Marrying Mr. Darcy (Love Manor #2) - Kate O'Keeffe Page 0,70

the pond, too, and that he was wearing a white shirt and looked even better than you.” She flops down on one of the vintage couches and exhales loudly, holding her hands up in surrender. “I have no words, Sebastian. No words.”

I try not to scoff. I think you’ve got a lot of words, actually, Heather.

Sebastian moves forward in his seat. “Heather, I believe I’ve made my position clear on this Saving Pemberley show. I told you I would only do it if Emma was involved. You will recall that the idea was unpalatable to you, and so we agreed to go our separate ways. Me entering my pond on my private land has nothing to do with you or your production company.”

She opens her mouth to reply, but Sebastian raises his hand and continues, “Please hear me out. Unless you’re here to offer us both the show”—he indicates the two of us—“with Emma as involved in it as I am, then my answer remains the same.”

I beam at Sebastian. He’s sticking to his guns—for me. Again. As Lizzie Bennet once said of Mr. Darcy, he is the best of men.

Heather crosses her arms, her mouth tightening as she stares Sebastian down. I bet she’s cracking the whip on the hamsters in her head, making them sprint their poor little paws off as her brain ticks over.

Sebastian stands up, signaling the conversation is now over. “It was a pleasure to see you, Heather. Now, I really must ask you to leave. We have a lot to do now that the house is open to the public, and we’ve got a wedding to get to shortly as well.”

She stays seated. “I’ve got an idea,” she says, ignoring him.

Those hamsters have clearly been busy.

Sebastian cocks an eyebrow. “What is it?” he asks with obvious caution.

“How about we do the show with her and a bunch of the other Dating Mr. Darcy contestants?” she begins, talking as though I’m not even here.

Nice, Heather, real nice.

“That way she gets some airtime and we get a broader audience. We’d bring back some of the more compelling contestants, and they can all stay here, just like they did on Dating.”

“And I look like I’m running a harem here at my family home?” Sebastian shakes his head. “No thank you.”

“You’d be like Hugh Hefner surrounded by his centerfolds,” I say.

I imagine Sebastian wearing a velvet smoking jacket and cravat, surrounded by the contestants in bunny costumes. It’s a stark contrast with the majesty and elegance of Martinston, a real, bona fide mansion.

“It wouldn’t be like that. We could give them jobs here at the house. The house is now open to the public, so we could have the girls as ushers or making tea for the punters, maybe clipping the hedges. That sort of thing.”

He shoots her a doubtful look. “Clipping the hedges?”

She gives a wave of her hand. “You know what I mean. Doing jobs around the place to give them a purpose for being here. Otherwise you’re right, it could look a little like the Playboy mansion, and we don’t want that.” She looks into the distance as she taps her chin. “Or do we?”

I shut her new train of thought down pronto. “The idea sounds good to me, Heather. With a few tweaks. Seb, having some of the contestants on the show could increase its popularity.”

“See? Emma likes the idea,” she says pointedly to him.

“As long as Emma is shown as my fiancée, and it’s made abundantly clear the former contestants are not here to compete for me. This won’t be Dating Mr. Darcy, the Sequel.”

“Of course not. It’s Saving Pemberley. You know, I think we may be onto a winner with this one, especially if all the contestants watch you as you do the pond scene again. This time with the cameras capturing your every sinew and muscle. Do you think we could get that other guy, too? I heard he was hot.”

I answer quickly for Sebastian. He doesn’t need to be reminded of Chris Hampshire right now, or at any time. “Isn’t the pond scene all about Mr. Darcy? I mean, Colin Firth didn’t have any friends dive into the water with him, did he? It would feel less…authentic if someone else were there, too.”

I’m making this all up on the fly.

“You may be right,” she replies.

“How do you feel about it, Seb?” I ask, knowing the idea won’t be in the least appealing to him. “You’ll be the one in the