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and lean hips. There was nothing thin or soft or weak about him.
    “I have come to London for a few weeks this Season for the sole purpose of conducting some rather complicated business affairs. I will not bore you with the details, but the long and short of it is that I intend to form a consortium of investors. The project requires secrecy and privacy. If you know anything about Society, you will be aware that both conditions are extremely difficult to achieve. The Polite World lives on a steady diet of gossip and rumor.”
    She allowed herself to relax slightly. Perhaps he was not mad after all.
    “Pray continue, sir.”
    “Unfortunately, given my current situation and a certain incident that occurred a year ago, I believe it will be somewhat difficult for me to go about my business without a great deal of annoying interference unless I am seen to be quite clearly off the marriage mart.”
    She cleared her throat. “Your situation?” she asked as delicately as possible.
    He raised one brow. “I have a title, several rather nice estates and a substantial fortune. And I am not married.”
    “How nice for you,” she murmured.
    He looked briefly amused. “Sarcasm is not generally considered a desirable quality in a paid companion, but given the fact that I am just as desperate as you are, I am prepared to overlook it on this occasion.”
    She blushed. “My apologies, sir. It has been a somewhat trying day.”
    “I assure you, mine was equally unpleasant.”
    It was time to get back to the subject at hand, she decided. “Yes, well I do see that your situation makes you an extremely interesting commodity in certain social circles.”
    “And no doubt quite boring in other circles.”
    She had to work to hold back a smile. His wry, self-deprecating humor caught her by surprise.
    St. Merryn did not appear to notice her startled amusement. He drummed his fingertips in a single staccato pattern on the desk. “But that is neither here nor there. As I was saying, my situation is further complicated by the fact that last Season, I was engaged for a time to a young lady who eventually eloped with another man.”
    That information took her aback more than somewhat. “Never say so.”
    He gave her an impatient look. “There are any number of people who would be happy to tell you that the young lady in question had a narrow escape.”
    “Hmm.”
    “What the devil does that mean?”
    “Nothing really. It just struck me that perhaps you are the one who had the narrow escape, sir. I had a similar escape myself, six months ago.”
    Cold curiosity gleamed in his eyes. “Indeed? And would that explain why you find yourself applying for a post as a paid companion today?”
    “In part.” She swept out a hand. “But given what I now know about my former fiancé, I can tell you in all truth that I would rather be looking for a new post this afternoon than married to a liar and a deceiver.”
    “I see.”
    “But enough of my personal life, sir. The thing is, I do, indeed, understand your dilemma. When word reaches Polite Circles that you are in town, it will be assumed that you have come back to try your luck again on the marriage mart. You will be viewed as so much fresh, raw meat by the matchmaking lionesses of the ton.”
    “I could not have put it more succinctly myself And that, Miss Lodge, is why I need a lady who can pose convincingly as my fiancée. It is really very simple.”
    “It is?” she asked warily.
    “Certainly. As I said, although I am here to conduct some extremely private business, Society will assume I have come back to shop for another bride. I do not want to find myself tripping over every young chit who has been brought to town to find a husband this Season. If I am perceived to be securely engaged to be married, the huntresses of Society will be forced to focus their attentions on other game.”
    She sincerely doubted that St. Merryn’s scheme would prove to be the least bit simple. But who was she