Marchant thought about it, the more he realized he must return to his wife. He paid little heed to that silly letter from Lou’s solicitor. She was only trying to frighten him. He had taken her running about here and there with Lord James Drake for an attempt to make him jealous—an attempt that had some success—but now he knew the whole. If Lord James was Revel’s cousin, then obviously it all had to do with landing Revel for Tess. He regretted losing Esmée. She was quite charming, in her way, but already her charms were beginning to pall. He was laying out a vast deal of money on his hotel and his outings with Esmée, but it was really the possibility of Tess attaching Revel that made up his mind. What a coup for the family! His daughter reigning as Countess Revel, at Revel Hall. Revel, like his father before him, was a bit of a high flyer himself, but his relatives would take it amiss that his bride’s papa was not a saint. He could play the paragon for a few months, until the thing was accomplished.
