Secret Lessons With The Rake. Julia Justiss

a graceful curtsy to his bow, she walked out, Christopher unable to pry his gaze from her lovely form until she’d shut the door behind her.

      He looked back to see his mama watching him, a speculative look on her face. He bent over the teapot and poured himself another cup to mask the heat he felt rising in his face at her scrutiny.

      However, rather than teasing him about his obvious admiration for Ellie, when he looked back at her, she was frowning. ‘I worry about her, Christopher,’ she said unexpectedly. ‘Despite what Ellie says, she can’t have extracted enough jewels or blunt out of Summerville to support herself indefinitely. And despite my distaste for the married state, having a husband—even one conspicuous for his absence—does provide a woman with a layer of protection. The unscrupulous are less likely to try to take advantage if they know there is a man about who could hold them accountable for their behaviour. With Summerville gone, Ellie has no one. And she’s far too lovely to be without a champion.’

      As his mother perhaps intended, her words immediately called up Christopher’s protective instincts. He didn’t need his mother’s warning to know there were many men who would feel a woman in Ellie’s position was fair game. ‘Is there someone in particular you suspect might be thinking of taking advantage?’

      ‘She disappeared from the public eye immediately after Summerville’s death, so I can’t say for certain. But Viscount Mountgarcy and Sir Ralph Simonton have been sniffing around her for years, and they are both as dissipated as Summerville. As you well know, the two have vied over women and wagers since they left university. With their wealth and position, I can’t see either of them believing they should take Ellie’s refusal as a final answer.’

      Christopher frowned. His mother was correct; neither would believe Summerville’s former mistress would actually reject an offer from a man of their lineage and deep pockets. They’d likely interpret her refusal as a game, her way of bargaining between them to get better terms. ‘I’ll keep an eye out. Wouldn’t want either of those dissolute characters laying a hand on her.’

      His mother gave him another speculative look. ‘Maybe you ought to do more than just “keep an eye out”. She’s not indifferent to you, Christopher—and you’re certainly attracted to her. Even better, you like her. Were you to offer her carte blanche, I’m almost certain she would accept. It would be a far happier arrangement for you than marriage to some prune-faced virgin.’

      He, Ellie’s protector? He couldn’t deny that the mere thought of possessing her sent a blaze of desire through him. In his many amorous liaisons, he’d never met another woman who touched him more deeply on a physical level. He was nearly certain they would make spectacular lovers. And as his mother said, they were already friends. He enjoyed her company, her good sense and intelligent observations, her calm demeanour that was often so in contrast to his emotional, volatile mother.

      Protecting her from harm would be a privilege.

      But taking a mistress wouldn’t advance his career, nor help him fit in better with his married friends. Indeed, it would distance him further.

      He really did need a wife to achieve both those aims. He resisted a sigh. No matter how tedious the idea of marriage sounded. He’d just have to talk himself into liking the idea better. Surely he could reshape his outlook, if he worked at it hard enough.

      ‘I do admire Ellie—and I certainly find her desirable. But I also think it’s time that I moved beyond temporary liaisons and made a permanent choice of companion.’

      Could he take Ellie—and then walk away from her? If she were to become his mistress, and they later parted, how could he keep her as a friend?

      Though his mother was correct about his tendency to move from one woman to the next, he couldn’t imagine his life without the serene loveliness of Ellie in it.

      ‘So you’ll just leave Ellie to fend for herself?’ his mother asked, jolting him from his thoughts. ‘Because a woman who isn’t chaste and dutiful deserves whatever she gets?’ she added bitterly.

      ‘No, of course not,’ he flashed back, stung. ‘How could you accuse me of thinking that? I’ve never treated any of the women with whom I’ve associated with less than courtesy and respect, and you know it! Just because I’m not prepared to make Ellie an offer doesn’t mean I’m not concerned for her well-being. We’re not as close as you and she have become, but I still consider her a friend! You may trust me to make sure she comes to no harm.’

      ‘And just how do you mean to accomplish that, if she is not under your protection?’

      ‘We’re friends. I can stop by her school, and visit her at home.’ He gave his mother a smile. ‘It is possible for a man and a woman to be just friends, you know.’

      She shrugged. ‘Maybe if the man’s a eunuch, or the woman a sour-faced virgin.’ She heaved a sigh. ‘But I shall stop, before you make me cross. Just promise to watch out for Ellie, and I won’t tease you any further. Even though I think your desire to pursue marriage is a mistake.’

      ‘That’s easy enough to promise.’ Setting aside his teacup, he rose. ‘I must get along as well. But to demonstrate the sincerity of my pledge, I’ll stop by Ellie’s school this very afternoon. Check out her circumstances, make sure that bully boy is providing sufficient protection. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open when I make the rounds of my clubs, too. If someone has disreputable intentions towards her, I’ll put a stop to it.’

      His mother opened her lips, then closed them. ‘I’ll not ask again how you think you can do that without staking a claim to the lady. Just know, I shall hold you responsible if anything untoward happens to her.’

      ‘No more responsible than I’d hold myself,’ he retorted. ‘I watch out for my friends, Mama—even the ones who happen to be female.’

      ‘See that you do. Now, go on with you. Some dreadfully dull committee meeting awaits, I’m sure.’

      Chuckling, Christopher dropped a kiss on his mother’s head and left her.

      But despite his intent to focus on finding a wife, the enticing vision of Ellie in his arms was difficult to put out of mind.

       Chapter Two

      A short while after her visit with Lady Vraux, Ellie Parmenter stepped down from the hackney and approached the modest shop front she’d rented for her school on Dean Street. With space on the ground floor for classrooms, her office, and a storeroom, and bedchambers upstairs for the girls and the matron she’d engaged as chaperone and fellow teacher, it served excellently for its purpose.

      ‘Afternoon, miss,’ Jensen, her bully-boy protector-cum-butler, said as she entered. ‘The post done arrived. I put it on your desk.’

      ‘Thank you, Jensen. I’ll see to it directly.’ Nodding to the matron and calling a hello to the girls seated at tables, working on some stitchery, Ellie crossed the space towards the small room she used as an office. Laid out on the desk were several envelopes—that looked very much like bills.

      She took a seat and opened them, confirming with a sigh that they were indeed invoices for coal, porridge, thread, and candles. Having gone from her mother’s house to her protector’s, she had little experience of the various and sundry expenses involved in running a household. She kept discovering, to her dismay, how many more of them there were than she’d anticipated.

      Pushing away the unpleasant realisation of how quickly she was going through the sum Lord Witlow had invested in the school, she told herself they would manage somehow. After she finished with the bills and checked on the students, she would go out again and purchase some cloth. The two new girls she’d taken in yesterday, both children raised in brothels, needed more suitable clothing. She meant to use Witlow’s funds as prudently as possible, and it would be cheaper to buy the material to make up the gowns.

      Besides, Lucy had expressed an