He headed me inside. A footman opened the door, and Lady Shrewsbury stood right there, waiting.
“Mrs. St. Maur, there you are,” she said.
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you for keeping me company . . . my lord.” I wandered down the hall, smiling to the walls, the shiny mirrors.
I’d seen what I wanted and confirmed that the new Lord Ashbrook was the same as old Mr. Thackery. He hid things from me and was willing to use anything, including his charm, to distract me.
No kya, no matter, I was charmed, but he was the one man Lady Shrewsbury let the Widow’s Grace know not to ensnare.
CHAPTER 6
DANIEL—THEFAMILYBUSINESS
Watching the impossible, adorable woman walk back to dinner set Daniel’s pulse to race. Her hair, lush brown with highlights of his favorite red, he assumed fell to her small waist, maybe those thick hips. Her tresses were up and curled with wisps teasing her long neck, a neck that may have been swathed in jewels in the life she’d forgotten.
Jewels earned or more so stolen by the sugar trade should be forgotten.
“Daniel, no. Not her.”
“Not herwhat, Aunt?”
“No to her or any of my widows.”
He hadn’t considered anything more, had he?
Of course not.
Not when her past could ruin everything he’d worked to protect. He cleaned his spectacles. “All this Widow’s Grace business is too much. Now, the Lord Mayor summons at this hour.”
“The lane is crowded, Daniel. It could take an hour or more. Have you thought about simply not going?”
Daniel wrenched at his neck, wondering how deflated and wrinkled his pristine cravat had become. “I must go. Any delay gives the Lord Mayor time to spin his own conspiracies. At nine o’clock tonight, I will explain away his latest suspicions and hope no runners show up at Finchely. Then no one is carted away because of the Widow’s Grace.”
“Well, it’s not as if you’ve ever done anything wrong for yourself. You could be a priest.”
He winced at who he’d become or forced himself to become. “I was daring and impulsive once.”
“Never, Daniel. You’ve always been responsible.”
This version of himself that Lady Shrewsbury praised sounded like the saddest romp. He made himself the best barrister and father he could be. No one would ever question a bachelor raising Hope away from the Dunns of Jamaica.
“It’s time for a change, Aunt. Two years as a monk, a self-righteous and apparently hypocritical monk, has been too much. Would a little impulsiveness hurt my reputation? There’s much to consider.”
“Daniel, you’re being ridiculous.”
“No, this is food for thought. Perhaps, there’s a brothel I could visit after the Lord Mayor’s inquiry and still arrive at Finchely in time to have breakfast with my little Hope.”
Saying the foolishness aloud made the tightness in his chest loosen. He did need to make changes.
His aunt hugged him. “You’re a young man, Daniel, and a good father. Go home. Don’t let anyone threaten you anymore.”
“Very nice of you to say, but then you will create Widow’s Grace tasks to fill my schedule. Of course, that will lead to another meeting with the Lord Mayor.”
She pinched his ear. “Moving forward has nothing to do with the Widow’s Grace. You’re burning for companionship? Take a bride. It’s been two years since Phoebe’s death.”
The headache he thought gone returned. His disparaging thoughts on marriage, derived from the plights of his aunt’s women, made him want none of it.
With a kiss to Lady Shrewsbury’s cheek, he returned to his closing argument. “End the Widow’s Grace, Aunt, before someone gets hurt, before we lose everything. I’ll give you to the end of the month to decide if you need my help to do it.”
