Page 18 of The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes
He exhaled, then held out his hand. Yet she shook her head slightly, and he withdrew it.
“When are we to begin?” he asked. “Soon, I hope. The choice of respectable venue is at your discretion, though I believe a—”
“Before that is settled,” she interrupted, “we will begin with you taking me somewhere scandalous.”
He frowned. “Ought you take me to a reputable gathering first?”
“As you said, I’m agood girl, which makes me trustworthy. You, however, are a scoundrel and utterly unreliable.” Her lips curved beguilingly.
“I showed up relatively on time for this appointment,” he pointed out.
“One self-serving act of dependability hardly negates a lifetime of suspect behavior.” She took a sip of tea, then removed her glove to break off a piece of iced cake and nibble on it. He tried not to watch her fingers touching her lips.
“I’d say you slander me,” he drawled, “but everything you’ve said is accurate.”
“Then you understand why I need a show of good faith that you’ll do what you’ve promised.” She narrowed her eyes. “However, you never intended to uphold your end of our bargain.”
He smiled ruefully. “Injurious as your words are, they are also correct. My hope had been that you’d get me in the door at some sanctioned event, and I’d make the necessary connections to obviate our arrangement.”
“Once a scoundrel...” she said with annoyance.
To prove his point, he took the cake that now resembled a breast and licked off the icing before popping the whole confection in his mouth.
She no longer looked irritated. A fascinating stain of pink appeared in her cheeks, yet she didn’t avert her gaze or fidget.
Arousal shot through him, hot and direct as an arrow.
He frowned in surprise. Damn. There were few things he denied himself, but this growing interest in Celeste Kilburn was going to be one of them. Dom would be highly displeased with a known rake and rogue like Kieran sullying his sister.
“Tell me,” he said, brushing crumbs from his lips, “how long can you lend me your assistance on this endeavor?”
Her expression darkened. “Until the end of the Season.”
“What happens then?”
“It doesn’t signify,” she said with a wave of her hand. “That should be enough time to enact our plan of attack.”
“And you’ve already mapped out our tactics.”
“No wise general goes into battle without strategy.” The darkness in her face retreated as she gave him a tiny, self-satisfied smile.
How delightful, this proud and cunning side of her. “What are our marching orders, General?”
“The first thing we need to accomplish is introducing you to some of the ton’s most upstanding figures.” She spoke crisp, precise words, every inch the superior officer. “You’ll come to an open event as my escort, thus indicating to those in attendance that I vouch for your integrity. Once we’re there, I will secure you an invitation to a gathering where you will meet young women of the most sterling reputation.”
“Neat, targeted strikes,” he said with a nod. “Glad one of us knows how to manage this.”
She arched a brow. “Since my coming-out, I’ve done nothing but manage my role in Society. At least now that useless knowledge has a measure of purpose.”
Useless.The word snagged in his mind, hinting again at her sense of dissatisfaction with her life. Yet it stood to reason that if she was satisfied with her life, she wouldn’t have put the screws to him and insisted he take her to the disreputable side of London.
“It will take some time before your standing will be repaired,” she went on. “I’ll endeavor to secure you more invitations to more events, and there you shall meet more eligible and reputable young ladies. We’ll have until the Season’s end, at which point you may not be engaged to anyone, but the groundwork will be laid for you to call on a lady with the intention of proposing to her.”
“And if my character hasn’t been mended by that time? It’s not a considerable span, barely two months, and I’ve done some very, very bad things.” He couldn’t stop himself from grinning at the thought of some of those bad things.
Celeste Kilburn, however, appeared unimpressed.
“Then there’s nothing I or anyone could have done to fix your reputation,” she said dryly.
