Page 46 of Affair

“One of these days you really must start calling me by my given name, Charlotte.”

“My apologies, sir. I did not mean to eavesdrop.”

“But you do it so well.”

“I could not help but overhear the last of your conversation with Lady Esherton.”

“Do not concern yourself.” He came to a halt in front of her. “We are partners, are we not?”

“Well, yes, but that does not give me the right to intrude on your private family business.”

“Intrude all you wish. Society has been entertained by my family’s business for years. Have you finished your interrogation of poor Lennox?”

Charlotte sighed. “I think I have got all the information I am going to get this evening. I did learn that he had an invitation to visit Mrs. Heskett the night she died but he received a note telling him that she was ill and would not be able to receive him.”

“Hmm. I doubt he would have admitted that much if he was guilty.”

“True. I cannot envision him as a killer.”

“I agree. If you are satisfied, let’s be on our way.” Baxter took her arm and started back toward the big house. “I have had enough of the social whirl. If I indulge in any more of this sort of excitement, I am likely to expire from boredom.”

“I understand, but Ariel is enjoying herself so much. I hate to ask her to leave. It’s only midnight.”

“True, and for the ton the evening has just begun. Don’t worry about your sister. I have a plan. We shall pack her off with my aunt, who will keep her out until dawn.”

Charlotte glanced at him. “Do you think Lady Trengloss will mind?”

“Not in the least. Between announcing our engagement and introducing Ariel to the Polite World, she is enjoying herself immensely.” He drew Charlotte up the terrace steps and back into the brilliantly lit ballroom. “Give me a moment to locate Rosalind and make the arrangements.”

“I shall find Ariel and tell her that she is free to go with your aunt. She is no doubt out on the dance floor again. I vow, she has spent the entire evening there.” Charlotte stood on tiptoe to search the crowd.

“I see her,” Baxter said.

“Oh, yes, there she is.” Charlotte smiled at the sight of Ariel moving elegantly to the notes of a waltz. “Dancing with that very handsome young man who is wearing the impossibly complicated cravat. I wonder who he is.”

“His name is Hamilton,” Baxter said dryly. “The Earl of Esherton. My half brother.”

Half an hour later, the carriage shuddered to a halt in front of the Arkendale town house. Baxter roused himself from the moody thoughts that had overtaken him during the short journey. He looked at Charlotte, who was seated on the opposite cushion, and wondered what had possessed him to suggest that they end the evening so soon.

True, he’d had no wish to remain at the ball, especially after the unpleasant discussion with Maryann, but he certainly did not want to bid Charlotte good night.

Now they were at her house. The evening was concluded and there was no more time for conversation or anything else.

He had done a fine job of wasting the past half hour, he thought. For a man who prided himself on his powers of logic and intellect, he could be a bloody idiot at times.

Charlotte glanced out the window. “It would seem we have arrived, Mr. St. Ives.”

Baxter heard the coachman descend from the carriage box. “Bloody hell.”

Charlotte raised her brows but she offered no comment. He wondered exactly what it was that she was thinking. At times such as this, he was acutely aware of his poor understanding of the opposite sex. The only thing he knew for certain was that he did not want to say good night.

“Uh, Charlotte …”

The carriage door opened. Baxter could not think of an excuse to delay the inevitable.

With a soft rustle of her skirts, Charlotte descended from the carriage. Baxter followed reluctantly. He took her arm to guide her up the steps to her front door.

Fool. Bloody damn idiot. A whole half hour wasted. He could have passed the time in the carriage with Charlotte in his arms. Instead he had spent it contemplating morose thoughts of the past and the present. It was Maryann’s fault. She had ruined his mood and his evening. Typical.

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