“Are you worried about her then, your cousin?” Mantis asked.
It was Greys’ turn to twist uncomfortably. Mantis marveled that the man persisted in dressing so fastidiously despite the grueling day’s ride ahead of them.
“She’ll be my responsibility. I imagine I’ll be prevailed to escort her and Violet to all the usual places. Perhaps I ought to have made that bet with Spencer.” Greys cocked his head to one side. “Although, if you ask me, Westerley’s concerned about the wrong sister.”
“You think Lady Bethany is itching for a scandal?” Mantis chuckled but then reconsidered and frowned. If such a well-mannered woman as Felicity was capable of such passion, he supposed anything was possible.
“I wouldn’t rule it out. I’m only grateful my duties are limited to my younger cousin—and Violet too, I suppose.”
“You have Blackheart at your disposal for nearly three months. He’s got two sisters. Simply draw on his experience.”
Greys nodded, looking slightly less concerned.
“You’re a decent sort, Mantis.”
Mantis chuffed. He hadn’t acted decently with Lady Felicity. But Greys didn’t toss compliments out for no reason.
“Eh? Out with it, what do you need?”
“Dance with Posy? Maybe take her for a drive? She’ll handle herself better if she has a little confidence…”
“I can make time for that.” Because that’s what friends were for.
“Are you still working with your group of orphans?”
“Absolutely. A few have dropped out but…” The last time he’d met with them, just before the house party, there had been twelve in all. Teaching the fundamentals of jiu-jitsu to a dozen street urchins wasn’t’ going to change the world, but if he could help even one of them better themselves in one small way, it was worth it.
“One can only hope they don’t use their training to become better pickpockets.”
“That doesn’t concern me. It’s not just about the fighting, you know,” Mantis said.
“True. Although it hasn’t hurt your fencing skills.”
“Nor my boxing.”
The students were expecting the lessons to resume in two days. Mantis glanced up at the sky. He would arrive in London with no time to spare. And yet, he still felt guilty for leaving Westerley Crossings without first securing Felicity’s consent to marry him. Or at least making a more valiant effort.
“To what lengths would you go if you ruined a lady?” He asked the question vaguely. Most likely, Lady Felicity was not carrying his child. And she seemed quite intent on refusing him given the freedom to do so.
But that didn’t alter the fact that he’d taken her virtue. There were too many men in the ton who would hold the loss of her innocence against her. Two years ago, in fact, a particularly pompous baron had demanded an annulment from his wife. The church had refused to dissolve the marriage, but the lady had been banished from society.
“Marry her, I suppose.”
“But what if she refused?”
“She would not,” Greys answered right away.
Mantis had believed the same until recently.
“But if she did?”
“Then she’s a fool.”
Mantis nodded in agreement, and then Greys went on to actually answer the question.
“I suppose I would court her. Women are odd creatures, Mantis, in that they don’t always say what they mean. Nor do they always mean what they say. Such a lack of transparency leaves us miserable males doomed to figure them out for ourselves. And since we are, for the most part, ignorant where females are concerned, we’re compelled to resort to sending flowers and prostrating ourselves like besotted idiots.”
It wasn’t bad advice. And Mantis couldn’t help but agree with such an assessment.
