Page 44 of A Rake's Redemption
“It will work. Just stand by and watch.”
“Stand by and watch you completely disgrace yourself, you mean.”
Alex gave his friend an amused smile. “Since when have any of us worried about being disgraced? We are rakes, remember?”
“Rakes with a reputation to uphold,” Brice answered. “How are you going to seduce the rest of the wives on your conquest list if you’re left standing on the ballroom floor with a crying—or worse, cursing—Irish woman?”
Somehow, the conquest list didn’t seem as important as it had only a few weeks ago, but Alex knew better than to say that. Brice already thought he was going soft in the head. “Inis’s vocabulary is already improving. She will not let me down.”
Brice closed the gate behind the mare and shook his head. “I disagree, but if you are planning to go through with this idiocy, the least I can do is help.”
Alex gave him a wary glance. “How?”
Brice grinned. “You can wipe that suspicious look off your face. I am not planning to seduce the girl. You say Caroline is giving Inis lessons in deportment?”
“Yes. So far, we have done tea service and table settings.”
“Moving right along, are we?”
“It seemed the easiest place to start.”
“What Inis needs, if you have any hope at all in making this half-witted plan work, is exposure to the she-wolves of Society. She needs to be able to recognize, and fend off, the snide remarks they make.”
Alex frowned. “I gave Inis my word I would not push her into such confrontations before she feels she is ready.”
“Which might be halfway to never,” Brice responded. “If you keep her sheltered, she will make a fine bit of amusement for theton. If you intend to send her into battle, she needs to be armed.”
“Good Lord. This is not war,” Alex replied. “It is a ball.”
Brice shrugged. “Same thing.”
Alex hated to admit it, but Brice might be right. “Point taken. What do you suggest then?”
“Hmm.” Brice drew his brows together in thought and then grinned. “Ice.”
Then again, maybe Brice was the one who was becoming daft. “Ice?”
“Ices, to be correct,” Brice answered. “At Gunter’s in Berkeley Square. Since it’s still early in the season, the place will not be fashionably packed, but if you establish a weekly routine, the she-wolves will sniff out the trail. They are already curious over who Inis is, so they will start to show up. They cannot get too many digs in—or ask too many questions—since you will be sitting at the same table with Inis. It will allow her the opportunity to size up the pack and plan a defense.”
“You really do make it sound like war,” Alex said.
Brice lifted a brow. “Is it not? The best thing, though, is that Inis can leave the battlefield when she wants to.”
“I suppose we could give it a try,” Alex replied.
“Please do,” Brice answered. “You cannot lose at this point. Maybe you will see this harebrained idea is not such a great plan after all and prove me right.”
That wasn’t going to happen, but Alex didn’t voice the thought. “And maybe I will prove you wrong.”
…
When Inis went down to breakfast Thursday morning, she was surprised to see Elsie, Mary, and Ivy in the kitchen scooping porridge from the pot on the stove. It was not that much past dawn. Although Inis rose early to get to the stables, the chambermaids weren’t usually about for another hour or so.
“What brings ye to breaking your fasts so early?” Inis asked.
Ivy gave her a churlish look. “Mrs. Bradley has us looking for mice today.”
Inis winced. She’d almost forgotten the rest of the conversation the morning the maids had made fun of her for talking about spider bites.
