Page 85 of Seduced By a Scoundrel

“I am. And if not, you can send her to Spinster House.”

“The soul shudders,” he teased.

“Doesn’t it? But for God’s sake, get someone in there to redecorate. And get rid of that ugly clock.”

“And the petal-thin teacups.”

“The crystal swan in the ladies’ retiring room.”

“There’s a crystal swan?”

“It’s hideous. And the size of a large dog.”

“It’s the first thing to go,” he assured her.

“Good. It has painted eyeballs. It gave me nightmares.”

“When were you up there?”

“When your father had those long, boring suppers and you snuck me in the back door. I might not know the fancy front of the house, but I am well acquainted with the back.”

“I’d forgotten about that. We stole the frosted cakes.”

“They were delicious.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I snuck one under his pillow once.”

Keir smiled slowly. “I don’t remember that.”

“He had just sent you away to school. I was cross.”

“He ought to have known not to make you cross.”

“One of the maids told my mother’s lady’s maid that it took weeks to get rid of the ants.” She sat back, as proud as she had been at twelve years old. “He was furious.”

Keir frowned out of the window as the horses turned toward Mayfair. “I am loath to leave you alone tonight.”

“I am hardly alone. Between Pierce’s men and the footmen you sent, we are entirely out of room. It’s very crowded. Peony is not amused.”

“It’s not enough.”

“It’s more than enough. Anyway, Minos does not know that Singleton and Sybil are the same. No reason for the society to come for us tonight.”

“Except they came for you last night. And the day before.”

She shrugged. She might be concerned for the safety of her friends—and her own—but this Minos Society did not get to win. They did not make the rules. And she would not obey.

She would meddle and meddle and meddle until they fell apart like moth-eaten lace. Insubstantial. Weak.

“If you came home with me, it would not be an issue,” Keir said softly, barely loud enough to be heard over the rattling of the carriage wheels beneath them. His breath misted in the air even with the warmth from the heated and wrapped bricks at their feet.

Sybil shook her head. “Now you are just being absurd.”

“I am entirely serious.”

“Keir, even a spinster on the shelf, such as I am, cannot swan about flagrantly breaking rules like that. Not without consequences. You of all people know that. Even if I snuck in and out, there are risks.”

“Such as a hasty marriage.”

“Exactly.”