“I am leaving, my lord. I bid you good evening.”
He frowned. “Are you angry with me? I know we had mentioned meeting, but I was held up on personal business. When I arrived, I sought you out.”
“I assure you I was not with that group ofladies,” she said the word with exaggeration. “Besides, it matters to me not a whit whether we encounter one another. I mustn’t keep my family waiting.”
Before she left, Purity couldn’t help a last remark.
“At least I know why you don’t have time to write down names in the evening. You most likely never retire alone. Besides, why take note of a new acquaintance when she is still with you when you awaken in the morning.”
Turning on her heel, she strode away, aghast at her own audacity. She had all but accused Foxford of spending the night with a slovenly lady of the night — as if there was anything unusual in that!
As if her disappointment mattered to him anyway.
Purity wished she hadn’t seen him at all. Naively, she’d begun to create a fantasy in her mind that the so-called Fox was becoming a tame, upstanding citizen.
Thus, she was surprised upon receiving a letter from him the next morning. Two pages of writing disclosed everything he had done the day before and names with descriptions of every person whom he’d met.
Everyone except the ladies of the evening!There was no mention of rouge-cheeked women with red-painted lips and low-cut necklines. But at the end of it, he’d signed off by saying he was sipping brandy at midnight and going directly to bed.
Purity couldn’t help but smile. At least he’d turned in early. What’s more, even his penmanship was unexpectedly tidy.
Just when she’d condemned him as an unabashed rake, the man tried to convince her he was more of a monk.
However, over her breakfast an hour later,The Timeshad a different tale, and since she’d seen him with her own eyes, she couldn’t discount it.
Lords F__ and Q__ were seen making a depraved display with the lowest company at Vauxhall. The type of pleasure they sought was easy to guess. The latter of the pair would do well to stay clear of the former unless he wishes to mire in the Fox’s den of inequity. The former used his wily charm to particularly ill use in the Pleasure Gardens and was last seen escorting two of the ‘ladies’ into his carriage, while Lord Q settled for one.
Purity felt ill. Even more so when Foxford presented his calling card later that day and entered for a visit. He was impeccably dressed and smelled like Pears soap. The fresh scent, mildly spicy with a hint of thyme, was almost as alluring as his cologne. But it reminded her of why he might need a morning bath — attempting to wash away the dreadful debauchery of the night before.
“I didn’t expect to see you today,” she said.
“Will there be tea?” Foxford asked, his eyes dancing with amusement. “That’s the polite thing to do, I’ve learned. Offer your guest a cup of tea.”
“Not to the uninvited guest, if you recall.” She left it at that.
After Alice took a seat at the other end of the room, Purity sat upon the edge of a wingback chair, not relaxing for an instant nor giving in to the usual thrilling tingle caused by his presence.
“To what do I owe this visit?” she asked, doing her best to maintain a disinterested tone. After all, it was not her place to chastise a grown man for his actions, no matter how disenchanted she was by them and consequently, by him.
And Purity did feel extremely let down, having hoped he would curtail his wilder side.
“I’m merely continuing in the fashion we have begun,” he said simply. “To further my quest.”
She could barely look at him. “You won’t find a respectable wife among the women with whom you kept company at Vauxhall.”
He laughed. “Absolutely not. I wholeheartedly agree.”
“Then why waste your time?” she snapped, instantly wishing she hadn’t. Her detachment had lasted less than a minute. What’s more, she was all too aware if he’d taken two of them in his carriage, it had not been a waste of time at all. Instead, they were rather good value for his coin.
“I didn’t waste my time,” he said, confirming her fears.
The man was too entrenched in his ways. Another wave of disappointment rolled through her, as he was all but confessing to enjoying himself with those prostitutes.
“I see,” she said. He was an unrepentant libertine.
“Good,” he continued, as if the matter were closed.
Since it was his private business, Purity supposed it was.
