Page 30 of Unforeseen Affairs
“Very good,” Colin replied. He lifted his mug and offered a perfunctory toast to the serious young man. “Fair winds and following seas.”
“Appreciate that, sir.”
After an awkward pause, Crosby doffed his hat to the both of them, his gaze lingering on Miss Sedley a little too long. And then, finally, he departed.
Colin blew out a shaky breath.
“You chose not to introduce me,” Miss Sedley stated flatly.
“Of course not! You’re out without a chaperone… withme. You, a pretty young lady with, I assume, decent enough prospects.” Colin shook his head, thoroughly exasperated. “Have a care for yourself! Why, you act as if you don’t…”
Good god, was shesmilingnow? Of all the things…
“Be serious, Miss Sedley! What if it hadn’t been Crosby, but a… a… a lieutenant! Or a commander! Someone acquainted with your father or mother! Someone I would have nochoicebut to introduce you to, lest I greatly insult them!”
Miss Sedley shrugged, then took another sip of her punch.
He sighed and shook his head.
“And with what I had said just prior… I’ve no doubt he heard me.”
“What did you say? I don’t recall.”
Colin shielded his eyes with one hand before repeating himself in a low, hollow voice: “You must allow me do the decent thing.”
“Oh. That.” She hummed slightly, thinking. “Yes, I can see how that could be misconstrued.”
Colin’s face heated; he prayed Crosby would forget the entire debacle. Why, if his mother were to get word… or Alice…
“Shall we get on with it, then?” Miss Sedley stared at him, her expression irritatingly placid.
Colin calmed himself with a deep breath, and tried to return his train of thought to the original purpose of their meeting.
“You said you wished for the, er… ‘complete and utter ruination of Mr. Bass.’” Repeating her words back to her gave him a little thrill. He’d never embarked upon anything on land that felt so exciting.
“Yes.”
“Before we get underway, may I inquire as to why?”
“No.”
Idly Colin wondered if Miss Sedley was this way with everyone, or if she’d singled him out as untrustworthy. He felt more hurt than he supposed he should at the thought of the latter.
She must have guessed his thoughts, for she released a little sigh.
“Very well. If youmustknow, I suspect Mr. Bass to share a sordid history with Mrs. Stone. He distresses her greatly.”
“Oh? What do you mean, sordid?”
She glanced aside, pursing her lips as if weighing whether to divulge more. The expression lent her a more youthful appearance, despite her dark, plain garments.
Colin attempted to imagine just what Miss Sedley might look like in a brighter, less severe frock, one more akin to the one Alice was wearing the last time he’d seen her. But thinking of such things was ridiculous, and he pushed it from his mind.
When Miss Sedley raised her eyes, it was with a hearty dose of the curious, unsettling power she seemed to draw from within herself, deep inside a well of mystery.
“What does anyone ever mean when they describe something thusly?”
Colin chose not to answer. Instead he reached for his mug, and began turning it in circles upon the rough-hewn tabletop.
