“No!” I protested. “And I’m right here.”
“She’s already been warned that you’re a bear of an invalid and to ignore everything you say, Will,” Celine replied pertly.
“I’ll let you two manage?” Jane asked.
“Yes,” she answered with a sigh. “If he falls on his bottom, the gentlemen can laugh at him while they help him up.”
I waited until Jane slipped out the door before making my reply. “You like my bottom.”
“I prefer it unbruised,” she said, allowing me to stand on my own. She made her presence known, right beside me for support.
I managed the trip to her sitting room without incident, for which I was grateful. When I was barely seated, the door burst open and the three gentlemen entered with Jane and pastries bringing up the rear.
“Will, you look better than I anticipated. Those two had me convinced you were on death’s door,” Wayland said, pointing at the others while swiping a raspberry tart before the tray hit the table.
“Share,” Mr. Ainsley scolded, placing one on a plate and handing it to me. Meanwhile, Jane slipped out, shutting the door in her wake.
“You’re not here for tarts and gossip, I presume,” Celine said, slightly peevish in tone.
“Well, I did hear from Kate that that horrible woman, what’s her name… Lady Charmaine has taken another husband,” Wayland added conspiratorially between bites of tart.
“Lady Caroline,” Kit corrected.
“Maybe it’s Lady Clara?” Wayland supposed.
“It’s Lady Charlotte James, you dolts. You and Hugh ruin her ball every year, Michael. I don’t know why you cannot recall her name.” The burst came from Augie’s corner.
“He’s distracted by the bosom,” Kit said. From beside me, I could sense Celine’s hackles rising.
“Don’t tell Jules.”
“It is quite impressive,” Kit added.
“Is this what men discuss when there are no eligible women around? If so, I should like to return to a state of ignorance,”Celine snapped. “And really, Will is concussed. Is this the drivel you dragged him from the sickbed for?”
Now sheepish, Wayland replied. “Well, no. But you mentioned gossip. And Kate knows all.”
“Out, all of you!” she insisted. I didn’t have the heart to tell her I was rather enjoying myself.
“But they found something! That’s why they dragged me over here after I just got rid of him,” Kit added.
“Go on,” she answered, terse.
Ainsley pulled a stack of documents out of a satchel I hadn’t noticed before. “Bates. He’s Wesley Parker’s half-brother. And the other one, Lloyd Dickens, was a half-brother on his mother’s side.”
“Was there another brother?” Celine asked, more sedate.
Ainsley flipped through another page. “Samuel Dickens, two years younger. Why?”
“Lloyd attacked us a few weeks ago. With another man. I thought it was random—I was in a disreputable part of town. But I stabbed the man with an umbrella tip. Lloyd said something when we were struggling… that I had killed him.” There was a numbness to her speech, delivered to the carpeting. I wanted desperately to gather her in my arms.
“I do not know whether to scold or applaud you, Cee,” Wayland replied.
“Neither will do nicely.”
“You have all this information on your patrons?” I asked, reaching a hand out for the file. Ainsley passed it and I flipped through it, all astonishment. Bank records, family history, collateral, favored ladies at White’s, everything a person could want to know about a man’s financial and personal situation was contained in the pages.
“It’s astounding what people will eagerly share in exchange for the prestige of being seen at Wayland’s. And the chance of riches and glory, of course,” Ainsley explained.
