“Then why are you looking so Friday-faced? You’ve conquered far greater challenges than a crowd of overbred, overfed aristocrats.”
Her lips twitched. “I know. But . . .”
“But. . .”
Charlotte chafed the glass between her palms, setting the amber spirits to swirling. In the light of the burning coals, it looked like liquid fire. “But now I’m one of them.”
“Isthatwhat you’re afraid of?” he jeered. “Hell’s bells, you’re not at all like them.”
“That’s what I tell myself, but . . .” She took a seat on the edge of his desk and hugged her arms to her chest. “But what if I’m seduced by all the sumptuous splendors?”
“Somehow I have trouble imagining that a lust for lobster patties will be your undoing.”
She laughed in spite of herself. “Thank you, Wrexford. I knew I could count on your mockery to chase away my self-pity.”
“I’m always happy to play the motley fool.”
Her brows notched together. “It seems I’m not the only one feeling unsettled this evening.”
Damnation.She could read him too well.
“Have you uncovered something new?”
Wrexford nodded and quickly explained about Woodbridge and his sister, and what he and his friend had learned. “Sheffield is spending the evening trying to learn Westmorly’s whereabouts. He’s proving a hard man to find.” He grimaced. “I fear Kit is out of sorts with me. I . . . I haven’t been a good friend to him of late.”
“I confess, you gentlemen have very peculiar ways of expressing your camaraderie.”
He felt Charlotte studying his face.
“But he knows you see his strengths, though he takes great pains to hide them,” she continued. “So whatever friction there is between you at the moment, it’s not because either of you doubt the elemental bonds of your friendship.”
“Perhaps.” He took a long swallow of brandy and then recounted the exchange with Lady Cordelia on calculating the odds on cards.
“She sounds very intriguing.”
“I haven’t told you the whole of it yet.” The earl hesitated. “Logic warns me to be suspicious of coincidences, but on rare occasions, they do happen.”
“Don’t keep me in suspense, Wrexford.”
“It concerns the hat she wears when masquerading as a man,” he replied. “It’s a Wellington, and she considers it her lucky talisman.”
“Surely, you’re jesting!”
He shook his head. “I assume you’re in no mood for levity. Nor am I.”
Neither of them spoke for several moments. The silence seemed to amplify the crackling of the coals.
“Do you think her capable of such a crime?” Charlotte finally asked.
The earl took his time in considering the question. “She reminds me of you,” he answered. “She possesses great intelligence,as well as a core of elemental strength, and there’s no question that she’ll wield both to protect her family. How that might tie in to Chittenden is as yet unknown.”
Wrexford let out his breath. “That said, I sensed no guile or malice to her—quite the opposite in fact. But we both know that a thin veneer of civility can mask a soul that is rotten to the core.”
Charlotte looked about to speak when her eyes suddenly widened. “Good Lord—Cordelia Mansfield. I now remember why the name strikes me as familiar. As we walked back to her carriage from our meeting in Green Park, Aunt Alison told me about a salon of intellectually minded ladies who, she thinks, may offer me a sanctuary of kindred spirits within theton.Lady Cordelia was one of the members she mentioned.”
“She has a reputation as a Bluestocking,” he said.
“A lady who isn’t afraid to challenge conventional thinking,” mused Charlotte. “It seems I’ve made the right decision to seek entrée into Polite Society. I must now investigate Lady Cordelia, as well as Lady Julianna.”
