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“It’s ridiculous, I know.”
He settled onto the seat, and a servant closed the door behind him. The carriage had luxurious red leather upholstery.
He was facing Lady Beatrice, but he couldn’t see much of her expression under the brim of her bonnet, especially when she had her head turned. She appeared to be studying a spot on the wall several inches above his head.
Ford made himself comfortable and spread his arm over the back of the seat as the carriage rolled away from the docks. “Let me guess, your mother made you wear that bonnet.”
“She threw out all of my more sensible millinery when I was away from the house yesterday, leaving me only the fashionable ones.”
“I don’t like it. I can’t see your eyes when I’m talking to you.”
“I think that’s the point. My mother wants to hide as much of my face as possible.”
He leaned in, squinting at the large white andgray roses adorning the bonnet. “Are there words printed on those roses?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
He bent forward and touched one of the paper roses, flattening it enough to read the words. “‘Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.’”
“It’s trimmed with Mr. Shakespeare’s sonnets. A desecration I did not condone.”
“Live a little. Spread your wings. Take a risk. Defy your mother and refuse to wear the bonnet.”
“Spoken like a man who does as he pleases. You don’t know my mother. It’s easier to go along with the flow than to attempt a barricade against the tidal wave of her maternal ambitions. I allow her to dress me, make my social engagements, bring me to balls, but I don’t give her the things that matter most to me. My work. My ambitions. My future.”
“Does your mother know you’re alone in a carriage with me, Lady Beatrice?”
A slight tremor of her lower lip. “Not specifically. She does know that I’m visiting the bookshop. And that there will be a carpenter hired to perform the repairs necessary for the property to become a clubhouse.”
“So you found a way to gain her permission. Well done.”
“I struck a bargain with her—two hours a day at the bookshop in exchange for following her social schedule and being docile, decorous, and congenial to every titled gentleman who deigns to speak with me. The bookshop will be a small taste of freedom. I plan to make the most of it.”
“You know that if I’m working in the shop therewill be noise, and debris, and all of the other items on your list of my sins.”
“I know. But you said there was little damage to the upper floors. I will have the crates of books moved to the reading room.”
“Did you tell your mother that you were engaging the services of the most good-looking carpenter in all of London?”
“I may have neglected to tell her that I was hiring the most conceited rogue in all the world.”
“We haven’t discussed the terms yet. I’m not sure you can afford me.”
She made a little incredulous huffing noise. “I’m quite sure that I can.”
“And how will you obtain the funds?”
“Name your price.”
“A word to wise ladies—never tell a rogue to name his own price.”
“I can afford to pay you handsomely.”
“A rogue might ask for something other than money.”
She must be blushing by now, though the damned bonnet hid half her face from him.
“If you’re insinuating that you would ask for favors of an... an amorous nature, let’s just nip that idea in the bud and never let it flower again. We both know that you would never do that so you can stop teasing.”
