City Of Fortune

"Elizabeth Miles is back in an all-new Counterfeit Lady Mystery by USA Today bestselling author Victoria Thompson. Being married had advantages that attorney Gideon Bates had never even considered during his bachelor days. For example, he no longer had to think of polite excuses when a client offered to introduce him to a marriageable daughter, as he was starting to suspect Mr. Sebastian Nolan was working his way up to doing. "I'd like to arrange for a sum of money to be settled on my daughter, Irene," Nolan was saying. He was a large man, tall and substantial without being fat, and his weathered face indicated he had worked very hard for his fortune, although Gideon happened to know Nolan just spent a lot of time on the training track with his Thoroughbred horses. "Not so much money that she would draw the attention of fortune hunters but enough to ensure her a comfortable income and to sweeten the pot." "Sweeten the pot?" Gideon echoed in confusion. "I guess that's a poor choice of words, but I'd like to provide any potential suitors with a little incentive. You see, Irene is . . . Well, don't get me wrong. No man could want a finer daughter. She's smart as a whip and has the disposition of an angel, but a girl needs something more. We're both men of the world, Mr. Bates, so I know you understand." "I'm not sure I do, Mr. Nolan," Gideon hedged, afraid he understood only too well. Nolan sighed. "A man wants a woman who's at least a bit . . . attractive. It shouldn't matter, of course, but we both know it does, at least to most men, and Irene . . . Poor Irene took after me when it comes to looks, instead of her sainted mother, God rest her soul. She's a wonderful girl but not one a man would look at twice, if you know what I mean.""--