Page 34 of Making of a Scandal
If Calliope’s stomach ever recovered from the encounter, she would deem it a miracle. For, she couldn’t think of anything she wanted less than being forced to endure the company of both men at once. A ball was one thing, as she could count on the presence of a crowd to act as a buffer of sorts. But with two of them making up their party of four, Calliope wasn’t certain how she would make it through the afternoon.
“We wouldn’t want to impose,” Dominick said. “I had already committed to accompanying the ladies, and it is no hardship for me to do so even without Hastings’s company.”
Calliope was taken aback by the acerbic bite in Dominick’s tone. He’d sounded as if he wanted Mr. Lewes’s presence for this outing even less than she did.
No, that wasn’t it. Shedidwant Mr. Lewes to be near; she always did. What she truly wished was to send Dominick away, so she didn’t have to wrestle with the conflict he’d stoked in her with nothing more than a brief touch. However, there was no way for her to accomplish that without appearing rude, so she simply watched in stunned silence as the men squared off from opposite sides of the room like two bulls about to charge.
“Truly, it is no trouble,” Mr. Lewes had insisted, politeness mixing with determination in every word. “In fact, I find myself curious about the cause that commands so much of Miss Barrington’s time and devotion.”
Dominick looked ready to protest again, but Diana had cut in before he could.
“Wonderful! It will be nice to have you both along, will it not, sister?”
Calliope could have murdered Diana, who merely gave her a wink before approaching Mr. Lewes.
“I’ve been informed that the carriage is ready. Shall we, Mr. Lewes?”
Calliope had tensed as two pairs of male eyes settled on her, making her feel as if she were physically being tugged in opposite directions. However, Mr. Lewes could hardly cross the room to offer his arm with Diana standing right in front of him.
So, he’d offered a smile—though it was clearly forced—and extended his bent arm toward Diana. Dominick did the same with her, and together the four of them had departed for the home.
Now, Calliope sat in the conveyance praying for a quick end to this visit so she could escape—from Dominick or Mr. Lewes, she wasn’t certain.
The two men overwhelmed her senses—Mr. Lewes sitting close on the squabs at her side, his arm brushing hers with every jostle, Dominick doing nothing to disguise the fact that he was watching her from his side of the carriage.
Diana chatted about nothing in particular, and Dominick did an admirable job of lending her his ear and replying when appropriate. But his piercing gaze never wavered from Calliope, making it difficult for her not to squirm in her seat.
She nearly lunged through the open carriage door when they arrived, the footman laying the steps and waiting for them to descend. Instead, she gathered every bit of her composure, and waited for Mr. Lewes to step down and offer his hand, pointedly meeting her gaze and not Diana’s.
A low, masculine sound emitted from within the carriage—Dominick, she realized. The noise was heavy with disapproval, but Calliope ignored him and took Mr. Lewes’s hand. As he led her toward the front door of the orphanage, she told herself to make the best of this day. Instead of working to spread gossip about her and Dominick, she could now spend the next few hours in the company of the man she truly wanted. She’d lost her head momentarily, forgetting what was most important. It didn’t matter that another man’s touch had affected her in such a way. How could she know whether that reaction had been good or bad when she didn’t yet know what it was like to be touched that way by Mr. Lewes? Dominick was a courtesan, which meant there was nothing special about the things he’d done or said to her. It likely came as second nature for him to flirt and seduce. Why should she make more of it than that?
As she raised the brass doorknocker, she took a deep breath and pushed Dominick out of her mind—a difficult feat when he stood just behind her, but not an impossible one.
“Is it safe for you to visit a place in such an … unfortunate part of town?” Mr. Lewes asked, nose wrinkled as he gazed about him.
The orphanage was situated where it was most needed—only a few blocks over from a notorious slum known as Devil’s Acre, which sat in the shadow of Westminster Palace. The home provided sanctuary to orphans who came primarily from the cesspit of poverty and iniquity. The building itself was a new construction, only five-years-old, and a beacon of hope in a sea of despair.
“There is hardly a need for such a place on the West End, I am sure you will agree,” Calliope replied. “The lady patronesses never travel here alone, and never after the sun has set. As well, the home is staffed with big, strong servants capable of defending its inhabitants from all manner of miscreants. We are perfectly safe here, Mr. Lewes.”
“Surely you aren’t afraid of a few pickpockets and beggars, Lewes?” Dominick drawled.
Mr. Lewes’s arm stiffened beneath Calliope’s hand. “Simply concerned for the welfare of the ladies in our company, as any gentleman would be.”
The door swung open then, and they were greeted by Mrs. Fisher, the matron of the home. A smile lit up her plump face at the sight of them, and she swung the door open wide.
“Miss Barrington, Lady Hastings, you’ve arrived!” Her wide eyes took in their male escorts. “And who’s this?”
“Mrs. Fisher,” Calliope said as they were ushered over the threshold. “May I introduce my dear friends, Mr. Lewes and Mr. Burke. Hastings was unable to escort us today, so these two gentlemen were kind enough to take on the responsibility.”
“Come in, come in,” Mrs. Fisher insisted, urging them deeper into the wide entrance hall—which branched off in three directions, with a narrow staircase leading to the upper floors. “The others have already gathered, and tea is to be served shortly. I’ll send word to the kitchen that we have two others joining the meeting. I am so glad you’re here! There are a number of things for us to tend to this month …”
Calliope’s mind wandered as it often did when Mrs. Fisher began babbling. She was a dear woman—a widow who had never been able to bear children of her own, and now dedicated her life to raising London’s lost little ones. Calliope and the other patronesses had installed her as the new manager after learning of the cruel practices of the woman who had held the position before her. She’d quickly recommended her nephew, a schoolteacher looking for work, as a tutor. Together, they ran the home more smoothly than anyone who had managed it before them.
They followed Mrs. Fisher down the left corridor, past a set of French doors that opened into the herb and vegetable garden that many of the home’s young ladies helped to tend. They were ushered into a small room reserved for meetings such as these, as well as the entertaining of prospective new patrons. Diana had financed the decor and furnishings, ensuring a plush, comfortable space that the people who supported the home would feel at home in.
The room was filled with familiar faces—the other patronesses of the home, some having brought their spouses along. Lewes found an empty armchair to settle Calliope into and opted to remain standing, hovering at her shoulder. Calliope folded her hands in her lap and did her best not to watch Dominick too closely. The man had once again drawn every eye in the room. A few low whispers were traded between ladies as word spread that Dominick Burke, notorious son of the Earl of Wrenworth, was in their midst.
Tea was served shortly after their arrival, and she was grateful for the distraction of accepting her cup and lacing it with sugar and milk. Then, all eyes fell on her as they waited for the meeting to begin. Most piercing of all was the gaze of the man perched on a settee in a shadowy corner of the room, his cup and saucer balanced precariously on one knee as he watched her. She cleared her throat and took a sip of tea, before setting the cup aside and reaching out to accept the slip of paper Mrs. Fisher offered her—containing a list of the needs of the home for the month, broken down precisely by their cost.
