“One o’ ’em tight-lipped bombazines?” Black’s eyes rolled toward his bushy grey brows. “Tessie ’as ’em calling for smelling salts afore they get in the door. No, my granddaughter needs a firmer hand. That’s why I moved ’er in with me. But I’m a busy man so I got to find a guard who can keep up with ’er. In the past month alone, she’s gone through three.”
Harry lifted his brows. “Gone through?”
“Don’t condone failure.” In a blink, Black went from doting grandfather to menacing criminal king. “I trust you to guard my treasure, you don’t betray my trust. If you do,”—Black stabbed a finger at him—“prepare for consequences.”
Hairs stirred on Harry’s nape. At the same time, the possibility flitted through his head: as Miss Todd’s personal guard, he’d have access to Black’s inner sanctum. He could search for evidence of Black’s guilt in a way the police hadn’t been able to do.
The risks would be many. He decided to play along for now. As long as he survived the night, he could consult with his superior on the best plan of action.
“How do you know I’m the man for the job, sir?” he asked. “You don’t know me—”
“Know your name’s Sam Bennett. Know you’ve the manners o’ a gent, but you ain’t no fribble.” Black jerked his chin at Harry’s hands. “Didn’t get those calluses idling about Brook’s.”
Harry answered Black’s unspoken question. “I was a navvy.”
“Real work. The kind that makes a man.” Black nodded with what might have passed for approval. “Despite the fact that you’re a four-eyes, you gave a fine accounting o’ yourself at the ’Are and ’Ounds. Took down three bastards—could’ve been a prizefighter with that uppercut o’ yours.”
Devil and damn, how does Black know all that?
“Got eyes and ears everywhere, and don’t you forget it.” Black’s warning was unmistakable. “You’ll start on Monday.”
“Yes, sir.” It seemed the safest thing to say.
“One more thing. You guard Tessie with your life. You touch ’er for any other purpose, I’ll string you up and yank your guts out from your throat. That clear?”
Egad.Only a fool would play with that sort of fire. “Very.”
“Good.” Black gave a satisfied nod. “Now take your lumps if you ’ave to, but keep Tessie out o’ trouble. The swell I got lined up for ’er is a bona fide stickler. Got ’im by the balls and purse strings, don’t I, but ’e still won’t marry ’er unless ’er reputation is as white as the driven snow.”
Before Harry could contemplate what Black meant by taking his “lumps,” the door flew open. He rose, an odd stutter in his chest at Miss Todd’s transformation.
Devil take it, she’s…beautiful?
The puckish lad had been replaced by a vibrantly attractive young lady. Miss Todd’s dark, lustrous locks were piled on her head, exposing the graceful curve of her neck. With her disguise removed, her heart-shaped face came into focus. She had a charming retroussé nose, creamy cheeks, a piquant little chin. Her eyes sparkled like a sunlit pond, and that mouth of hers…
Uncomfortably aware of the hot pounding in his veins, he jerked his gaze away. A mistake. For it landed on the rest of her, where her camouflage had apparently been the most effective at hiding her charms. The pink frock she now wore displayed her delicate bosom and nipped-in waist, the femininity of her form. The form that had felt delectably soft draped over him.
Swallowing, he reminded himself of how he’d been duped by Celeste. The one time he’d allowed sentiment and desire to rule over rationality had resulted in catastrophe. And the stakes this time were even higher: not just scandal but…death.
No, he wouldn’t make the mistake of placing his future in a woman’s hands again. In matters pertaining to the opposite sex, he would be guided by his intellect. And he would need his wits about him in order to deal with the troublesome Miss Todd.
4
“Good evening, Grandpapa,”Tessa said.
“Don’t youGrandpapame,” her grandfather grumbled as he held his cheek out for her kiss. “Ought to turn you o’er my knee, missy, make sure you don’t sit pretty for a week.”
Tessa kept her smile bright. She wasn’t at all afraid of her grandfather, who was all bark and no bite, at least when it came to her. When it came to Mr. Bennett, however, she hadn’t been quite as confident. Not wanting to leave him alone with her overprotective grandparent, she’d changed as quickly as possible.
Studying Mr. Bennett, who stood next to her grandpapa, Tessa was relieved that he appeared his strapping self. Not that she’d been truly worried: after the way he’d charged to her aid, taking brutes down left and right, Bennett was clearly a man who could take care of himself.
A hero who’d come to her rescue.
She’d so rarely had anyone in her corner. A foreign, heady feeling came over her, as if she’d imbibed champagne. When he bowed, an unruly lock of dark hair slid onto his brow; she had the strangest desire to sweep it off with her fingertips.
To hide her reaction, she curtsied and smiled at him. “All in one piece, I see.”
“Why wouldn’t I be, Miss Todd?”
