“Recently, I was advised to cut him off. So, I…er…wedid.”
“Glad to hear it. I would have told you the same, had you asked. Unless…did you ask me? Was it me, who advised you to stop?”
After a brief hesitation, she shook her head.
An odd little frisson of something unpleasant coursed through him. Who would his wife turn to for financial advice, if not him? A man, certainly. And as, by her own admission, this business came about after her brother’s death, it wasn’t him, either. “Who was it, Georgina?” he repeated, ice in his tone.
“I doubt you know of her.”
Her.The tension mounting in his shoulders eased.
“Mrs. Dove-Lyon. She’s the—”
“The gambling den proprietress?” he sputtered.
She blinked in surprise.
“You do refer to the Black Widow of Whitehall? The owner of the Lyon’s Den?”
When she only stared, what must have occurred to her finally permeated his consciousness and he smiled. “I remember.”
Chapter Fourteen
When Teddy hadappeared in the doorway of the receiving room moments ago, she’d never have anticipated that a happenstance mention of the most notorious gambling den proprietress in all of London would herald more of Teddy’s recovery. His memories were coming back in droves. Joy welled up inside her. Those fools spreading that ridiculous gossip about him would all see. Nothing could keep her beautiful Teddy down. She sent him her brightest smile, even as, deep inside, a sprinkling of sadness tinged her happiness.
Because the moment he remembered all, he would be gone. No more afternoon chats in her sunny receiving room. No more sitting beside Teddy before the hearth while he demanded she share her worries with him.
No matter. She wanted what was best for him, always.
“But that’s wonderful, Teddy. You’re getting better. You see? You just needed a quiet place, and to receive your regular dose of medicine.”
His triumphant smile faded the moment she broached the subject of his medicine, replaced by a look of sullen reproach.
“As you say,” he clipped out. “Let us return to the subject at hand.”
“Very well,” she said in her most agreeable tone, not wishing to annoy him further.
He sent her a stern look. “Listen carefully, Georgina. I know you pride yourself on your forward thinking, but such progressive attitudes do not extend to most of theton.Unless you wish to make of yourself a social outcast, you cannot be seen to frequent such establishments as the Lyon’s Den.”
She sent him another brilliant smile. “Oh, is that what concerns you, that I might have been recognized? I took measure to assure that would not happen.”
His eyes narrowed. “Measures. What sort of measures?”
It occurred to her he might not approve of those, either. “I…er…wore a disguise. Have you had lunch? I could ring for tea.”
He tapped a finger on his chin and regarded her very steadily.
“Definedisguise.”
She bit her lower lip. “I went out at dusk wearing…” she paused, then blurted, “an old suit of Drake’s. I assure you no one recognized me.” Aside from Mrs. Dove-Lyon. She opted not to mention the woman’s uncanny discernment.
Teddy blinked, seemingly having difficulty digesting her words. Then he issued an expletive. “Dear God. I can see I made a terrible error in judgment leaving you to your own devices for far too long. You are running wild.”
“I’d hardly call it that,” she muttered.
“Of that, I have no doubt,” he said stiffly. “Listen to me, Georgina. So long as you are my wife, I forbid you to consort with the likes of Mrs. Dove-Lyon in future—disguised or otherwise. Do I make myself clear?”
She sniffed. “Perfectly.”
