“You may have ten minutes, but I warn you, ten hours would not be adequate to change my mind regarding your brother. Pray be seated.”
Vanessa glanced at the wing chairs before the hearth, and the chaise lounge beneath the far window. “Thank you, but I prefer to stand.”
He inclined his head to signify his indifference and made a delicate loop of the cravat. “Does your brother know you are here?”
“No, and I have no intention of telling him. He would be scandalized to know I even called upon you, let alone that you received me in your bedchamber.”
“Notorious despoiler of feminine virtue that I am?” Sinclair asked ironically. “I do hate to disillusion you, but I don’t lie in wait for helpless females to ravish.” His eyes met hers in the cheval glass. “Although in your case, I confess I might be tempted.”
She took a deep breath. “You were correct, my lord. I did come here to discuss my brother’s debt of honor.”
“How clever of me to have guessed.”
“Perhaps,” Vanessa continued, striving for a reasonable tone, “you don’t comprehend the hardship that fulfilling the debt would place on his family.”
He gave a sigh of resignation. “I gather you mean to tell me.”
“My mother and sisters will be destitute, with no place to live.”
“Your brother can always apply to the cent-per-centers to redeem his vowels.”
“No moneylender would advance such a sum without the Rutherford estates as collateral. Even were he able to pay his debt of honor to you, once in the clutches of the moneylenders, the result would be the same. Aubrey would lose his estates and be thrown into debtor’s prison and his family driven from their home.”
“I still fail to see how that concerns me.”
Vanessa fought down an angry reply. It would do no good to antagonize Lord Sinclair. “You have every right to wish revenge on my brother, but must you make his family suffer as well?”
“That is an unfortunate consequence of his actions.”
“Not only of his actions. You are a practiced gamester, my lord. You lured him into deep play, you admitted as much last night.”
“Indeed, I had every intention of ruining him.”
“Fleecing green boys should be outlawed,” Vanessa murmured bitterly.
“So should destroying the lives of innocent young girls,” he retorted. When she simply stared at him, he added with impatience, “Did you come here to play the disapproving paragon, Lady Wyndham?”
“No, I came here to persuade you to see reason.”
He ignored her comment.
“Aubrey has threatened to shoot himself if he cannot find a way out of this difficulty.”
“I confess that would not break my heart.”
“It would mine.”
His eyes searched hers, as if to judge her sincerity. Then he shook his head, while his jaw hardened. “Your brother must pay a price for his reckless cruelty. But I will grant you one concession. If and when he is man enough to come to me himself, I shall discuss terms of payment.”
Her heart lifted a measure at his offer, but it was not enough. “What good are terms when he cannot manage to pay his tailor’s bill, let alone a wager the size of the one he owes you?”
“You are singularly interested in his financial affairs, are you not?”
“I have good reason to be. I manage the Rutherford estates for Aubrey, since he has little head for accounts.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And you have?”
“Enough to recognize when he is in dire straits. And I must say he is not wholly to blame for his dwindling resources. The chief difficulty has always been persuading our family to economize. I fear we are spendthrifts.” When she received no reply, she pressed on. “Is there no way you would consider reducing the debt?”