A Wicked Liaison. Christine Merrill

tried to imagine the ad she must post, to account for that. ‘Will the person who lost a large sum of money on my bedroom floor please identify it…?’

      It was madness. There was no way she could return it.

      She gathered the money into stacks, counting as she went. This was enough to pay the servants what she owed them, and settle the grocer’s bill and next month’s expenses as well.

      If she kept her tongue and kept the money, she could hold off the inevitable for another month.

      But what if the thief came back and demanded to know what had become of his money? She shivered. Then she must hope that he was as understanding as he had been this evening. It would not be so terrible if she must part with another kiss.

      Tony arrived at his townhouse in fine spirits, ignored the door before him and smiled at the façade. He rubbed his palms together once, and took a running start at it, jumping to catch the first handhold above the window of the front room. He climbed the next flight easily, his fingers and toes fitting into the familiar places worn into the bricks, then leaned to grasp the edge of the balcony, chinning himself, swinging a leg up and rolling his body lightly over the railing to land on his feet in front of the open doors to his bedroom. He parted the curtains and stepped through. ‘Good evening, Patrick.’

      His valet had responded with an oath and seized the fireplace poker to defend himself, before recognising his master and trying to turn his movement into an innocuous attempt to adjust the logs in the grate. ‘Sir. I believe we have discussed this before. It is a very bad habit, and you have promised to use the front door in the future, just as I have promised to leave it unlocked on nights when you are working.’

      Tony grinned back at him. ‘I am sorry. I could not help myself. I am—’

      Deliriously happy.

      ‘—full of the devil, after this evening’s outing. You will never guess who Stanton sent me out to spy on.’

      Patrick said nothing, waiting expectantly.

      ‘The Dowager Duchess of Wellford.’

      This was worthy of another oath from Patrick. ‘And you informed him that you could not.’

      ‘I did no such thing. He was under the impression that she was consorting with Lord John Barton, that they were in league in some sort of nefarious doings involving stolen printing plates. If he had not sent me, it would be someone else. I went post-haste to her rooms for a search. The climb to her bedroom window was—’

      As easy as I’ve always dreamed it to be…

      ‘—no problem. Thank the Lord, there was no sign of anything illegal hidden in her rooms. Although there is evidence that she is in dire straits and in a position to be forced to do things against her nature, by Barton or someone else. And then—and here is the best part, Patrick—while I was searching, she caught me at it.’

      ‘Sir.’ Patrick’s tone implied that the word ‘caught’ was not under any circumstances the best part of a story.

      ‘She caught me,’ Tony repeated. ‘And so I was forced to hold her tight, and question her. And because I wished to be every bit the rogue I appeared to be, I kissed her.’

      ‘And then?’ Patrick leaned forward with a certain amount of interest.

      Tony sighed. ‘And then she kissed me back.’

      ‘And then?’ Patrick prompted again.

      ‘And then I climbed out the window and came home. But not before leaving her the purse that Stanton had given me to cover the night’s work. I dare say she will not be required to sell the last of her jewellery for quite some time. St John was most generous. It was quite the most perfect evening I’ve ever had. What say you to that?’

      Patrick dropped any attempt at servitude. ‘I say, some day, when you are old enough to be shaved, you will be quite a man with the ladies. Ah, but wait. You are thirty, are you not? Then it is quite another matter.’

      ‘And what would you have had me do?’

      Patrick was working very hard not to make any of the more obvious suggestions, which might get him sacked. ‘You might, at least, have told her the truth.’

      ‘Just what part of it?’

      ‘That you have been pining for her like a moon calf, low these long years.’

      ‘I did tell her. Well, not the truth, as such. Not that truth, at any rate. I told her that she needn’t be afraid, which is true. And that I was a most unexceptional fellow. And that I have loved one woman my entire life.’ Tony frowned. ‘I did not tell her it was her, as such. You might think a woman would be glad to hear that? But trust me, Patrick, when she is hearing it from a stranger who is hiding in her bedroom, it will not be well received.’

      ‘But you are not a stranger to her.’

      ‘But she does not know that. I did not have time to explain the full story. An abbreviated version of the truth, one which omitted my identity, was definitely the order of the day. And despite what you may think of my romantic abilities, I’ve told the story before and found that omitting the identity of my beloved works in my favour. Nothing softens the heart of a woman quite so much as the story of my hopeless love for another. And how can I resist when they wish to comfort me in my misery?’

      ‘Sir,’ said Patrick, in a way that always seemed to mean ‘idiot’. ‘If you are with the object of the hopeless passion, and you wish the passion to cease being a hopeless one, then the unvarnished truth is usually the best course.’

      No longer hopeless…

      Tony shook his head. A single kiss was a long way from the fulfilment of his life’s romantic fantasies, and it would be foolish to set his heart upon it. ‘Nothing will come from this night’s meeting. Even if the whole truth is revealed. Think sensibly for a moment, Patrick. Much time has passed since I knew her. She barely knew me then. I doubt she even remembers me. She is a duchess, even if she is a dowager. And while I am her most humble servant, I am most decidedly not, nor ever will be, a duke. Or, for that matter, a marquis, an earl or even a baron. With me, she could live quite comfortably to a ripe old age.’ He dismissed his own dreams on that subject with a wave of his hand.

      ‘But should she attach herself to me, it would mean that many doors, which were once opened, would be closed to her. She would go from her Grace the Duchess to plain old Mrs Smythe. In the face of that, an offer of undying devotion is no equal. And the whole town knows her as the most beautiful woman in London. She will not want for suitors, and need not settle for the likes of me. She will aim higher, when she seeks another husband. Man is not meant to have all that he dreams possible. Not in this life, at any rate.’

      Patrick applauded with mock-courtesy. ‘Most humble, sir. I had forgotten that you studied for the ministry. You have done a most effective job of talking yourself out of the attempt. In winning the hand of a lady, it would be better if you had studied the Romans. Carpe diem, sir.’

      ‘I carpe-d the situation to the best of my ability, thank you very much.’ Tony closed his eyes and remembered the kiss. ‘And perhaps there will be other opportunities. I must see her again, in any case, to settle the business with Barton and to make sure she is all right.’

      He remembered the missing ornaments and the empty jewel box. ‘Stanton is wrong. I am sure of it. He told me she was Barton’s mistress. But if Barton is keeping her, he is doing it on the cheap. If she were mine, her jewel box would be full to overflowing.’

      If she were mine…

      ‘But it is almost empty. And there is evidence that she is selling off the furnishings of the house to make ends meet. I had assumed that that old ninny Wellford would make provision for her after his death. Surely he did not think taking a young wife would somehow extend his own time on this mortal coil. He must have known she’d outlive him.’

      He sat in his favourite armchair