Lady Be Reckless (Duke's Daughters #2)(20)

The butler, as well as the rest of the staff, had come along with the town house rental. The owners of the property had taken themselves off to the country to recoup their finances following a disastrous turn at the tables by their oldest son. Mr. Beechcroft hadn’t quibbled at the price they asked for the property, provided the house came with a full staff.

Edward knew his father had long ago learned to turn a blind eye to perceived slights. He had been a wealthy businessman working with and among the aristocratic elite for too long not to be inured to it.

But Edward still winced every time he caught one of the upper staff’s moue of disdain at having to take direction from people they would not normally be in service to.

He wished he could somehow communicate that they were not so very different from one another; he and his father had none of the breeding required to be in polite society, and his father had come up from the working class to where he was now.

But he supposed that the snobbishness of the upper class was matched by the snobbishness of the people who served them. At least that was how it felt to him.

“Where have you put her?” Edward asked tersely. This would be something for the staff to chew over as well; why was a duke’s daughter paying a call on Mr. Beechcroft’s natural son? He should have anticipated her foolhardiness and arranged to meet her on neutral ground.

Although there was no neutral ground possible between them, and that was the entire problem. He was not of her world, no matter how much money he had. Nor was she of his; she didn’t know what work was, what it was like to be dismissed because of her birth.

“She is in the yellow salon,” the butler replied.

Edward nodded, and walked quickly down the hall.



“Good afternoon, my lady.” She was standing by the window, her fingers on the sill. She jumped as he spoke, and he wondered what had her thinking so deeply.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Wolcott.”

He felt his throat thicken as he looked at her. She was so lovely, so shiningly beautiful, it nearly hurt. She wore a pale cream-colored gown trimmed with green ribbons, and her hair was neatly dressed, pulled away from her face with a few strands artfully falling in front of her ears.

“I hadn’t realized when you said we would start tomorrow—that is, today—that you would pay a call here. Are you certain that is appropriate?”

“Of course it is,” she said, gesturing to the corner of the room. “I have my sister here with me, and our ladies’ maid is taking tea in the kitchen.”

Edward glanced to where a young lady was hunched over a book in the corner. A book she quickly covered with her hand as he approached. Interesting.

“I haven’t met you yet, have I?” he asked, walking forward to her.

She shook her head, not meeting his eyes. Where her sister was all bright lightness, this lady was a study in contrast—black hair, pale skin, and dark eyes.

“That is my sister Ida, I told her you had a massive library she could visit if she would come here. My family knows the owners of the property, you see, and while I prefer to be doing things, Ida enjoys reading about things.”

Edward suppressed a smile at Lady Olivia’s dismissal of her sister’s academic pursuits.

“Of course, you are welcome to peruse the library. It is just—”

“I know where it is,” Lady Ida said, interrupting. She rose and gave a brisk nod to her sister. “You’ve got half an hour and then we have to go.”

Edward watched bemusedly as she marched out the door.

“Well,” he said, turning back around to Lady Olivia, “we have half an hour. What can we accomplish in that time?”



What can we accomplish in that time?

For a moment, Olivia just stood and stared at him, his words conjuring up all sorts of things that were not pertinent to why she was there. Images of him taking her in his arms, pressing his mouth against hers, letting her slide her fingers through those unruly curls.

She was in love with Bennett, not his friend. She needed to remember that.

Although perhaps you aren’t so in love with him if you could be so distracted, a voice said in her head. The voice sounded remarkably like Pearl’s voice, which annoyed her even further.

“I have a list,” she said, drawing a piece of paper from her reticule.

“Of course you do,” he replied in a dry tone of voice. Was he laughing at her?

“Are you laughing at me?” she asked. She might as well say aloud what she was thinking. It wasn’t as though she had to be the polite young lady around him. She was only with him to fulfill her part of the bargain, not to endear herself to him.

It felt wonderful, if she were being honest with herself. To be honest aloud, unlike the usual softening of tone and opinion she had to force herself into when out in company.

Although she didn’t always succeed there, as past encounters showed.

“I think I am,” he replied in a surprised tone. “I haven’t had much cause to laugh lately, so thank you.”

She sat down in the chair closest to her, and gestured for him to take the one opposite. “It’s been that bad, has it?” She felt her chest start to burn with her righteous anger.

He sat down, crossing his long legs, momentarily distracting her with wondering just how long they were.

“It’s not what you think,” he replied, his voice soft. “It doesn’t bother me as much as it used to. It’s something else.” His mouth tightened into a thin line. “It’s something I don’t feel like discussing.”