.”
    Yes. Nat had apparently done the impossible, because upon his return to England he’d assured Spencer that old Josiah had relented and made him a partner.
    “Of course,” Evelina went on, “he does have to share the company with the physician’s daughter. But that’s all right, since Miss Mercer is the one who concocts all the medicines. So he needs her anyway.”
    Abigail Mercer. Damn, Spencer might have forgotten theAmerican woman for a few hours, but he’d needed only a mention of her to summon Miss Mercer’s image anew—her bright flash of a smile, teasing green eyes, sun-kissed skin. Why couldn’t he suppress that picture? He’d known her only two weeks, yet she’d plagued his thoughts for months since.
    “So Nat…er…told you about Miss Mercer?” Spencer ate a forkful of squab pie. What could Nat possibly have said that wouldn’t have made Evelina jealous?
    “Oh, yes,” Evelina answered. “Poor thing, to lose her mother so young, then have to face losing her father, too. And still unmarried at twenty-six! She’s unlikely to find a husband even after her father dies. Nathaniel says she’s dark and plain as a crow.”
    Spencer nearly choked. When had Nat become as adept at lying as his older brother? “I believe that Miss Mercer’s spinsterhood wasn’t the result so much of her looks as of her situation.”
    “Oh?” Evelina said with interest.
    “Her father was ill for many years. As she is his only child, his care fell to her, which allowed her little time for the usual courting.” Not to mention that some gentlemen probably objected to her mixed blood. “But I expect she’ll find a husband eventually. She’s an amiable woman with a good—”
    He stopped short. All the women at the table were eyeing him now with rampant curiosity. Bloody hell. He usually knew not to say anything that set matchmaking females to speculating. But Nat’s mysterious disappearance had put him off