Persephone blinked. “Well, there was one where he allegedly climbed into a coach whilst it was stopped at an intersection and had his way with a young lady.”
Jack jerked and then winced when the sudden movement had his head protesting. “He raped her?” he asked in alarm.
“No,” she replied, although hesitantly. “According to the young lady’s maid, the dalliance had all been arranged in advance,” she explained, displaying an expression of amusement.
“Well, who was the man?”
Shrugging, she said, “The young lady wouldn’t say, and neither would the lady’s maid.”
Jack scoffed. “What else?”
“The Kravets girl. I don’t recall her given name, but she and her mother, the Baroness Kravets, were supposedly attending Lady Worthington’smusicale, and the girl and Lord JW were discovered kissing in an alcove.”
Although the incident didn’t sound too damning, Jack realized kissing a young, unmarried lady could land a man in hot water. The young lady would have suffered worse, however. “When was this?” he asked.
“About a fortnight ago. I was actually in attendance that evening,” Persephone said with some excitement. “It was my first time going to a Society event since burning my widow’s weeds,” she added with a grin.
“You burned your black gowns?” he asked in disbelief.
“To a crisp,” she said, grinning in delight. “In the fireplace in my bedchamber. At least, those my lady’s maid didn’t want,” she quickly added.
He chuckled softly, but he was more interested in what had occurred at themusicale. “Did you see anything? Hear anything that night?”
About to respond, she clamped her mouth shut. “No,” she finally admitted. “I don’t even recallseeingthe baroness there, which has me wondering whyThe Tattlerwould even make mention of her.”
“They printed hername?” he asked in surprise.
“Well, no. Not exactly. They always just use a peer’s initials, but in this case, ‘Baroness K’ had to be Margaret Kravets. There’s no other baroness with a last name beginning with a K,” she explained.
Jack furrowed a brow. “And the daughter?”
“Lady Kravets only has the one,” Persephone replied.
Jack blew out a breath in frustration. “What else?”
“There have been some young widows?—”
“You?” he asked, jerking as if he intended to sit up.
“I saidyoungwidows,” Persephone repeated, pressing a hand against his chest to force him to lie down.
“You’re still young,” he argued.
She scoffed, but another grin touched her lips. “It’s times like this I really wish you had challenged Castlewait for my hand,” she whispered.
A grimace crossed his face. “As do I,” he admitted.
He liked hearing her slight inhalation of breath. The way her blue eyes rounded whenever he surprised her. He closed his eyes when he felt sleep coming on, but he still had things he needed to say to her. “Over the years, I’ve been very good at my avocation,” he said in a fading whisper. “But I’ve been aterriblearistocrat. Oh, I’ve attended Parliament when I can, but I don’t have a wife, which means I don’t have an heir, which means...” His voice trailed off as his body relaxed into the bed.
Persephone watched as he fell asleep. Although she felt the weariness of a long day, her body was well aware a naked man was pressed against her. At some point, he would awaken, and he would see to providing satiation for her swollen breasts and throbbing core.
Her racing mind was another matter, though.
If Lord JW wasn’t Jack, Earl of Wilmington, then who the hell was he?
