He stiffened, but the man was correct. “She is. Truthfully, she’s what has made my banishment to Brighton bearable.”
“Hm,”Payton said. “Not the light-heeled jade you were with the other night?”
James rolled his eyes. It was none of Payton’s business anyway.
“Don’t get too attached,” his friend reminded him. “I hear from a very good source that she’s engaged.”
“The jade?” James asked glibly
“Ha! That is rich.”
James hoped Payton was taking his own advice and not becoming attached to Miss Talbot.
“I wouldn’t have spent so much time with her had she not been engaged,” he explained. “That alone made her ... safe.”
“Safe?” Payton roared with laughter. “I never thought I would hear such a ridiculous statement from your lips. No female of a certain age is a safe one. You know that.”
James did. He considered them, especially Glynnis, to be the essence of temptation, put upon the earth to send men mad with their eyes and mouths and their smooth skin and luscious curves. And then they had to go and speak, sometimes praising, sometimes cutting a man to shreds.
They talked of other things until Payton said, “I believe it’s your turn, old chum.”
James turned. Glynnis was being escorted off the floor.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Or wouldst thou wish to join the dancing throng,
Where pleasure gaily leads the hours along;
Where laughing love lights up his gentle fires,
While melting music every heart inspires.
–Brighton. A Poemby Mary Lloyd, 1809
GLYNNIS COULDN’T DENYshe was happy knowing she would be in James’s arms, even if only on the dance floor. His admission of not having tupped the harlot had certainly smoothed her ruffled feathers. However, the realization he only abstained due to the amount of wine he’d drunk was little comfort. Tonight, for instance, he seemed perfectly sober and might pay the doxy another visit.
