Page 96 of Temptress in Disguise
She laughed. “You lost to an amateur on the drive to Uxbridge.”
“Yes, but I was unprepared.”
“I’ve had quite a bit of practice since the last time we played.” She raised her skirts a little higher and braced one foot on the opposite seat. “Now I know what arouses you, I have a clear advantage.”
His breathing quickened as his gaze slid slowly up her thigh. “Is that you moving your pawn into position?”
She smiled. “You should topple your king now, my love. We both know I’ll win before we reach the Great North Road.”
* * *
Fortune’s Den
Aldgate Street, London
Three weeks later
“What the devil are they talking about?” Aaron gestured to Naomi and Miss Lovelace sitting on the sofa in the drawing room, engaged in an amusing conversation. “Twice, they’ve looked in my direction.”
Aramis grinned. “As I cannot read lips or minds, I have no idea. Perhaps Naomi is explaining how you helped to save her life.”
“I mean to murder Delphine. I checked the guest list personally. It’s enough that I have to tolerate Daventry and his men. There was no mention of suffering our competitor’s company.”
Aaron used his sullen mood as a crutch and had clearly forgotten he’d confessed to desiring the woman.
“Miss Lovelace is hardly our competitor. She owns a club for ladies, enjoys recitals and flower arranging. Nonetheless, I’m told she has a card room and the stakes often run high.”
“She should be at The Burnished Jade balancing the books.” Aaron observed Miss Lovelace’s fashionable blue ensemble and grumbled again. “She pleads poverty, yet she’s wearing another new dress.”
A man rarely noticed what his nemesis wore.
Aramis might question why his brother cared.
“Naomi said Miss Lovelace is a skilled seamstress—a woman of hidden talents who makes all her own clothes. It’s how she earned a living when her father’s home was repossessed. It’s how she saved the money to decorate The Burnished Jade.”
Aaron snorted—the sound carrying a hint of pride. He glanced around the room, undoubtedly seeking a distraction. “Have you seen Delphine?”
“Not since we retired to the drawing room.” He didn’t mention Delphine’s desire to find her parents. Did she have Spanish or Italian blood? Was her story one of neglect, or had she been torn from the arms of a loving mother? It mattered not. Finding them would be an impossible feat.
“She’s been acting strangely since visiting her modiste yesterday. I had Theo accompany her, but he had nothing untoward to report.”
“It must be hard living with uncertainties.”
In sheltering Delphine from the outside world, Aramis feared they’d failed to prepare her for the truth. How would she fare if left to her own devices? What path would she choose when free of familial obligation?
“We raised her,” Aaron replied defensively. “She’s our sister and I dare anyone to say otherwise. What else does she need to know? We both know the truth is best left buried.”
The truth was never buried.
It lay festering, waiting for an inopportune moment to surface.
“Perhaps I should visit Bedlam and question the crone.” Delphine had accompanied him and Naomi when they moved Lydia to a private asylum. A haggard woman with straggly white hair had peered through the bars, taken one look at the exotic beauty and called her Sofia. They were a fool’s ramblings, though the encounter had unsettled Delphine.
“You’ll get no sense from anyone there,” Aaron countered.
An uneasy feeling forced him to say, “Daventry means to resurrect the family ghosts. We’ve dealt with Lawton and Adams. Trouble is brewing. I feel it in my bones. I would rather help Delphine than watch her suffer.” Daventry knew a man who found missing people. Despite being a peer’s illegitimate son, Mr Flynn had once worked as a Bow Street Runner.
Aaron gave a resigned sigh. “Sometimes it’s better to live with a dream than a harsh reality. But let me think on the matter.” He glanced at Daventry’s wife, who was with child again, and changed the subject. “Why would any man want to be a father? Since Daventry began interfering in our affairs, I’ve had the misfortune of inheriting two sisters. It’s a drain on my time and patience.”
