Page 73 of Her Impeccable Scoundrel
“I do like Mr. Jarrow’s looks, but…” She grimaced. “I don’t appreciate being talked to as if I am a child.”
She gave Coralie a one-armed hug. “You are not a child, and you are not yet a woman. You are a very young lady. And it is one thing for you to think about which gentlemen are handsome, but?—”
“But I must behave properly. I know, Godmama. Do not worry, I am not mooning over any gentlemen at present.” The sly smile appeared again. “Do you not wonder why I didn’t mention whether Lord Chilcombe is handsome?”
“I would assume because you are being the sensible, level-headed girl… that is, young lady, I’ve always known you to be.”
Coralie hugged her back. “Yes. Sensible and very observant. Lord Chilcombe is, in strict terms, the least handsome of the three men. Not as wide-shouldered as Mr. Jarrow, or as square-jawed as Mr. Morley. But aside from that, there would be no sense in me mooning over Lord Chilcombe because he only has eyes for you.”
“Coralie.”
“He looks at you the way I sometimes catch Samuel looking at Louisa. I noticed it the first day he came to Bluebelle Lodge. That is why I told him about finding you burning those papers. Because I could see that he cares for you.”
“My lady.” Adwick stood in the doorway. “Lord Chilcombe asked that you join him in his private sitting room.”
Too astonished by Coralie to find words, Blythe nodded to her butler and waved him away. Now was the moment to tell her she was merely burning those nonexistent love letters. But she hated to lie.
“It’s all right, Godmama. May I stay here and read?” Coralie asked. “Nicholas and his new friend found some old tin soldiers and will be setting up a battle.”
She looked long and hard at this girl she’d loved and raised and decided to take the coward’s way out.
Besides, Graeme was waiting for her.
“Of course,” she said.
Coralie’s patience with Nicholas in the carriage the day before had been heroic. Blythe could trust the girl’s common sense.
Mostly, that is. This business of how Graeme looked at her… She would have to, one day, explain to Coralie the difference between admiration and lust.
“Best not to wander around too much just yet. If you need anything, ring for a servant.”
She passed Clive in the corridor just outside Graeme’s suite.
“His lordship is waiting for you, my lady,” the servant said without any sign that he was scandalized by her visit to Graeme’s private domain. He turned back and held the door for her.
How quickly would the word of her visits to Graeme’s bedchamber spread among their servants and those of their neighbors?
“Blythe.” Graeme cast down the letter he was reading and rose from his desk.
The door snicked shut behind her, and he came and took both of her hands. “Morley and Jarrow are in the library. I asked them to come along and meet with you.”
“I see. I thought your meeting was with the Foreign Office. Where did you?—”
“Let me explain before we go to them.”
He told her about the private club, the presence of the Lord Lieutenant and the reformer, Lord Ashley, and his surprise at finding both Jarrow and Morley in attendance, as well as Mr. Fleming and his clerk. He briefly summarized their ensuing discussion.
“We are not alone in this battle,” he said. “Diddenton’s claim to Bluebelle Lodge is certainly fraudulent and the will, if there is one, was coerced to cover this fraud. I told them about the letter, and they’d like to see it.”
“Did you tell them how you obtained it?”
“I told them I could not reveal that information. And I don’t intend to.”
She looked down at their joined hands. She had managed, so far, to not lie, at least never under oath.
Chapter Sixteen
“Three other things you need to know,” Graeme said. “Later, in the carriage, I mentioned to Morley and Jarrow the call we paid this morning. And I told them you’ve been searching for Lunetta since you returned to London to see if she had the new will. And when Jarrow asked me if Lunetta had made a demand for money, I told him, none that I’ve seen.”
