“I am Susan. Most of us don’t have last names here. Not real ones, anyway.”
Being of inquiring mind, Padua had a lot of questions she wanted to ask Susan, most of them rude and personal.
Susan ate the last of her cake and licked her fingers. “You’ve never done this work yourself, have you?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Mmm. I didn’t think so. We can tell. You ain’t one of those reformer ladies, are you? We don’t need that sort here.”
“I would not presume to try to reform you.” Actually, it had crossed her mind.
“Then welcome.” She grinned, and pushed back her chair.
Mrs. Lavender walked over to Padua. “A nice little speech, Miss Belvoir. I will brook no interference, however.”
“In just under six months, the lease on this house renews. Or not. I will not interfere. But I will be keeping an eye on my father’s interests.”
Mrs. Lavender barely contained her anger. “Gentlemen will be arriving soon. I suggest you make yourself scarce, unless you want them in my office, bargaining foryou.”
Padua would not have minded being a fly on the wall of the office, observing how those bargains were struck. As an idea, a brothel repelled her. Now that she was in one, however, she found it interesting.
She climbed the stairs to the deserted top floor, and repaired to her chamber. She wondered if announcing her presence would bear any fruit. If her father’s problems had begun here, and if he had become unavailable, would someone now approach her? She hoped so. She could think of no better way to help him now than to point the authorities to the source of those bad notes.
***
“So I stopped my horse and had it out with him,” Lance said. He lounged on a chair to the side, watching Ives and Gareth fence. “I said,Listen here, Radley. Why are you showing up like a love-struck boy whenever I go riding?He did not care for the boy part, but I swear I feel as if he has improper designs on me sometimes.”
Gareth smirked, but did not lose his concentration.
“I wish he had declared his passion then and there,” Ives said. “That would have stunned the wit right out of you.”
“Such a man would never admit those inclinations if he had them. He is never seen without a hat. He alwaystalks as if he is addressing a bishop. I don’t think he has any passion at all, and hates me because I know how to have fun.”
“How like you to assume you are admired for your excesses,” Ives said. “But do go on. What did Radley say to your challenge?”
“He said, and designs on my person would have surprised me less, he said that he hoped to gain my confidence and friendship, because he wanted to introduce his female relatives to me.”
That impressed Gareth enough that he stepped back and lowered his foil. “For what purpose does he pursue this introduction?”
Lance shrugged. “So I will receive them, I suppose. So they can drop my name at the county assemblies. So he can tell people he has a connection.”
“So you might marry one of them?” Gareth added.
Lance looked up, surprised, then began laughing. “He is a fool, but not an idiot, Gareth,” he choked out. “A ride or two with me is one thing, but that—even Radley is not so stupid as to aim that high.”
Ives waited for Lance to stop guffawing.
“Did he say anything else?” Ives asked.
Lance sobered up, and thought. “He implied he would call off the hounds if I accommodated him on this small favor.”
“Implied?”
“He could not say it outright, could he? That would be asking for a bribe. Radley does not want me off the hook only to find himself on one.”
“What did he say?” Gareth asked.
Lance waved his hand in a circle. “Something about friends and neighbors and the good of the county and, wait, something else. What was that now?” He frowned while he searched for it in his somewhat foxed head.
