Improper (The Phoenix Club #1) - Darcy Burke Page 0,50
take command of this household, as she should. I am a member of this household. For the time being.”
He stared at her as if by looking long and hard enough, he’d be able to divine what else she might be thinking. Alas, that was impossible.
“Cassandra visited earlier.” Miss Wingate moved closer to the end of the settee. Closer to him. “Have you spoken to Lord Lucien about my idea to change the rules so you can bring me to the assemblies as your guest?”
“I haven’t had a chance.” He didn’t really understand why this was so important to her. It was just another ball. That wasn’t exactly true. It was a coveted invitation, like Almack’s but so much better. If he were young and new to London, he’d probably want to go too. Hell, he was neither, and if he wasn’t a member of the club, he’d be trying everything possible to garner an invitation.
She pressed against the arm of the settee, and her skirt brushed his boot. “Surely this is another problem Lord Lucien can solve. Particularly since this affects his sister, and he owns the club.”
“Put like that, it sounds rather achievable. Rest assured, I will speak with him on the matter.”
“I must say, I don’t understand why Lady Pickering hasn’t been invited. She seems like precisely the sort of well-respected woman in Society that the club would want to include.”
“How would you know that?”
“Because everyone always speaks of her with awe and admiration. Besides, didn’t you say Lord Lucien helped you gain her support as my sponsor? That would infer they are at least friendly. Why wouldn’t he invite her to his club?”
“Because it isn’t just up to him.”
“I think there are things you know about the club and its policies that you aren’t telling me.” She straightened, her eyes rounding. “Are you on the membership committee?”
“Why would you think that?” He’d responded too damn quickly and with too much vehemence. He forced a laugh. “If I was on the membership committee, I could ensure you were invited to the balls.”
Setting her elbow on the arm of the settee, she rested her chin on her palm. “Could you? So the membership committee does more than invite members. They control every aspect of the club?”
“I can’t say because I’m not a member of the committee.”
“Not allowing women to become members until after they wed is a terrible policy, as is not letting them be invited to an assembly unless they are sponsored by a member.”
Tobias ran his hand through his hair, then silently cursed himself for appearing agitated in any way. “It is not a terrible policy to disallow young, unmarried women membership. To do so would ruin the young woman.”
She cocked her head, her hand still supporting her chin. “But it doesn’t ruin older unmarried women?”
“They are already—” He snapped his mouth closed. He wasn’t sure what he’d been about to say, but nothing would be good. He’d yet to determine exactly what made a woman a spinster and found that the idea genuinely intrigued him. “I don’t disagree that the policy is unfair. However, it mirrors Society’s rules, and we must abide by them.” Except wasn’t the point of the club to buck the ton’s conventions and rigidity?
Yes, but they still couldn’t lead young ladies to ruin.
She lowered her arm, keeping the elbow on the settee. “I apologize if I seem rather naïve about these matters. Society is unnecessarily complicated, in my humble opinion.”
“I don’t disagree with you,” he murmured. “And I find your naïvete refreshing.”
She leaned toward him. “Do you?” Her dark eyes met his with unabashed curiosity.
He found himself pitching forward as well so that their faces were only a few inches apart. “Utterly.”
“My lord?”
Tobias and Miss Wingate jumped at precisely the same moment, their noses colliding with such force that they both fell back against their respective pieces of furniture with a collective “Ow!”
He held his face as numbness crawled up his nose. Miss Wingate did the same, her hand cradled over her nose and mouth.
“I beg your pardon,” Carrin said. “Mr. Dyer is here for your scheduled meeting.”
Hell, Tobias had forgotten all about that. And he’d even been thinking about Dyer a few minutes ago.
Tobias was unaccountably disappointed. Glancing toward Carrin, he slowly lowered his hand from his face. “I’ll be there in a moment.” Did he sound as if he had a cold?
Carrin inclined his head and departed.
Tobias instantly turned to Miss Wingate. “Are you all right?”