Read Online Wedding of the Season by Laura Lee Guhrke - Free Book Online Page B

that my primary reason for this journey isn’t estate business. I’ve come home to see you.”
    “Me?” Paul’s brown eyes widened in surprise. He paused, eyeing Will a bit warily. “I’m flattered.”
    “I’ve come to ask a favor, and it’s a big one.” He took a deep breath. “I need a loan.”
    “A loan?”
    “Damned cheek of me, I know, especially in these circumstances. Your cousin and I . . . and all that. But you’re the only person I feel I can turn to. We’re like brothers.” He stopped and gave a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. “At least, I like to think so, despite . . . despite everything.”
    Paul tugged at his ear, looking confounded and—strangely enough—a bit relieved. “That wasn’t what I was expecting you to say.”
    Will kept his voice carefully neutral. “No, I should imagine not.”
    “I feared you might have come home to ask me to intercede with Beatrix on your behalf.”
    “No.”
    “Or that you might have come to discern your chance of winning her back.”
    Will set his jaw. “No.”
    “A loan,” Paul repeated thoughtfully. “For your estates here? Or for the excavations in Egypt?”
    “It’s for Egypt.”
    “Of course it is,” Paul murmured. “Isn’t it always?”
    “Paul—” he began, but the other man cut him off.
    “How much do you need?”
    “Twenty thousand pounds. That would see us through another year.”
    “Twenty thousand pounds? Will, that’s a great deal of money. I take it you’ve gone through your inheritance?”
    “From my mother? Yes. Father, as you might guess, didn’t leave me a farthing. Quite the opposite, in fact. I’ve used the money from Mama to sponsor the excavations since Sir Edmund returned home.”
    Paul swirled the contents of his glass and took a swallow. “And now you’ve no money of your own.”
    “Making inquiries about my finances, Paul?”
    His oldest friend shrugged. “It’s pretty common knowledge.”
    “Then you probably also know Sunderland Park is barely making enough to sustain itself, and that all my other estates in England had to be mortgaged to pay Father’s debts and death duties.”
    Paul confirmed all that with a nod. “And are you sure it’s wise to borrow twenty thousand more?”
    “It sounds like a great deal of money, I know, but I’ll easily be able to pay you back when we find Tutankhamen.”
    “If you find him.” Paul set aside his glass and leaned forward. “Let’s speak plainly. Almost six years of digging, over a hundred thousand pounds gone, and you haven’t found Tut.”
    “Not yet. But we will. I believe we’re close. Carter agrees with me.”
    Paul didn’t seem reassured. “I respect your opinion. And certainly Howard Carter’s opinion is a worthy one as well. He’s quite an important bloke down there, from what I gather.”
    “He is the chief inspector of Egyptian Antiquities, and he’s certain Tutankhamen’s tomb is right where we’re digging. So am I, Paul. I can sense it. Hell, I can smell it.”
    Paul didn’t seem reassured by either his instincts or his sense of smell. “If I loan you this money, another year might go by without success. Then what? How do you intend to pay me back if that’s the case?”
    “If we find enough valuable artifacts, you’ll be paid anyway.”
    “And if you don’t, the money’s gone, and you’ll be asking me for another loan twelve months from now.”
    He didn’t deny that possibility. “I’m going to find Tut, no matter how long it takes. Will you help me?”
    Paul gave a deep sigh that did not bode well, and Will felt a sinking feeling in his gut. “I can’t.”
    He shouldn’t have expected any different. He really couldn’t blame Paul for refusing. “I see.”
    “It isn’t because of Trix, Will. When I said I can’t, I meant it. I’m not exactly flush myself at this moment.”
    “Why?” Will straightened in his chair, alarmed. “What’s happened? Are you in trouble?”
    “Trouble?” Paul repeated,