Page 33 of Unforeseen Affairs
“Another spiritualist.”
“What a lad! What a chum!” Beaky slapped a hand upon Colin’s shoulder. “What’s his name, then? Is he on a level with that Bass bastard?”
Not quite.
“I can’t really say,” Colin tried, “as I’m new to this world myself.”
Beaky’s smile faded, his expression tightening.
“What’s his name, though?”
“It’s a young lady, actually. You met—”
With a groan Beaky brought a hand to his forehead rather dramatically, further mussing his fine, fair hair.
“Miss Sedley,” Colin kept on, his voice stronger as he recalled the determination in her bearing. “You met her at the spirit circle, the reserved young lady who sat at the end with myself and Mrs. Stone.”
“Her?” Beaky wrinkled his nose. “The girl in black? You can’t be serious. I tried introducing myself and she merely stared at my hand as if it were riddled with pox.”
Colin suppressed a grin; he was glad she’d never looked at him that way.
A pair of Army officers passed by, nodding in greeting. He and Beaky responded in kind, then allowed a silence to settle uponthem as they both realized they’d been speaking quite loudly in a highly trafficked area of the club. It didn’t help that the main hall, with its high ceiling, enabled sound to travel so far.
After a while Beaky sighed.
“It’s not that I’m ungrateful, Colin. I am undoubtedly indebted to you. But I wish you’d kept this matter between us. There’s no need to go informing every girl in London of my scandalous past.”
“Allegedlyscandalous,” Colin corrected.
“Right, yes.” Beaky reached inside his breast pocket. “And besides, she’s a Sedley? Those people are mad, hang their shoe polish! I doubt a girl that strange and unpleasant could provide any meaningful assistance to you.”
He’d withdrawn a small sealed letter and was fidgeting with it, turning it over in his hands as he scrutinized Colin. Suddenly he froze, and raised a brow.
“Unless you…” His face darkened. “You wouldn’t do that to Alice, would you? Withher? That ghoulish—”
“She’s not ghoulish,” Colin said, offended on behalf of Miss Sedley. “And she’s not unpleasant. Not every young lady ought to swoon when presented with your hand.”
“No need to get sharpish,” Beaky admonished. “I’m only looking after Alice’s interests, as any brother would.”
He held the letter out to Colin.
“She’s written this to you. I really ought not give it to you, but she fain begged me.”
Colin snatched it. His body felt coiled and tense, being at odds with his best friend like this. It would not do. He looked down at his name written in Alice’s soft hand, tiny and rounded. Charming, just as she was.
He sighed and shook his head.
“I do not wish to fight you. I only mean to help.”
Beaky scrubbed a hand over the lower half of his face.
“I know.”
Colin fingered the seal on the letter. He hadn’t seen Alice since the spirit circle, having stayed away for the sake of his mother, who’d been aghast to discover that Beaky was of such low character. Since then she hadn’t even spoken to Mrs. Pearce, who was one of her closest friends.
“I can’t recall the last time you spoke ill of a young lady,” Colin said, offering a small smile. “Usually it’s quite the contrary.”
“Yes, isn’t it?” Beaky snorted. “I suppose in Miss Sedley’s case I might be compelled, were she not so rigid and stern-faced. They’re all the same under their skirts, after all.”
