Page 29 of A Wicked Business

“Oh, you did, did you?” Felix said, amused. “And what did the lady have to say?”

“She said she might happen to be there too, and I should look out for her,” Charles replied, grinning sheepishly.

Felix stared at Charles, feeling suddenly protective of his secretary whom he knew very well was as green as they came. He’d lived a sheltered existence before he’d begun working for Felix, and even now, whilst living in town, had done nothing more exciting than take an occasional trip to the theatre.

“Do you think it wise to… to further your relationship with the young lady?” Felix asked, wincing a little at the sound of his own words.

“Whatever do you mean, sir?” Charles asked, perplexed.

Felix considered his words carefully and then decided he owed his secretary a bit of plain speaking. “She’s more than a little rough around the edges, Charles. You could do better.”

Charles stiffened, his expression darkening. “Miss Bodrott strikes me as a kind-hearted person, and I have never laughed nor felt so at ease in a woman’s company as I do in hers. She seems to like me too, just as I am. I have no desire to marry up, sir. It may be the way of things among the upper echelons of society, but I have no desire to make such a climb.”

“I beg your pardon if I have offended you Charles. I meant no insult to the lady. She is certainly an entertaining companion. I only ask you to think carefully. You have a bright future, but to further it you may need to attend dinners, even to entertain. A wife who can make that happen will be a great help to you.”

“I’m only taking her for a walk in the park, sir,” Charles said coolly. “But I shall consider your advice.”

Felix sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Well, I’ve made a mull of that, have I not? It’s a good job I was never big brother to anyone. I’d have made a poor show of it.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Charles said, unbending somewhat. “At least you care enough to put your foot in it.”

Felix gave a bark of laughter at that and handed the provoking pamphlet back to Charles. “I’ll come with you for that little walk, if you don’t mind, Charles. I suspect Lady Belinda will be with your Miss Bodrott, and I think I owe it to my conscience to put my foot in it with her too.”

Charles grinned, shaking his head. “Taking your life in your hands trying to give advice in that quarter, I reckon, sir.”

“Undoubtedly, Charles, though have no fear, if the lady is not with Miss Bodrott, I shall make myself scarce,” Felix said, unable to suppress the thrum of anticipation that surged through him at the thought of crossing swords with Lady Belinda once more.

Though could not get the wretched woman out of his mind, he reasoned it was mere physical attraction and that he could handle. He was not the least bit green, unlike Charles, and knew how to deal with such emotions. No doubt seeing her in the harsh light of day would erase the overblown beauty that lived in his recent imaginings and nighttime fantasies. She was a beautiful woman, yes, but no goddess. Once he’d seen that he would be able to speak to her calmly without letting her provoke, arouse, or otherwise aggravate him. It was simply his carnal nature taking control of his wits, the natural desires of a man who found a woman attractive. If she’d been a widow or a different kind of woman, they could have scratched the itch that plagued them and had done with it. As it was, he simply needed to recognise that situation for what it was, remind himself that she was strictly off limits, and move on. Having had his fair share of liaisons, he felt certain he was up to the task.

He wondered idly if Lady Belinda had still not recognised what made them both so provoked with each other, if she had the slightest idea that when she stared up at him, the invitation in her eyes was hard to resist. Perhaps Doris had told her, he thought wryly. For unless he missed his guess, Miss Bodrott was as sharp as a tack and little escaped her notice.

4th August 1850, Hyde Park, London.

“My lady? Lady Belinda. Belle!”

“What’s that?” Belinda jumped at her maid’s sudden shout and turned to Doris to see an expression of exasperation on her face.

“Got something on your mind, have you?” Doris asked wryly. “Honestly, I’ve been talking to myself ever since we left the house.”

“I beg your pardon,” Belinda replied with a sigh. Her head was aching after a sleepless night and her future was no clearer to her now after hours spent tossing and turning. A low rumble in the background threatened a summer storm, and the air felt heavy with the promise of thunder. “I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

Doris frowned, considering. “What, you mean about selling your jewels and going to live in Paris?”

“No!” Belinda sighed, shaking her head. “I have no desire to live in Paris. My French is adequate at best, and you don’t speak a word of it. I refuse to leave the world I am familiar with in order to escape Papa’s machinations. There must be a better way than that.”

“Well, if you hadn’t frightened off every suitor who got within arm’s reach of you, there might be more of a choice,” Doris replied frankly.

“Perhaps, but if I could frighten them off with such ease, what kind of husband would they have made? Certainly not the kind I could ever respect or rely upon,” Belinda said with a sigh. “No, I have decided that I shall do as you suggested and run away with Mr Knight.”

Doris stopped in her tracks, her eyes alight with astonishment. “That’s why you was on fire to come with me today! You think he’ll be with Mr Kirby.”

“Well, yes,” Belinda admitted. “It was your idea in the first place. You said I should run away with him, did you not?”

“I did,” Doris agreed. “But you discovered a little flaw in my plan, my lady, and you’ll excuse me for pointing it out as you did, but he ain’t asked you to run away with him.”

“He hasn’t asked, not ‘ain’t asked,’” Belinda corrected patiently.

“He hasn’t asked you,” Doris repeated carefully. “But whether he ain’t or he hasn’t, it don’t change the fact.”