by parents who are slaves to poverty, gin, or other vices. Those of us who can do something to alleviate their suffering have a duty to do so.”
Mr. Lewes smiled at her, and her heart stuttered in its rhythm. He had smiled at her often, but never the way he was doing now. The motion of lips and flash of teeth held an endearing quality, genuine and sweet.
“You astound me, in the best of ways.”
Her face grew warm. “Thank you, Mr. Lewes.”
He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Come now … I think it is time you called me Martin. At least, when no one else can overhear. We are more than just mere acquaintances by now, surely.”
Calliope fought to contain her smile, which threatened to stretch in the widest, most un-ladylike fashion at his words. Wasn’t this what she had been hoping for? For them to move past the awkward, stifling stage of new courtship and into something that would end with the promise of forever.
“Of course, if you think it improper—”
“No!” she cut in. “Of course not. I agree … we’ve known one another long enough, I think … Martin.”
Saying his name sent a little thrill through her, even as a memory niggled at the back of her mind—the reminder that she’d spoken Dominick’s name aloud first. She pushed that thought aside, refusing to allow it to take root and ruin this moment.
“And you should call me Calliope.”
He took her hand and raised it to his lips. The contact was softened by the separation of her glove from his mouth, but she absorbed what sensation she could. She would not compare this touch with the one she’d experienced last week. The two were hardly comparable, and besides, Martin was her future; she was certain of it. Dominick was a temporary means to an end, one that would disappear altogether once she and Martin were wed.
“I do not know where Mr. Burke has wandered off to, so I suppose it falls to me to retrieve the carriage.”
Calliope craned her neck and glanced about the room but found no sign of Dominick anywhere. “Oh, I wonder where he’s gone? I’d better go find him.”
Martin did not look pleased by that, but since Diana was nowhere in sight, he merely nodded and turned to leave. Calliope wasn’t too happy with the task either. After making such progress with her suitor, she was reluctant to come face to face with her courtesan again. However, her goal was not yet achieved. Dominick was still needed, which meant she had no choice but to push her bizarre and unwanted thoughts of him aside and carry on.
The noise of the chattering children faded to a dull hum as she went down the corridor, peering through open doors for any sign of her missing escort. When she reached the end of the wing, an open door leading outside caught her eye, and she peered through to find what she’d been looking for.
Dominick sat on a stone bench in the garden, surrounded by the efforts of the home’s young ladies. An array of flowers bloomed throughout the space, while a few bare patches of soil here and there waited to spring forth new life. He was alone in the small space, the stone wall sheltering it from the outside world, even muffling a bit of the noise emanating from the city beyond.
“Have you grown bored waiting?” she asked, stepping out into the courtyard. “You’ll be happy to know that Martin has gone to fetch the carriage.”
He stiffened at the sound of her voice. He’d been doing something with his hands, but ceased as he turned to face her, throwing one leg over the bench to straddle it.
One dark eyebrow arched upward. “Martin?”
She stepped farther into the garden and shrugged. “He invited me to call him by his Christian name. It is a welcome and surprising development, but one I had been hoping for.”
“Of course,” he replied, his words tinged with sarcasm. “I’ll expect my invitation to the wedding any day now.”
Calliope frowned, uncertain why he should sound so bitter. “It is what we are aiming for, isn’t it? I should think you would be glad to have done with this arrangement so you can move to someone who …”
She lowered her eyes, her neck and face flaming at the thought of what her unspoken words conjured in her mind.
“Someone who will let me into her bed?”
It shouldn’t have shocked her for him to force the thought she’d