Page 4 of Teach a Rogue New Tricks
Their father had, until very recently, spent most of the year gadding about the world, researching people and places and avoiding his three daughters and two young wards, all of whom he’d left in England. A new wife had brought him home for good and forced him to face the children he’d left alone for so long.
And that had forced Ada and Nora to make a few changes as well. They had replaced the isolation of the familial country seat for a London season, ceded control of rearing their younger sister and cousins to their new stepmother, and were learning to live with—and forgive—a father who’d abandoned them long ago. That last one only Ada seemed to struggle with. But Nora had her own difficulties, namely keeping her whereabouts of the last year secret.
Ada looked at the window, now free of the man, as she spoke. “Father likely would not care that you were in London when he thought you at Cavendish Manor. His lovely Nora can do no wrong.”
“I’ve not scowled and growled at him every trip home for the last several years as you have. He adores me because I’m adorable.” A beatific, charming smile curved Nora’s lips into a picture of agreeableness.
Ada glared.
Nora patted her shoulder. “You’re adorable, too. When you’re not scowling. Like you are now. You should learn to smile before our debut. You must look your best.”
“It’s exciting, isn’t it?” At six and twenty, Ada had, perhaps, grown a bit long in the tooth for a debutante, but it couldn’t be helped. “I’m glad Father has decided Aunt Lola is a reputable chaperone, but I suppose Sarah has something to do with that.” Impossible to dislike her stepmother, like attempting to reject the heat of a lovely sparking fire on a cold day, Ada had never even tried.
Nora’s head bobbed up and down. “Likely. Sarah’s a wonder. Can get Papa to bend to her will with the crook of a finger. I hope to entrance a man like that one day.”
“I hope to”—Ada frowned, rolled her eyes heavenward, searching—“I hope to have a bit of fun, to enjoy my season.”
“And stop playing governess to your siblings.” Nora arched a brow and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Idolove you all.” She just wanted to have less responsibility for the lot of them.
“And we love you. And you are due a bit of fun. I say you should take it. Lucas be damned.”
“Why in heavens name would you mention Lucas?”
“Your suitor is a stick in the mud, and if you ask me—”
“I’m not asking you.”
“It would be best if he stays in the country and lets you live life a bit. Maybe you’ll meet another man you like better. One less… sticky. And muddy.”
“Lucas is a fine man. Responsible. Proper.” Shehadto marry him. No denying that.
Nora made a snoring noise.
Ada rolled her eyes. “You are being unkind. And this baby’s backside needs desperate attention, so if you’ll excuse me.” She swept passed Nora with only a tiny look toward the second-story window.
Her sister’s gaze followed her own. “Oh, look. I see him now. Is that your mystery fellow?” She tilted her head. “No. I don’t believe I’ve met him before. But he looks awfully familiar. Hm.”
Ada turned from the sight of the man in the window. She had no real reason to desire so strongly to know the man’s identity. Just that it offered a mystery, and one she wished to solve herself. She marched toward the house. “I’ll tell you who he is when I return.” Nora had a point. Lucas could be a bit sticky. And a bit muddy. And Ada wanted to have a bit of fun, a bit of intrigue, before her suitor appeared in their parlor, hat in hand and scowl on his lips.
She didn’t really wish to marry the man, but she had to. At least he offered a safe harbor from the swirling chaos of an ever-moving London. She found the city to be crowded and loud, and, if she were honest, a bit terrifying. Lowering, that. She’d dreamed of nothing but coming here since she could remember, and now that she stood in the thick of it, her feet itched to flee. Figuring out who the man upstairs was would be a tiny step toward adventure, and that’s all she could currently manage. Tiny steps.
“Good luck!” Nora called. “I hope he’s handsome. And a bachelor!”
Ada groaned. She didn’t care about all that. She cared about this—she marched, currently, into the unknown to solve a mystery. For the first—well, perhaps second—time in her life she sought out an adventure of her own making instead of one crafted by a child or read about in books written by her father. She entered the house with head held high, stinky baby held carefully, and took the stairs with bold, confident steps. But as she reached the landing, she hesitated.
“Which door?” she asked Daniel.
The baby blinked at her, his head bobbing.
She closed her eyes and imagined the man in the outline of the window from her place in the garden. If she remembered correctly, he should be in the room behind the second door on the left. She crept toward it, her heart pounding.
The door already stood ajar. She pressed herself to the wall beside it and peeked her head around. The blue-painted walls were lined with books, and cozy (instead of fashionable) furniture decorated the room.
The man still stood at the window, his back to her. He was tall, his dark hair slightly curled and longer than she’d seen other men in London wear it so far. His broad shoulders spoke of an active life, as did his trim waist and muscled… oh my. She should not be spying on a strange man’s backside. If she’d caught Nora doing such a thing, she’d give her a right set down. But… but she’d come up here for a tiny adventure and staring at delightfully rounded masculine backsides certainly provided that.
A male sigh rent the air. The delectable rump began to turn away from her. Pity. But maybe not such a loss because the front proved just as beautiful as the back. His dark hair swept away from his forehead. Smooth skin. Thick eyebrows over eyes the deep blue of the sky before total dark. Almost black, they were. His full lips twitched under a crinkled nose.
