And doubt very much that anything good would come of his summons here today.
His shoulders tensed.
“I hope you did not invite me here to pry for secrets about my clients,” he said stiffly.
“Pry?” Lady Roundtree flapped her hand excitably. “A baroness would never do such a thing!”
Balderdash. The baroness was infamous for engaging in precisely that sort of behavior, and they both knew it. Yet Heath believed her when she claimed pumping him for information was not her aim.
Lady Roundtree was a known gossip, although not a malignant one like that rotter Phineas Mapleton. The baroness did not use her knowledge in an attempt to ruin others, but she did like to know every possible scrap of gossip. And this wouldn’t be the first time someone had tried and failed to wheedle a secret or two from him.
“How can I be of service?” he asked cautiously.
She pointed at a stack of letters on a silver tray. “I presume you’ve heard of the new caricaturist?”
He could not prevent his lip from curling in distaste. “Who has not?”
“Indeed.” Lady Roundtree sniffed. “I, for one, do not allow such filth into my home. This sanctuary is free of gossip at all times.”
Heath slid a doubtful look in the direction of the silver tray, with its towering pile of caricatures and scandal columns.
Lady Roundtree colored when she saw the direction of his gaze. “All those go straight into the fire before anyone but myself has a chance to see them.”
The tension in Heath’s muscles eased when he realized this would include her companion. Miss Winfield was unlikely to have seen such rubbish firsthand. He was strangely pleased by the idea that being on the outskirts of Society meant Miss Winfield could remain unspoiled by it. Pure.
“What do you know about the artist?” he asked Lady Roundtree without changing expression.
She hesitated before responding. “He is not your client, is he?”
“I should think not!” Heath reared back at the insult.
If anything, he found each caricature more reprehensible than the last. The anonymous coward mocked and taunted the very society he should be striving to uphold, not to break down. Each stroke of ink caused more gossip in a single day than all the scandal sheets put together.
“These caricatures are a scourge,” he said with feeling. “This alleged ‘artist’ should be dethroned. I hope you do not count yourself among his fans, Lady Roundtree.”
“A fan?” She leaned closer. “Exposingtonfoibles is uncouth and wrong. I wish to be the one to unmask the blackguard. I shall be famous!”
He cleared his throat before responding. “You want…”
“To employyou, of course. Secretly.” Lady Roundtree frowned. “That’s what you do, isn’t it? Keep secrets for people? If I pay you to discover the identity of this villain, you won’t tell anyone how I discovered the man’s identity?”
Heath narrowed his eyes.
He was indeed a secret-keeper, and if he accepted a client, complete and utter confidentiality was immediately understood. But thus far, all his effort had gone toward keeping scandals in the dark, not bringing even bigger ones to light.
Yet truly, what claim to privacy held a smug coward who sold other people’s private humiliations for profit? Putting a stop to it was the only ethical course of action.
Fewer scandals disrupting Society would create a better environment for everyone.
Lady Roundtree’s voice took on a wheedling tone. “I suddenly realize that unmasking this cretin will reduce the amount of gossip about everyone else overnight, thus imperiling your livelihood. Perhaps you condone—”
“I’ll take the case,” he said abruptly. “My ‘livelihood’ does not depend on encouraging gossip. I’ve chosen the path of scandal-fixer out of a passion for helping those in need, not out of some desire to pad my purse. I don’t need the money. My clients needme.”
“Now I’ve offended you,” the baroness said fretfully. “Let us dispense with the formalities and move past all this ugliness. You’ve said you will take the case. I suppose your services operate on retainer, like a barrister. Let’s make it official. Will five hundred be enough to start? Six? Seven?”
Heath blinked.
While he had genuinely meant every word about not pursuing his career out of any need for money, the outrageous sums the wealthy baroness tossed out without a second thought would be enough to sustain a non-aristocratic bachelor for a year.
