Page 38 of A Daring Desire

“She’s well,” Perry said kindly, taking pity on him. “I had a letter from Lady Kilbane two days ago, and she seemed in good spirits.”

Jefferies let out a breath and nodded. “Thank you, sir. The staff are all so very fond of her and… and we worried.”

Perry patted him on the shoulder. “She’ll be touched to discover it.”

Jefferies smiled and announced him, and Perry strode in as Mr Berrycloth stood. He had not seen the marquess’ secretary again since their brief meeting, which he’d thought a pity, especially now as the fellow coloured rather becomingly at the sight of him.

“Mr Bancroft, good morning. Do come in. Can I offer you some tea or—”

“No, no,” Perry waved this away and waited for the door to close. “Actually, I’ve come to speak to you about your employer,” he said, seeing no reason to beat around the bush.

“Oh?” Berrycloth gestured for him to sit and did likewise, his gaze wary.

“Yes,” Perry said decisively. “Is he in love with Lady Kilbane or not?”

Berrycloth stared at him, his eyes even wider than usual behind his spectacles, and then gave a soft bark of laughter. “Of course he is, the sorry bastard. And a right state he’s in, too.”

Perry let out a breath of relief. “Well, I thought as much after that scene on Christmas Day, but after everything he’s put Cat through, I didn’t want to stick my oar in if I wasn’t certain.”

“But now you are, you’re going to?” Berrycloth guessed, amused.

Perry nodded, grimacing. “How dangerous is he, precisely?”

“Precisely?” Berrycloth repeated, his lips quirking. “That rather depends if you are friend or foe.”

“Oh, friend. Definitely,” Perry said vigorously.

“Well, then in the mood he’s in, you might come off with only minor damage, probably to your self-esteem. He’s got a tongue like a rapier and his temper is akin to a sulky bear of late, but it could be worse.”

Perry blanched, rather daunted by this information. “Could it?”

Berrycloth returned a crooked smile that was at once endearingly boyish and long-suffering.

“Yes,” he said, and with such confidence, Perry knew he’d been on the receiving end of Kilbane’s temper too many times to underestimate it.

“So, is now a good time to speak with him?” Perry asked, not beyond hoping Mr Berrycloth would say no.

“As good a time as any, I daresay,” he replied, his expression thoughtful. “But what will you say to him?”

“Well, I was rather thinking of telling him to get off his arse and go win fair maiden,” Perry said frankly. “But perhaps with a tad more tact.”

“A tad, yes,” Berrycloth agreed fervently, paling at the suggestion.

Perry laughed, observing Berrycloth with interest. He judged the neat secretary to be perhaps six and twenty, only a couple of years older than he was. “How long have you served his lordship, then?”

Mr Berrycloth removed his glasses and cleaned them carefully as he considered this. “Over six years now,” he said.

“You were very young!” Perry exclaimed.

Berrycloth nodded, and once again flashed that crooked smile. “So was he.”

“And what’s he like? Really, I mean?” Perry asked, leaning closer. “Cat… that is, Lady Kilbane, has always insisted he’s not half so black as he’s been painted and that underneath he’s a decent fellow, but when you listen to the stories of his exploits—and from very creditable sources, not mere tattlemongers—well, how could they be true and her opinion as well?”

“And yet they both are,” Berrycloth said with sympathy. “He can be the very devil when the mood takes him, and in his young years he courted scandal as though it was his reason for being, yet I’ve seen little evidence of that man in these past years. Perhaps he’s grown up. We all do, you know.”

Perry laughed at that. “So I’m told,” he said ruefully. “Though I’m doing my best to put it off as long as possible,” he added with a wink.

Berrycloth coloured, and Perry found himself delighted at how readily the fellow turned pink.