She started to free her finger, flicking at his knuckles. “It’s Mrs. Wilky.”
Wait. That was now the concern, familiarity? He let go and stopped.
She crossed her arms but stayed close to him. “Truth is what I want. Things that no one can say are lies. You were going to tell me the truth about you.”
“I did say that.”
“Well, Lord Wycliff?”
He felt his legs bracing, preparing for exactly what she wanted to know. Maybe she’d caught his clues—the daisies, the walks, the cologne.Let her ask now if he was Adam.“Yes, ask anything.”
“Are you a mulatto like Adam? Or just blessed with fascinating lips.”
The tension in his limbs fled and a good laugh came out. But Ruth wasn’t chuckling.
“You like my mouth? Perhaps you need a better tasting to be sure?”
“Are you passing like Adam? He believed passing was part of his power.”
“Yes. It’s kept me alive on more than one occasion.”
“Your world, even as a peer, is just as dangerous as Adam’s?”
His world wasn’t Adam’s. Wycliff understood how things worked and how things turned on charisma and charm, finesse and finance. “Were you considering my world, being more a part of it than a walk-mate?”
“I don’t know what to think when I’m with you.”
“Then that’s good. You shouldn’t have to think or fret when you’re with me. I’m in control of my life, more than Adam ever was. I allow people to assume what they want. If they want to do business with a white man, that’s fine if their gold is true. Your father uses solicitors to conduct his dealings. I like a direct hand.”
He smoothed her fingers within his palm. “A direct hand with everything.”
“You know so much about my family. You’ve studied us. That’s very nosy of you.”
“It’s part of the effort I put into things I want. The Croome family is mine now.”
“We’re not possessions or pawns.”
“Aren’t we all playing games? Pretending when necessary. Ignoring things that don’t suit our purposes. Going full-bore at what we’ve determined is good.”
“What a pretty way to put being manipulative, my lord.”
A chuckle fell from his lips.
He didn’t want it to drop, but Ruth had that way about her, sticking pins in his arguments when he took on airs. “Fine. I’m nosy. I need to make up for lost time in knowing the Croomes. I’ll use my means and any charm this raspy soul can muster.”
“I’m at such a disadvantage, Lord Wycliff. I’m not traipsing about to find secrets. How can I trust you, implicitly?”
He looked down the street and saw his carriage and Lawden’s watchful eye. It was very open, very attention-seeking to stand here. “You trusted me to take you on a walk. You can trust me with more.”
“Adam never trusted so easily. Not even me. Look at the things he kept from the woman he married.”
“Mrs. Wilky… Oh, horse feathers, Ruth. Adam was stupid, as you often said. He didn’t realize that you were all he needed, more than power, more than the respect he craved. I trust you, and I’m willing to tell you anything, if I can call you by the name my tongue wishes to possess.”
Her lip trembled, and a smile perched upon her lips like a delicate dove. “That’s a pretty sentiment. A fine begging, even with your voice. Yes. Call me Ruth, but only when we are alone.”
“Then we shall have to be alone often.”
Her laughter was easier. She took a step, leading him down the pavement, bold like old times. Yet, Ruth couldn’t see that far in front of her. Then it hit him. She trusted that he’d keep them safe.
