She looked at him with surprise. "You deal in spices, sir?"

"Aye. During recent years I have become involved in an extensive trade with several merchants from the East. If and when you choose to enter a convent, I shall be able to provide a dozen respectable dowries for you, lady."

"I see." She looked overwhelmed. "I shall need a plump dowry if I wish to enter a fine convent."

"Naturally. Convents are as choosy as husbands from landed families, are they not?"

"Especially if they are expected to overlook a somewhat sullied reputation," Alice muttered. "And if I go to live with you as your betrothed and we are not eventually wed, my reputation will be in tatters."

Hugh nodded. "It will be assumed that we have lived together as man and wife. But, as you say, a suitable dowry will persuade any fine convent to ignore such petty details."

Alice continued to tap her fingers against her arms. "I'd advise you not to let Sir Ralf know that you are willing to pay a large dowry for me, sir, else he will likely try to cheat you."

A grin tugged at the corners of Hugh's mouth. He controlled it with an effort. "I have no desire to be fleeced, lady. Never fear, I have had a fair amount of experience in the art of bargaining. You have my oath that I shall make it a point not to pay overmuch for you."

She frowned, unconvinced. "Sir Ralf has no scruples in matters of business. He stole my brother's inheritance."

"Mayhap I shall even the score by stealing you from him for a pittance."

Alice fell silent again as she continued to pace. "You would do all this in exchange for my help in recovering the green stone and for our temporary betrothal?"

"Aye. 'Tis the shortest, most convenient route to my goal."

"And therefore, 'tis naturally the path you elect to take," she murmured half under her breath.

"I do not believe in wasting time."

"You are a bold man, sir."

"I sense that we are well matched," Hugh said softly.

Alice came to a halt. Her expressive face was bright with renewed enthusiasm. "Very well, my lord, I shall agree to your terms. I shall spend the winter with you at Scarcliffe as your betrothed. In the spring we shall reassess the situation."

Hugh was startled by the degree of exultation that swept through him. It was a simple business arrangement, he reminded himself. Nothing more than that. He tried to temper the surging satisfaction.

"Excellent," he said simply. "The bargain is struck."

"I foresee a large problem, however."

"What is that?"

Alice paused beside the astrolabe. "It occurs to me that although my uncle will be much pleased at the prospect of ridding himself of my presence in his household, he is unlikely to believe his good fortune."

"Do not concern yourself, Lady Alice." Hugh was impatient to get on with the matter now that he had completed the bargain. "I told you, I shall deal with your uncle."

"But he will be extremely suspicious of your sudden desire to wed me," she insisted.

Hugh frowned. "Why is that?"

"In case it has escaped your notice," she said tartly, "I am somewhat beyond the customary age for a bride."

Hugh smiled slightly. "One of the reasons you are so eminently suited to my needs, Lady Alice, is precisely because you are no longer a young, frivolous innocent."

She wrinkled her nose. "Aye, there is that, isn't there? I can well believe that you would not wish to strike this bargain with a female who is still part child or one who has had no experience of the world."

"You are correct." Hugh wondered again just how much experience of the world Alice had had. "I need a business associate, not a demanding bride who will pout and sulk when I do not have time to entertain her. I require a woman of mature years and practical ways."

A wistful expression passed across Alice's face. "A woman of mature years and practical ways. Aye, that is a very good description of me, my lord."

"Then there is no reason why our arrangement should not go forward."

Alice hesitated. "We come back to the problem of convincing my uncle that you truly wish to contract a marriage with me."

"I told you, you may leave that problem safely in my hands."

"I fear 'twill not be so simple as you seem to believe," she said. "Shortly after Sir Ralf removed my brother and me from our home and brought us here to Lingwood Manor, he made several attempts to marry me off."

"The attempts failed, I see."

"Aye. My uncle got so desperate that he actually offered a small dowry, but even with that none of his neighbors could be convinced to take me off his hands."

"There was not so much as a single offer?" Hugh was surprised. After all, a dowry was a dowry and there were always a few poor men desperately in need of one.

"One or two knights with small fiefs nearby went so far as to pay us a visit to meet me in person. But upon becoming acquainted with me, they quickly lost interest."

"Or were persuaded to lose interest?" Hugh asked dryly.

She turned a shade of pink. "Aye, well, I could not tolerate any of them for more than a few minutes. The thought of actually marrying one was enough to induce hysteria."

"Hysteria? You do not appear the type of female who is prone to hysteria."

Her eyes gleamed. "I assure you, I fell into the most severe fits in front of two of my suitors. There were no others after that."

"You found the prospect of remaining in your uncle's household preferable to marriage?"

Alice shrugged. "Until now it has been the lesser of two evils. So long as I am unwed, I have at least a chance of obtaining my own ends. Once married, I am lost."

"Would marriage be so terrible?"

"Marriage to any of the louts my uncle chose would have been intolerable," Alice said forcefully. "Not only because I would have been unhappy but because none of them would have had any patience with my brother. Men who are trained for war tend to be cruel and unkind to youths who cannot be trained in arms."

"I take your point," Hugh said gently. He realized that her concern for her brother underlaid most of her decisions.

Alice's mouth tightened. "My father had no use for Benedict after my brother fell from his pony and injured his leg. He said Benedict could never be trained as a knight and was therefore quite useless. For the most part he ignored his son after that."

"It is understandable that you do not want to expose Benedict to similar unkindnesses from another lord."

"Aye. My brother suffered enough from being ignored by our father. I did what I could to make up for the poor treatment he received but it was not enough. How does one take the place of a father in a boy's life?"

Hugh thought of Erasmus. "It is not easy, but it can be done."

Alice gave herself a small shake, as though she were mentally casting aside unhappy memories. "Ah, well, 'tis not your problem. I shall see to Benedict."

"Very well. I shall speak to Sir Ralf at once." Hugh turned to leave the study chamber.

He was vastly pleased with the results of the bargaining. True, he had only succeeded in coaxing Alice into a vow of betrothal, but a betrothal was near enough to a wedding. Once he had her under the roof of Scarcliffe Keep he would worry about the details of the arrangements.

Alice raised an imperious hand to hold his attention. "One moment, Sir Hugh."

He paused and turned back politely. "Aye?"

"I warned you that you must not arouse Sir Ralf's suspicions and thereby induce him to demand a king's ransom for my hand. We shall need to concoct a reasonable explanation to explain why you wish to wed me. After all, you have only just met me and I have no dowry to offer."

"I'll think of something."

She gave him a quizzical look. "But what?"

Hugh stared at her for a moment. It occurred to him that in the morning light, her hair was a lovely hue. There was a straightforward, clear-eyed perception in her gaze that drew him. And the curve of her breasts beneath her blue gown was very enticing.