are if anyone is to believe I am enamored with you. That is what you require, isn’t it—for me to make your suitor jealous?”
“Well, that isn’t exactly what I am about. I only want him to … to see me as marriageable. Being on the arm of another man seems like a good way to go about it.”
“Call it whatever you like to make yourself feel better. The fact is, if this fellow cares anything about you, seeing you with me will make him green with envy.”
Calliope swallowed, but she couldn’t rid herself of the bitter taste in her mouth. She didn’t like the blunt terms he used to describe her objective, but couldn’t deny that he was right. Deep down, she realized that provoking Mr. Lewes’s jealousy was the perfect way to urge him to declare himself.
“Yes, well … I suppose you are right, but perhaps you could hold back in your displays of affection until we’ve been seen together long enough to warrant such behavior. I will not risk anyone thinking our association is improper.”
“Understood. So, tell me about this suitor. How long have you known him? Has he ever given you reason to believe he is interested in you in a romantic sense?”
Calliope could stand still no longer, bearing his close scrutiny. The way he looked at her only heightened her agitation.
Pacing to the nearest window, she gazed out at the street. “Mr. Martin Lewes … do you know of him?”
“His brother and I attended university together. I believe Lewes was a few years ahead of us. Our families are acquainted. Upstanding fellow.”
“Yes,” she replied, relaxing as she thought of the handsome man who had stolen her heart. “He is a friend of Hastings, but we were only acquaintances up until recently. We’d been introduced, danced together at a few balls. It was all very innocuous.”
“Until?”
“Until a few weeks ago, when I …”
She felt his gaze, hot on her back as he waited for her to continue. Calliope couldn’t understand why speaking of her feelings aloud to Mr. Burke should discomfit her so. She’d only just met him, but he had come here knowing she was pursuing someone for marriage. What did it matter if he knew that she’d developed a tendre for Martin Lewes?
“We’ve become friends. He is considerate and kind. Unlike the other men who have courted me in the past, he seems to genuinely listen to me when I talk. He does like me, I think. But, perhaps his friendship with Hastings has made him reticent, or—”
“Trust me, if the man wanted you badly enough, the fact that he is friends with Hastings wouldn’t stop him.”
“Oh.”
Her heart sank at his words. If Mr. Lewes felt the same way she did, he ought not care who her brother-in-law was. As well, he couldn’t be blind to the fact that Hastings and Diana had been playing matchmakers.
“But then,” Mr. Burke added, “many young bachelors are simply slow to declare themselves. He feels he has all the time in the world, but you do not wish to wait. You want to be married, and you won’t settle for anyone else.”
“Yes,” she said in a rush, relieved by his reassurance. “Yes, that’s it, exactly.”
She lifted her gaze and found that his eyes were no longer on her. He was staring off across the room, one hand braced at his chin. He was silent for so long that Calliope grew restless. She cleared her throat and took a step toward him, anxiety making her hands shake.
“So … will you do it? I’ll only need you to be my public escort and pay particular attention to me whenever Mr. Lewes is near. It is my hope that it will not take very long to produce the desired result.”
He straightened, reaching into his breast pocket and retrieving a folded sheet of parchment. Unfolding it, he offered it to Calliope. She opened it to discover the contract Mr. Sterling had presented to her last night. Right below her own signature was Mr. Burke’s, surprisingly neat with sloping lines and looping flourishes.
“I will help you snare your husband. I’ll make him so jealous he’ll be tempted to call me out just to remove the competition.”
Calliope folded the contract and handed it back to him. “Thank you. I think it would be ideal for us to be seen together as soon as possible.”
“Of course. I have a stack of unopened invitations to sift through. I’d wager I’ve been invited to the same events as