A Little Bit Scandalous Page 0,14

men who would toss her skirts up—or rip off her trousers in this case—and have their way with her.

He admired her, he’d give her that. She was obviously quite intelligent and crafty with numbers, which begged the question of where she’d been educated. She played in the back room and her disguise made it impossible to know if she was of noble birth. Or perhaps her parents were wealthy merchants who could afford the type of education she must have had. He had heard of noblemen allowing servant’s children to take lessons from the private tutors brought in for the aristocratic children, but that was rare. His own father had been loath to pay for Justin’s education, even though he was as much Justin’s sire as he was Roe’s.

Roe paced his study and waited for her to arrive. He already had the table set up with the cards and he’d brought in a tray of refreshments. He would take his time letting her know he’d uncovered her secret. This was, frankly, the most entertainment he’d had in months. He heard the knock at the door and didn’t even bother to appear busy. He was expecting for her, so why pretend otherwise? A moment later, the butler brought the “boy” into the study.

“Mr. Grey to see you, Your Grace,” the butler said.

“Indeed. Mr. Grey, come in.” She walked in, dressed as she had been at Rodale’s—the same overly large coat and brown hat that was no doubt covering her hair. Even the same soot smeared on her face. Her disguise was quite good, he’d give her that. At first, even at second glance, she looked very much like a young man. But with a closer examination, Roe could see the delicate nature of her features, the femininity of her face. There was something oddly familiar about it.

“I’ve prepared everything for us,” he said. “If you have no objections, we can simply play the two of us, taking turns dealing.”

She shook her head. “I have no objections.”

“Excellent. Grimm, that will be all.” The butler bowed, then closed the door behind him.

Roe stepped over to the table and took a seat. There was no need to wait for her to sit first as he would a lady, after all.

“Thank you for the invitation,” the boy said quietly, and Roe could clearly hear the soft lilt of a woman’s voice. He shouldn’t have missed it the other night.

“You are quite welcome. You have impressive skills with the cards. It is nice to find a worthy opponent. And I don’t have any prostitutes hiding in the hall to distract you tonight.”

She nodded and said nothing else, but he caught sight of a small smile. She took her seat but did not look up at him.

The lighting was much better in his study than in Rodale’s and whilst Roe shuffled the cards, he took another moment to study the “boy’s” features. He was fascinated, and a bit annoyed with himself, that he hadn’t recognized it before. But he’d been focused on Cabot. And, well, he had to admit her disguise was quite good.

She had a pert nose that tilted up slightly at the tip, defined cheekbones, and a bow-shaped mouth. It appeared she’d gone to great lengths with her clothes to hide any curves she might possess, and it seemed she’d done something to dull what Roe suspected would be a natural glow to her cheeks and lips. Perhaps it was the soot that marred her complexion. The flat cap she wore covered her eyes so he couldn’t determine their color.

He dealt the cards and watched her as she studied her hand.

Her hands were small, with fingers that were long and delicate. Her nails were blunt and covered in soot. No doubt she was trying to pass for a chimney sweep.

She had taken great care with her disguise and it had obviously worked, since she’d been successfully playing at Rodale’s for nearly two months. It was on Roe’s mind to inquire as to how much money she’d acquired in that amount of time, but he kept the question to himself. Perhaps it was best asked later, once her identity had been revealed.

“Now then, shall we play?”

Again she inclined her head, obviously taking great care not to speak overly much. He’d noticed this about her the other times they’d played. Perhaps her voice was too feminine. That was how he could get her to reveal herself. Get her talking and open the door for him to call