A Little Bit Sinful(5)

A crowd of men poured out from the establishment and onto the streets. They spoke loudly, cursing and laughing. Clarissa looked down to her boots until they had all passed. One stopped just shy of her and she held her breath, afraid someone had recognized her, but the man started walking again.

“Do you know George?” she asked.

Justin nodded, drawing attention to his hair that he kept far too long. The waves at the back brushed his collar. Scandalously long. Not at all like George’s hair, which he kept well trimmed and manicured. “I know who he is,” Justin said.

“And will you allow me to pay off his debts?”

“I will not.”

She frowned, wrapped her arms over her chest. “And precisely why not?”

“Because he doesn’t owe me any money.”

…

TWO MONTHS LATER

They had been at the tea and card party for nearly an hour, and Clarissa was already poised to stick a hatpin in her eye. Granted the average age of the women in the room hovered somewhere near half of a century, still, normally, Clarissa found it rather easy, if not enjoyable speaking to people. Today, though, she was in no mood to be congenial.

She had only recently passed through a personal scandal and fortunately came out on the other side with her reputation mostly unscathed, all thanks to her new sister-in-law, Vivian. It seemed much longer than a mere eight weeks since Clarissa’s long-lost brother had returned to London and then met and married Vivian amidst a slight scandal of their own. Now the newlyweds were honeymooning. So Clarissa, was once again, left to her own devices, a situation her aunt said always got Clarissa in trouble.

“Clarissa, dear, it’s your turn,” Lady Vesper said gently.

Clarissa looked up at the older woman who smiled warmly at her. They were playing whist and it was her turn. She glanced at her cards and selected one at random and tossed it down. It was unusual for her to be feeling so disjointed and rather unsocial. But her dear friend, Ella, had expressed concern when they’d first arrived. Concern for her family’s financial situation, a situation Clarissa felt certain she could help with. Despite the fact that Clarissa told Ella nearly everything, she had never disclosed to her friend when she’d begun posing as Mr. Ignatius F. Bembridge. Suffice it to say, Clarissa was thoroughly distracted.

Normally she was able to put her focus directly on the people with whom she was conversing, but today her thoughts were elsewhere. So instead of listening to Lady Vesper recount all the hilarity she witnessed the night before between her dog and her husband, all Clarissa wanted to do was pull Ella aside and procure additional details of the situation. If she were to offer her help, well, Mr. Bembridge’s help, then she needed to know what she’d be up against.

It wasn’t in her nature to be so unconventional, at least it shouldn’t be. Her late sister-in-law, Rebecca, would be so disappointed. Rebecca had been married to Clarissa’s eldest brother and had practically raised her. The woman had done her level best to teach Clarissa to be a perfect lady, something she still strived for. Still, she’d done what she’d done out of necessity and damned if she couldn’t do it again to assist her dearest of friends.

“Clarissa, it’s your turn,” Ella said, nudging her with her elbow. “Again. Honestly, you haven’t paid a lick of attention to this game.”

Clarissa looked up and smiled. “My apologies. I’m afraid I’m a little scattered today.”

“I’ll say,” Ella said. She dropped her own card onto the table. “What has your mind so consumed?”

“She’s probably mooning over that fellow she fancies so much,” Lady Vesper said.

Lady Vesper’s cousin, Agatha smiled. “Oh are you betrothed to a handsome gentleman.”

Ella shot Clarissa a look.

“Nothing so official,” Clarissa said.

“Oh, my apologies,” Agatha said.

“It’s no bother, truly.” The last thing Clarissa wanted was for any of these women to pity her. She’d had more than her fair share of such glances to last her a lifetime. She’d always been the girl whose mother had died in childbirth.

Clarissa smiled reassuringly. “I’m merely a feather-brain today, I’m afraid.”

Lady Vesper went back to talking about her dog.

Ella frowned at her. “What are you thinking about?”

“You, goose. I am concerned about what you told me. I do wish we could discuss it more. I believe I could help,” Clarissa said.