He vaulted out, set the carriage step for her, remembering at the last minute not to help her down. That might raise some brows.
Once on the street, she tilted her head back to look up at him. “Now what, my lord?”
He snorted at her attempt to lower the tenor of her voice. “Now, you will kindly point out Mr. Mealy’s residence.”
“But, shouldn’t I accompany—”
“No,” he said, with finality. “You will not join me. You will go straight to your front door, and then proceed directly up to your chamber to change into more appropriate clothing. Feel free to toss the suit you are wearing into the grate. You won’t be needing it again.”
She opened her mouth as if to argue, but whatever she saw in Teddy’s expression must have convinced her of the futility of the endeavor. Frowning, and with obvious reluctance, she pointed to the house directly across from her parents’.
He sent her an approving nod. “Excellent. After I witness you entering your parents’ home, I shall pay Mealy a brief, satisfying visit—and then call on your father. Oh, and Georgina?”
Her silvery gaze met his. “Yes?”
“Do not think for a moment you will attend your father’s and my meeting.”
With a huff, she flounced to her front door. Regardless of the male garb, she was all vexed female.
In the end,Mealy handed over Lord Belfry’s IOUs without a peep of protest.
Of course, he first listened intently as Teddy informed him of the salient facts.
Fact one, Teddy was leaving with Belfry’s IOUs, which he would purchase in full. Facts two, three, and four Teddy shared while removing his waistcoat and rolling up his shirtsleeves.
He was the Viscount of Helmsley and heir to the Earl of Ainsworth. He was a crack shot, held the boxing championship for three solid years during his tenure at Oxford, and afterwards was a regular at Gentleman Jack’s boxing club and a weekly visitor up to his military deployment.
Facts five and six, he uttered in a lethally soft voice. “It’s important for your continued well-being that you hear me and understand what I’m about to tell you. Are you listening, Mealy?”
Mealy, bug eyed, nodded.
“Georgina Belfry is now Georgina Arlington, the future Countess of Ainsworth, and my wife, and if one scrap of inflammatory rumor attaches itself to her name, Mealy, you will find that England is no longer a hospitable country in which for you to dwell. Do I make myself clear?”
Then he waited, half hoping the man would put up a protest so he could knock his yellowed teeth from his mouth.
He didn’t. Indeed, he practically prostrated himself at Teddy’s feet, such was his awe at finding himself in the presence of the Ainsworth heir.
Teddy had half expected the man to hand the IOUs over without asking for payment. Then he apprised Teddy of the enormity of the debt—at which time, Teddy nearly gave in to the desire to crush the man’s windpipe.
Mealy must have wanted Georgina very, very badly, and Belfry, well, he would deal with Belfry.
Rage simmering through his veins, he wrote out and signed his own IOU, and informed Mealy that his solicitor would arrive on themorrow to see the matter resolved.
He let himself out the door, crossed the street, and banged the iron knocker. Belfry’s door opened, and he was invited in.
A moment later the Belfrys’ aged butler showed Teddy to the drawing room where Lord and Lady Belfry received him. They both seemed overjoyed at the sight of him.
For his part, he was having a hard time behaving in a civil manner for what the two had nearly done to Georgina—in essence, selling her off to that cretin across the street.
“To what do we owe the pleasure, m’boy?” Belfry asked with a jovial smile.
Teddy managed a bland smile in return. “My lord, I have come to speak with you on a delicate matter. It would be best if we spoke privately.”
Lady Belfry, seeming slightly flustered, but ever the gracious hostess, vacated the chamber, closing the doors behind her.
Lord Belfry gave him a grave look. “Now, then, Theodore, what can I do for you, my only son’s closest friend?”
Teddy met his gaze with a steady eye and withdrew the IOUs from his waistcoat pocket.
