“Rest assured, ma’am, that there is not the slightest possibility of your enjoying the possession of that particular fortune or title!” said Ravenscar unpleasantly.
“My dear sir, you underrate my intelligence, believe me!” said Miss Grantham, softly chiding. “You would not have offered me money had it been possible to detach Adrian from me by any other means. You are quite in my power, you know.”
“If you refuse my terms, you will discover your mistake!” said Ravenscar, anger hardening his voice.
“Nonsense!” said Miss Grantham coolly. “Do, I beg of you, be reasonable, sir! You cannot, I am persuaded, think me so big a fool as to let such an advantageous marriage slip through my fingers for the sake of a mere ten thousand pounds!”
“How old are you?” he demanded.
“I am twenty-five, Mr Ravenscar.”
“You would do well to accept my offer. Nothing but unhappiness could be the sequel to your marriage with a boy barely out of his tutor’s hands. Think this over carefully, Miss Grantham! Adrian’s calf-love will not endure, I assure you.”
“It is very possible,” she acknowledged. “But I do not anticipate that it will wane within the next two months. I shall be at such pains, you see, to keep it alive.”
She had the satisfaction of knowing that she had succeeded in putting him in a rage. A muscle twitched at the corner of his mouth; she thought the expression in his eyes quite murderous, and wondered indeed if her body would be found in some secluded corner of the Park one day.
“Let me make it plain to you, Miss Grantham, since you will have it, that there is nothing I will not do to prevent my cousin’s marrying a woman of your order!”