“Why are you trying to put me off you? Is it your past? Is that why you wished me to know you believe your mother is a whore?”
“We come from different worlds, Gwen—” He caught himself in time. “Miss Lanscarr,” he finished.
“Please, you don’t believe in that silliness about different class stations in life. I’m not special, Mr. Steele. You have more titled blood in your veins than I have—”
“It is none of that. Gwendolyn. I don’t have”—he paused, as if testing the next word—“feelings for you.”
“You are lying.” Her expression turned defiant. “Anytime I have needed you, you’ve been there.”
“You were a client who owes me a favor, which I am calling in. That is all that is between us.”
“That night in Dublin, you wanted to kiss me,” she reminded him.
“And my head was bashed in for my efforts. That being said, don’t read too much into a kiss.”
Her head gave a little jerk, and her eyes widened as if he’d struck her. She folded her hands in her lap in that ladylike way of hers. She looked away as if she could see through the window shade. He waited, hoping for a tear or something that said she accepted his rude rejection.
And it felt mean. Too mean.
“I’m a loner, Miss Lanscarr. I like my life the way it is. I do not want any entanglements.”
“No one wishes to be alone. Not truly,” she answered.
“I do,” he assured her. “Especially for my work.”
“Skulking around.” She gave a dismissive sniff.
That offended Beck. “I do more than skulk.”
“And you could do it without staying in the shadows. Don’t you want more from life, Mr. Steele? Don’t you wish for more?”
“No.”
Her shoulders tightened. She looked away, her lips pressing together.
“Don’t think you can change me,” he said, his voice quiet and not unkind. “I don’t want to be changed.”
There was a long silence. He wondered what she was thinking. He reminded himself that this was for the best. Better to have it clear between them now, because the wound to her pride would be deeper if she misunderstood what was truly between them and he rejected her later.
And then, with a small shrug, she said, “Very well.”
“I do not wish to hurt you or offend you.”
“Understood. We are merely partners—”
“We arenotpartners.” This was what he feared. “You are to play cards. You do what I say. There is no partnership here.” He moved his hands back and forth to show that she had her work, and he had his.
“But if I learn something of importance—”
“Youare to play cards.”
“Even if...?”
“Cards only.Can you not understand?”
She gave him no answer. Instead, she seemed to study some point behind him. He knew then she was never going to agree.
Ultimately, it didn’t matter, he decided. Once they were at Colemore, Lady Orpington would keep her busy. Supposedly, the card playing began early in the morning and went into the night. There would be no time for her to pry.
