Page 55 of Give Him a Chance

Bernard stiffened. So much for being a clever spy and skulking about the place. He’d been spotted.

Opening the study door, he smiled weakly at the gaggle of ladies who peered at him curiously. “Good afternoon.”

The study was just as it had been the last time he had visited. A relatively small room that felt smaller thanks to the number of people within it, but big enough for a desk, a chair either side, two bookcases, a globe, and a cabinet that presumably was used for paperwork.

Just like his father’s study.

Do not think about that.

“Let me introduce you,” Lucy said eagerly, as though these poor people were some sort of pets. Rather like himself, now that he came to think of it. “This is Mrs. John Marithorpe, and Miss Mildred Sharpe and…”

The names rolled in and out of Bernard’s mind in a moment. All he could do was look at Lucy and sigh.

The brightness in her eyes, the clear joy in her mouth, the relaxation on her brow: yes, she thought she was doing something wonderful, and in a way, she was. These ladies would be able to feed themselves and their families today thanks to Lady Lucy Chance’s munificence.

A munificence which could end quite sharply if it were Lucy stuck in an alleyway, and not Bernard Dixon.

The fear of such a thing occurring rose swiftly within his mind, but Bernard used it, twisted it into determination, and let it burn within him. He would have to have a little talk with Lady Lucy.

“Until next month, then,” Lucy was saying, inclining her head to the women who were dropping deep curtseys to the pair of them. “Good day, and thank you.”

‘Thank you’? Shewas thankingthemfor allowing her to give them money?

Bernard could not help but shake his head as the door closed behind the last of them and he dropped into the chair opposite her. “Oh, Lucy.”

“You were listening? You know, as part of your gentlemanly education, I shall have to add a lesson on listening at doors,” Lucy said with a grin. “Honestly, Bernard!”

Honestly, Bernard thought that was the least of their worries. “Oh, Lucy, I have so much to teach you.”

All too late, he heard the suggestive nature of his statement.

Lucy raised both eyebrows. “Goodness. When is this lesson to begin?”

Do not think about it. Do not think about it. “Right now.”

The damned minx wiggled in her seat and looked at him with wide, expectant eyes.

Did she have any idea—

But of course she didn’t, Bernard reminded himself sternly. She was an innocent. She was the daughter of an earl. Though she did her best with this Prison Reform Society business, she was never truly going to understand the plight of the unfortunate.

No matter how many shillings she gave them.

Bernard sighed, tugging a hand through his hair.Where to begin?“You can’t just give people money.”

Lucy’s brow wrinkled. “I can’t?”

“No,” he said heavily. “You—”

“But you see, I just did,” she pointed out, more than fairly, in Bernard’s opinion. “All of them. And I gave them money because I want to make a difference in the world, however small a form that may take.”

“I know, and I applaud you for that,” Bernard said quickly, determined to get it all out there so he wouldn’t retreat and cowardly stop. “But—”

“Bernard, you are being very sweet you know,” Lucy interrupted, a look that could only be described as knowing on her slackened face as she settled back into the armchair. “But I’ll have you know this is nothing new. Chances do it all the time.Two of my cousins’ wives have a keen interest in children and widows. I feel the same, about young, unmarried women, too.”

“And are these cousin’s wives handing coins directly into those children’s and widow’s hands?” he asked.

She cocked her head. “Not quite. They founded a charity for those too young or ill to work, though that’s only the start.”