“And she’s extraordinarily pretty.”
“Yes.” William nodded while picturing Mrs. Lamont’s bright blue eyes, the mischief about her when she joked with him, and the pleasure she showed when she spoke about food.
“Stop it,” Charles chastised.
William missed a step and stumbled slightly. “What?”
“Whatever it is you’re thinking, rid your brain of it right this instant.”
“First of all, you’ve no idea what I’m thinking and—”
“I know it involves Mrs. Lamont and judging from that devilish grin you’re wearing, I’d say you’ve got scandalous intentions where she’s concerned.”
Very well. His brother wasn’t entirely wrong. Although...
“I’d like to think my intentions are noble.”
“That’s impossible considering the circumstances.”
William was starting to wonder if he’d made a serious error in judgment when he’d decided to call on Charles. He gritted his teeth. “I’d never treat her unkindly.”
“Is that what you think I’m implying?” Charles gave him an incredulous look before striding up the front steps of Number 10 Charlotte Street. The butler opened the door after the second knock and showed them into the parlor.
“Will, it’s good to see you again,” James said as soon as he entered the room after being alerted to Charles and William’s arrival. He shook William’s hand before glancing at Charles. “You too, of course.”
Charles jutted his chin toward William. “He wants to bed Mrs. Lamont.”
William almost choked on his tongue. “I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to,” Charles informed him with the imperialistic smugness of an older brother who thought he knew everything. “It might as well be painted all over your face in crimson letters.”
“Good God,” James muttered. He stared at William. “You have to swear you’ll do no such thing.”
“I never suggested I would,” William insisted. Honestly, he was starting to get quite annoyed.
“It would be cataclysmic,” Charles said.
“Utterly disastrous,” James added.
“I merely agreed to finding her pretty.He’sthe one who suggested everything else.” William pointed an accusatory finger at Charles, who merely snorted and took a seat.
“Then you’ll have no issue with keeping your distance from her. Will you?” James went to ring the bell pull.
With a disgruntled sigh, William sat opposite Charles and propped his head in his hand. A maid arrived, coffee and biscuits were ordered, and then the three men were left alone once again.
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” William muttered.
“You were right to do so,” Charles said. “Temptation can be hard to resist, but it’s important you do so now. Before it’s too late.”
“Consider the following,” James said in a gentler tone as he took a seat adjacent to William. “You’re an eligible bachelor and she’s a young woman. From an external point of view, you are her employer and she is your employee, even if Mama and Papa are the ones paying her salary. Anyone who sees the two of you chatting together at greater length or sharing a joke will assume the worst.”
“She’ll be labeled your mistress even if she’s not,” Charles stated.
The coffee arrived and the conversation paused for a moment until the cups had been filled and the maid who’d served them was gone.
“Mama and Papa will have no choice but to sack her,” James said. “And neither of them will thank you for it, I can promise you that.”
“So then—”
