Page 62 of A Most Unlikely Lady
‘Ah.’ Millie nodded slowly, though her mouth still turned down in a hesitant frown. ‘And you think he is the right person to face your fears with?’
Exhaling a long breath, Ivy’s voice only shook a little. ‘I do.’
Millie’s gaze never wavered. ‘Have you told him? About your father?’
Ivy’s throat grew tight. She had never been able to tell Millie the truth about her father, but she knew her friend suspected. It seemed a betrayal for her to have told Edward secrets she never shared with Millie. She nodded. ‘I don’t know why I told him. I should have told you first.’
‘Ivy, I’m your best friend. You didn’t have to tell me because I already knew. Mayhap not the details of what that bastard did, but you don’t have to count the teeth on a tiger to imagine how easily it might rip someone asunder.’
‘I always thought if I told you, the shame would be so great, it would swallow me whole. I couldn’t bear the thought of you looking at me differently.’ Something cruel and hard squeezed her ribs, making it impossible to take a breath.
‘Oh, my sweet friend.’ Millie pulled Ivy into a hug, fresh cotton and citrus enveloping Ivy in a scent as familiar and comforting as Millie herself. ‘I will never see you as anything more or anything less than my fierce, beautiful, brave, and dearest friend.’ It was an unexpected benediction. A granting of permission for Ivy to fall apart. So she did. Millie hummed softly, her hand patting Ivy’s back like a mother soothing her child as Ivy let years of hidden pain surface like poison from a deep infection and spill out of her in a rush of tears.
Eventually, the storm passed. When Ivy pulled away, she felt lighter.
‘I look a right mess.’ Wiping tears from her cheek, she sniffed loudly.
‘We can fix that.’ Millie brought supplies with her. A bottle of crisp German Riesling and chocolate. She rushed to the kitchen and returned with a cool, wet cloth for Ivy’s face and two mismatched glasses. ‘I must say, it is rather interesting that you toldhimyour secrets.’
Ivy held her glass up for Millie to pour and avoided her friend’s eye contact. ‘Perhaps he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.’
Snorting, Millie almost spilled wine as she filled her glass. ‘Don’t think you can lie to me, Ivy Cavendale. We’ve been friends for far too long. You trust him.’
I do. I trust him not to harm me.
‘Should I not?’
Millie plunked the bottle on the table and sipped her wine. ‘Philippa trusts him. Even if she doesn’t like him. Oh! Maybe you can get him to spill that particular story. We’ve all wondered what their history might be.’
Ivy scrunched her nose. ‘I’m not going to pilfer secrets from the man.’
‘No. I don’t suppose that would do given how important trust is between you. Right. So. You are going to face your fears with the Commissioner. How can I help?’
Sipping the sweet, fresh wine for courage, Ivy spilled the details of the previous night and more recent morning adventures. Tapping her nail against the chipped glass, she pursed her lips. ‘My father told me how horrific it could be between a man and a woman. But it isn’t that way for you. I want to know the beauty of it all. If I’m to lead this exploration between myself and Edward, I want to know all of the things we might explore.’
Millie refilled her glass, then Ivy’s. Her eyes flashed with mischief. ‘That is something I can do. Prepare yourself for an education in the divine.’
For the next hour, Millie was true to her word. When the other guests arrived, Ivy’s imagination reeled. Her fear was no match for the burning curiosity Millie’s detailed descriptions inspired. It was going to take all of Ivy’s efforts to focus on their meeting and not what might happen once their guests left.
* * *
Edward tried to keep his focus on the conversation swirling around him, but he couldn’t stop looking at Ivy. Every time she caught him staring, something flashed between them as he remembered their conversation from breakfast. He had been in a state of half-arousal for most of the evening, but he was also anxious. A strange amalgamation he hadn’t felt since his first time with a woman. He wanted Ivy desperately, but he also understood how paramount it was not to push her beyond her boundaries. If he had to spend the next few weeks frigging himself to completion while reining in his impulse to bury his cock into Ivy’s sweet cunny, so be it. Whatever she offered, he would shamelessly take, but not one inch more.
‘If what you have discovered is true, I don’t think Ivy announcing her decision to remain headmistress of the All Souls Orphanage will be enough to flush out the Wolf. The Devil’s Sons can just turn to the other orphanages littered throughout London. If we want to force his hand, Ivy’s announcement needs to be much more threatening to their operations.’ Hannah was pacing next to the unlit fire. Killian stood near her and sipped the brandy he’d brought with him from a teacup. Ivy didn’t have tumblers suitable, and Killian stated he cared little what vessel held the liquor so long as it did the job of not spilling all over him.
Philippa had claimed one of the wing-back chairs. Her dress, the colour of currents overlaid with sheer black organza, caught the lamplight and created a sheen like polished garnets. The same stone was sprinkled throughout her hair and wrapped around her neck in a waterfall. Even at a war gathering, Philippa was striking. But the only emotion she inspired in Edward now was warm affection and bone-deep respect. Every eye was drawn to her as she rubbed her finger against her thumb. ‘I have a thought.’
‘I’m sure you have more than one.’ He couldn’t help but bait her.
She glared at him, then turned her gaze to the larger group. ‘The Devil’s Sons is comprised of high-born members of the beau monde. As such, they have been raised believing value lies within titles and money.’
Drake and Millie sat together on the settee. The major general looked comically oversized on the small couch. ‘How does that help us?’
Philippa rolled her eyes as though Drake were stupid. He, in turn, curled his lip. His scar made the expression terrifying, which was likely his intention. Two predators snarling at one another. ‘It helps us because they don’t believe anyone will make much of a fuss over a few missing orphans. But they are wrong. At the charity ball, we’ll highlight how vulnerable these children are and lay out our plan to protect them. All of them. Not just the ones in this building.’
Silence covered the gathering.
‘And how exactly are we going to do that?’ Liam Renquist was one of the few members in their group who worked as closely with Philippa as Edward. While he had served in the Anglo-Afghan war with Killian and Drake, upon his return he accepted the Queen’s secret request to join Philippa and Edward in their covert battle against corrupt members of the peerage. His brothers-in-arms sided with the Prime Minister, fighting the same enemies with the differing goal of holding the men accountable through the House of Lords. A path Edward feared would hold no actual justice.
