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Grand hesitated, and the lady lifted her eyes in a challenge, daring him to walk away. As he had never been the type to know fear when it presented itself to him, he flipped the tails of his afternoon coat from his way and sat, before placing his hat and gloves on a low table to the side.
Immediately, the lady rang a tinkling bell resting on a side table.
“I asked for water to be heated in preparation for tea,” she shared. “Although, if you prefer, I also have port and brandy available on the table near the window. I am told both are particularly fine.”
“Tea is more than adequate, ma’am,” he said in response, before presenting her a practiced smile. “You had me at a disadvantage. I am familiar with your father’s countenance, and I expected you to favour him; otherwise, I would not have mistaken you for a servant. It is unusual for the mistress of the house to answer her own door.”
She permitted herself the faintest hint of a smile, but Grand suspected the lady meant to mock him before she pronounced her response.
“It is not as if many dare to call upon the daughter of Brook’s Crook. They fear to be tainted by the connection. Moreover, like you, I possessed two parents. After all, you did not think you were to meet with a queen bee or an ant or a lizard, did you? You could not have thought my father capable of ‘selfing’. I assumed you to be more intelligent than that, especially as you are employed by Lord Liverpool in the government.”
Grand forced the reprimand rushing to his lips to remain silent, for, he supposed he deserved a bit of a set-down: He had offended her, and, so, she meant to return the offense. Even though he was unaccustomed to those below his standing in society speaking to him with anything but the highest deference, he knew a bit of approval for the lady before him. Few above his rank dared to cross him, but she had.
“You appear to be very well-educated, Miss Everley,” he said through tight lips.
“I am, my Lord. My father believed a woman had the right to study science and languages and…” She paused for emphasis. “And, naturally, art and music.”
“Naturally,” he said grudgingly.
“One might say, in many ways I am more educated than many gentlemen sitting in the Lords and Commons,” she challenged a second time.
Although Grandison enjoyed her deceivingly delicate features and admired the sheer force of will she displayed, he would prefer not to be tested by a mere miss. Unfortunately, for him, even through his annoyance, a visceral tug of attraction had him wondering if Miss Everley found him even half as attractive as he did her. Heat crackled between them, and it had nothing to do with her obstinacy. Ice versus fire, he thought. Despite himself, Grand smiled.
“I would expect nothing less of Thomas Everley’s daughter, Miss Everley. From what I know of him, your father holds a variety of interests. That being said, if you do not mind, might we discuss the business which brings us together. Time is of the essence.”
Before the lady could respond, a maid rolled in a tea cart.
“Should I serve, Miss?”
“Thank you, Caro. I shall pour. Please leave the door set ajar upon your exit.”
“Yes, Miss.”
With the maid’s exit, the lady took up the strainer and the hot water.
“Milk? Sugar, my Lord?”
He waved off the offer and rose to accept the cup of tea from her. As their fingers brushed against each other, a frisson of heat crept up Grand’s arm. It was all he could do not to shake off the feeling and, therefore, spill the tea.
He waited for her to pour her tea before he continued.
“I am assuming that Lord Liverpool has apprised you of the nature of my business.”
“In truth, he did not. His lordship contacted a ‘friend,’ who arranged for our meeting,” she corrected.
Grandison suddenly desired to know the nature of her friendship — whether the ‘friend’ was another female, or a male — someone she held in affection. Naturally, he assumed from Liverpool’s orders that the friend was Lord Hampton, but he could not be certain. If so, perhaps, Lord Hampton had contacted her directly.
The idea displeased him. He knew no man of his circle of society who would align himself with such a scandalous family as was hers, but a man could easily ignore her connections if he were of a lower class. Most assuredly, her ‘friend’ could be the man to whom she showed her patronage, but the idea that she could be some man’s mistress went against Grandison’s sense of rightness; therefore, he ignored the possibility that another might enjoy her body when he could not.
“Would you speak of why you wished to take my acquaintance?” she asked after sipping her tea, and Grand belatedly realised that he had not responded to her remark about her ‘friend’.
He stalled a bit longer, also sipping his tea while deciding how much to share with her. At length, he said, “A sapphire necklace of great importance and value has gone missing. I was asked to examine the ‘usual suspects’, so to speak, but there is no word of the necklace or a theft circulating through those quarters of London.”
“And Lord Liverpool believes I have knowledge of this necklace because I am Thomas Everley’s daughter?”
She regarded him with ill-disposed stillness.
“If his lordship thought you involved, I imagine he would have had you arrested and questioned, rather than ordering me to meet with you,” he corrected.
