"I did think o' meat pies," Davey said doubtfully.
"Too ordinary."
"Dark treacle?"
"Messy."
"Well... " Davey hesitated. "'Er eyes do remind me a bit o' chocolate."
Gavin thought it over. "A sound choice. Ladies like their dish of chocolate."
"The barrow across the street charges three pence a cup," the boy said, shoulders hunching. "I han't got that much o' the ready."
Gavin fished a shilling from his pocket and pushed it over the counter. "That should cover it."
For some reason, the coin shattered the camaraderie. Davey backed away, shaking his head vehemently. "No, sir, you've done eno' for me as it is. I can't take your money."
"Take it." When the boy made no move to obey, Gavin scowled. "'Tis a bloody shilling, not an arm and a leg. Consider it my funding of Miss Fines' well-laid plan."
"But sir—"
"I haven't got all day. Take the coin and be off with you. I'm not paying your wages for you to stand around flapping your lips."
"Thank you." A look of misery crossed Davey's face. "I don't deserve it… but thank you."
Odd lad."One more thing," Gavin said.
"Yes, sir?"
"When you are done with your chores, go see my valet. Have him deal with your hair."
"My 'air?" Davey said in alarm. "But, sir, I don't need—"
"Trust me, you do." The sight of the figure lounging in the doorway cut short Gavin's reply.Devil take it, just what I need."Evangeline," he said in clipped tones. "What are you doing here?"
She sashayed in, clad as usual in a gown that left little to the imagination. "Now, Hunt, is that anyway to greet an old friend?" As Davey scurried out, Evangeline smirked at his departing figure. "New boy? Not much to look at, is 'e?"
Gavin ignored her prattle. "I thought I made it clear the last time that things are done between us."
Her smile slipped for only an instant. "A man can change his mind, can't he?" Her pale eyes slanted as she came closer, sliding onto the stool next to where he stood. She tossed a cloth bag upon the polished counter and ran a hand up his thigh.
He grabbed her wrist and removed her hand. "I told you—it's over."
"Why?" Her lips drew into a pout.
His jaw tightened. "Because I said so. Now be off."
"Is it someone else? You've found some tart, is that it? You think any light-skirt can give you the kind o' sport you need?"
"You'd better watch yourself," he warned her. "What I do is none of your business."
Abruptly, she switched tactics. "Come on, Hunt. Give us another try. No doxy can fuck you the way I do."
His patience came to an end. He opened his mouth to order her out... but a flash of genuine emotion lit her eyes. Anxiety, the kind that even her practiced sultriness could not mask.
"What's this really about, Evangeline?" he said.
It wasn't jealousy—he knew that much. In the months they'd been bed partners, she hadn't given a damn whom he fucked and vice versa. No ties came with fornication. His unemotional dealings with Evangeline and others before her had never bothered him; yet now, with Percy in his life, he experienced a stab of regret. For the tawdriness that had gone on before her.
