Leaning forward in the chair, he slid the glass closer so the fizzing bubbles tickled at his nose. His stomach protested at the very thought of drinking liquids of any type at present.
“What was it Jez said we were doing tonight? Can’t recall this early in the day, my head has not had time to wake up with the rest of my slow-moving body.” Leo closed his eyes to block out the light. Good God, what had he thought to accomplish by drinking so much last night? He didn’t normally imbibe this freely, and hadn’t since his college days.
“Tristan managed to get an invite to the Carletons’ dinner party. He spent half his night charming the lady and her husband to secure two seats at her coveted dinner party—you being an automatic choice.”
The Carletons were old family friends of his father’s.
“Those who attend are more oft than not invited to her annual house party in the country in June.” Hayden leaned back in his chair, amusement coloring his expression. “I sit this one out, old chap.”
Right, Leo thought dourly as he recalled bits and pieces of his night now. Apparently they were to steal the Ponsley chit out from under Mr. Warren’s nose.
A plate of toast, eggs, and bacon were set in front of Hayden. Leo’s stomach roiled. He had to focus on the pattern in the Turkish rug off to the right of Hayden’s shoulder, though that didn’t help the spinning of his head any better than the sight or smell of food.
“Drink up, so you’ll be able to eat something.”
“I met an old acquaintance last night.” Leo wasn’t sure why he mentioned it, perhaps because it was worth mentioning?
“And…?”
“The chaperone—did I mention she was the girl’s chaperone?—well, she’ll be a problem.” An enjoyable one, but a problem nonetheless.
Hayden put up his hands. “Jez is right stubborn whenever the mood strikes and she told me quite frankly that she’ll not have me interfering with her plans. I think you should humor her for the time being. It keeps her from doing anything … rash.” Hayden took a healthy bite of his eggs before continuing. “What she really needs is a break from society, but when I suggested we spend a week at my country estate, she outright refused. She said the moment she leaves, Mr. Warren will have all her belongings tossed out of her house and into the middle of Mayfair for all to witness.”
“Has Mr. Warren threatened her?” Leo felt his ire rising with every shared detail of Jezebel’s predicament.
“I believe the only reason he’s not thrown her out is that it would damage his reputation considerably by doing it so soon after her husband’s death. Society has always been divided on their opinion of Jez.”
“Too true. Those who hated that blighter husband of hers feel something very close to pity for Jez.” Leo rubbed his temples in an attempt to ease the pounding migraine he felt coming on. He was never going to drink again.
“And those who find her actions and candor distasteful side with her husband,” Hayden finished.
Leo downed half the contents in the glass and cringed as he set the revolting concoction back on the wooden table with a thunk.
“Jesus, man. What is this crap that I’m pouring down my gullet?”
“Something that’ll help you eat.” Hayden waved over the steward. “My friend here is ready for your breakfast specialty. Something to cure his cotton mouth and uneasy stomach.” Hayden looked to Leo and said, “You can thank me later for the cure-all you’re throwing down your gullet.”
“Much gratitude, Hayden.” He scrubbed his hands roughly over his eyes, wishing the spinning would settle long enough for him to drink up the remainder of the fizzing mixture in front of him. “Back to Jez for a minute here. Have you seen your solicitor yet?”
“Not for another two hours. But I should warn you, changing the outcome of the will is about the only way she’ll listen to reason. I’ll try and have it held up in court. Perhaps Mr. Warren will draw up a settlement to appease Jez if he’s made to wait a lengthy period.”
Jez’s choices were few: she could marry again, and hope the man was decent, or she could figure out a way to live on a small fraction of the money she was used to.
Leo pulled out his fob, and flipped the gold case open. Nearly eleven and he wanted nothing more than to sleep off his headache. Though it seemed to be receding with every minute that passed.
“Right, then,” Leo said. “I’ll take myself about the shops and buy something nice to cheer her up. What do you reckon she desires most?”
Between bites of his poached eggs, Hayden said, “Aside from dashing Mr. Warren’s chances of ever marrying, I suggest something frivolous and completely useless. She does love her baubles and she was admiring a fan inlaid with jade on Bond Street last week. Or perhaps some new hair combs?” With a shrug of his shoulders, Hayden wiped his mouth on his napkin and tossed it down on his finished plate. “I have some errands to attend. Will I see you at Tristan’s before you make your way to the Carletons?”
Leo nodded and pressed his fingers to his aching temples again. Saying no to Jez was not something he or Tristan had ever been able to do. “I believe ‘after eight’ were his words, though I can’t be sure.”
Hayden laughed at him as he stood, doffed his hat, and slapped him on the back of his shoulder. “Till this evening,” were his parting words.
Once Leo finished his meal, he felt marginally better and called for his jacket and hat. It was time to head over to Bond Street to buy something for Jez. And he would shamelessly use said gift as a bribe to persuade Jez that she should plan a trip to the countryside. She did need to get away from the hubbub of the city at least for a short time.
As he turned off Piccadilly, whom should he see but Miss Camden and her cousin? He paused at the corner of Old Bond and watched them for a moment. The driver of the coach helped Genny’s cousin down the last step of the carriage. Done with his task, the driver held out his hand for his coin, which Genny placed in his ungloved palm.
Well, didn’t this just make his day a little brighter? He did enjoy the fact that he could fluster Miss Camden so early in the day—maybe he enjoyed doing that a little too much.
Genny’s dress was a white-sprigged muslin, with little yellow flowers dotting her bodice and skirts, simple yet elegant. Though her companion wore a pink and green checked silk day dress with a slight dip in front and back, and of a much finer material, his gaze swung immediately back to Genny. She clasped a white parasol in her delicately lace-gloved hands. Unfortunately, a silk moiré bonnet shaded her face from his vantage point.
She would not see him coming, then. He’d have the opportunity to take her unawares. What would her reaction be on seeing him today?
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he picked up his pace, heading in their direction. They disappeared behind the dark-stained wooden door of a jeweler’s.
Leo pushed his way through the same door they had entered a few minutes later. A brass bell jingled above his head, heralding his arrival. It was busy—there were about a dozen patrons looking over the wares—so no one turned or took notice of him, aside from the shopkeeper who smiled brightly and approached to offer assistance.
“Good afternoon, my lord.”
“Afternoon.”
“Might I be of assistance?”
“I intend to catch up with the ladies.” He nodded in the direction of Lady Charlotte and Miss Camden.
The proprietor stepped back with a bow. “I will not keep you, my lord. Let me know if you require any assistance.”
“I will. Thank you.” He stepped farther into the store and closer to his quarry.
A store clerk was showing Ponsley’s daughter a hatpin. He placed the emerald-studded piece through the young woman’s hat and showed her the image she made with a handheld mirror. Miss Camden looked like the most patient woman in the world, standing off to the side, hands folded demurely over her front, head nodding as she said something too quiet for him to hear from this distance.
Should he approac
h the cousin or Miss Camden first? Maybe he should approach the salesclerk helping them, since he did plan on buying some sort of bauble for Jez and this was just as good a store as any. That settled it then, two birds with one stone as the saying went.
He stepped out from the melee of people crowded around the glass cases situated at the front of the store.
Lady Charlotte turned to him with an inviting smile, fingers clasped to the soft yellow brim of her hat as the clerk pulled out the hairpin lodging it in place.
“Lady Charlotte,” he said, tipping his hat forward. “Your very presence has made my morning all the brighter.”
For the briefest moment, there was a glint of wickedness in her smile before she schooled her expression into something more becoming for a lady fresh out into society. It was practiced coyness and far too knowing for a woman who was under the age of twenty and unmarried.
And it was in that moment—after not having spent any time alone with her the previous evening—he understood she was not a woman easily taken by surprise. He would have guffawed at the realization if they were the only two people in the room. Maybe he need not worry about her virtue. He had a suspicion the young lady knew precisely how to handle Tristan. It might be wiser to worry for his friend.
“Lord Barrington. Fancy we should find you here. I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of running into each other before now.”
“Evidently, it is my good fortune that finds me here while you are out shopping.”
Charlotte’s gaze slipped past his shoulder. It was brief, but he noticed her attention was momentarily distracted. A shame he hadn’t thought to invite Tristan along for his outing. The wastrel was probably still abed.
“Alas, my lady, I am alone in my travels today.”
Her perfectly plucked brows arched just as Miss Camden’s arm slipped through hers.
Genny inclined her head politely, but he didn’t miss the flash of annoyance in her light brown gaze. “Lord Barrington,” she said tersely. At least she acknowledged him. To her cousin she said, “I saw the most beautiful hairpiece. I must show it to you at once.”
She tried to tug her cousin away from him, but Charlotte budged not an inch.
Did he have an accomplice in monopolizing Miss Camden’s time?
“What brings you to Bond Street, my lord?” Charlotte asked.
“I am on a mission to find the most nonsensical frippery possible.”
“For whom do you purchase this gift? Maybe—”
“Charlotte,” Miss Camden scolded. “You cannot ask such things.”
Charlotte’s cheeks pinkened and he doubted it had anything to do with her boldness, but was instead a result of Miss Camden’s firm, public reprimand. “I only meant that we could be of service and help you pick something out.”
“I cannot refuse such a generous offer.” He looked to Miss Camden, his smile slow and easy. She chewed on her lower lip as she stared at him questioningly. “The frippery is for Jez … I mean the Dowager Countess of Fallon.”
Charlotte covered her mouth too late to hide her amusement over the nickname. Miss Camden’s lips pinched together in disapproval.
“I’d be honored if you could help me pick out something suitable for a lady.”
“I daresay our tastes differ greatly and I doubt we would be of any help in this quest of yours for the dowager countess.” Miss Camden turned away from him after she spoke.
“Come now, Miss Camden. Surely all women appreciate the same types of fripperies?” He spread his hand out to indicate the array of jeweled picks and tortoiseshell hair combs in the glass display cabinets that lined the walls. “What would you choose for … yourself?”
Her eyes dropped to the pieces in question. Charlotte remained silent on the topic as Genny stepped forward with a barely audible sigh of defeat.
The first of many concessions he would garner from the lady. Leo had to cover his amused grin with his gloved hand so as not to prick her mood again. She gave him a distrustful glare, then looked at the glass case, her finger running along the seamed edge. Her gloves were lace and frilled out in layers just above the delicate bone at the side of her wrist; her fingers were long and slender beneath, bringing back memories of them searching across his broad, naked chest.
He swallowed and focused on the hair picks and tried not to imagine those hands sliding along his skin as teasingly as they did along the glass.
It wasn’t long before she pointed to something for the proprietor to retrieve.
He leaned closer when the item was placed on a small piece of black velvet. Charlotte also stepped closer to view what was displayed before them.
“Oh, cousin,” she said, mirth sprinkled in her voice.
Genny had picked a hair comb with a mishmash of red octagonal beads roughly the size of the tip of his pinky, glued above long lacquered black tines. Six-inch feathers dyed orange shot straight through the middle of the pasted jewels.
“I daresay,” Leo responded, “that has to be the ugliest hair comb I’ve ever laid eyes upon.”
Genny put her chin up defiantly. “As you might have surmised, our tastes differ greatly.”
Leo full out laughed at her quip. Miss Camden really disliked his attentions. Disliked that he’d put her in an odd situation by asking for her and her cousin’s assistance.
He would sway her opinion of him to something more favorable. There had been a time when she had adored him and it would be his goal to charm her a second time. And he wasn’t doing this for the sake of Jez; he liked Miss Camden more than he ought. She was a wicked temptation he didn’t want to resist.
“Genny, do pick something else. Show his lordship that you have a modicum of good taste. You did help me pick out most of my millinery needs for the season.”
“I’m glad to know what displeases you most, but I’d be interested to see what does catch your eye from the display.” Leo motioned to the cases lined up before them.
Miss Camden let out a frustrated air as she stared back at him. “Very well. But why ask me? Do you not buy baubles for your lovers or mistresses?”
They’d been relatively quiet up to this point and had only attracted the attention of a few of the other women in the shop. But that comment had a few heads turned in their direction.
His smile slipped for the briefest of moments. Ah, so she only thought the worst of him. Yes, he’d taken her innocence, and he was somewhat of a playboy in society, but the idea of a mistress was repugnant even to the likes of him. And he did not pay his lovers with fripperies, nor would he ever treat them as one might a shameful mistress.
“I’ve never needed nor wanted to acquire such an item, madam.”
She must have heard the displeasure lacing his voice for she turned away and stared down at the glass case before them once again.
Nothing seemed to catch her eye as she moved on to the next case and then the next. He followed slowly behind. Twice she stopped suddenly to closer inspect the pieces beneath the glass and it caused her skirts to brush against his calves. He wanted to press forward and feel a little more of her, but he daren’t act so bold as to harm her reputation. He forced himself to step away and settled for watching her move from case to case. He’d have to be content with the fleeting touches he’d received thus far.
Finding something she liked, she nodded for the proprietor to join them and tapped her finger against the case, indicating another piece she wished to inspect. “This one, as well.”
The proprietor laid out his small strip of black velvet again and placed the two hair combs Genny had chosen atop it. One had two twisted sterling silver prongs; the top portion was done in an intricate floral pattern and it was no larger than the casing of his timepiece. The second was made of tortoiseshell with a French ivory cameo molded into the center and six tines spiked down from the center. The pieces were equally stunning. She’d chosen jewelry fit for a princess. Not surprising since she’d always been his princess, hence the moniker he had given her.
Sliding her selections to the side, he pointed out a few more pieces that caught his eye from the case. As the proprietor pulled each item out, Leo turned and faced Miss Camden.
“Would you be so kind as to try them in your hair?” Leo asked. “I daren’t make my purchase without seeing how they fare in conjunction with your beauty.”
She raised one dainty brow. “Flattery will do you no good, Lord Barrington. Besides, it would be a travesty to don any of these pieces with my hair not properly dressed.”
“Genny, you’re being dreadfully unhelpful.” Charlotte drummed her gloved fingers over the edge of the case beside her. “Lord Barrington has implored our help, and therefore we could do no less than he asks. It’s simple enough, really.”
Lady Charlotte stepped in front of him, nearly blocking his view of Miss Camden as she loosened the wide ivory silk bow tied beneath Genny’s chin. Genny said something under her breath that he could not make out. Probably berating his character. Why it brought a smile to his lips was anyone’s guess.
Genny looked discomfited and out of sorts once her bonnet was removed. With her gloved hand, she brushed loose strands of her chestnut-colored hair from her forehead and reached behind her to adjust hairpins in the simple bun she wore.
Wisps of hair had escaped the small braids that wrapped around and held the rest of her hair in a knot at the back of her head. Had she cut her hair over the years? Or did it still fall to the middle of her back? A memory so vivid of her riding him came to mind, the ends of her hair brushing his thighs as she arched her back and pressed her breasts into his face. He clearly recalled kissing, licking, and delivering love bites to her tender flesh as she leaned back in his arms in the throes of passion.
Wicked Nights With a Proper Lady Page 5